Problems with hilling taters

[i_am2bz]

Hey ya'll...I'm looking for some creative ideas, as I'm starting to feel like Sisyphus, rolling the rock up the hill over & over & over...

Here's the problem - how do I keep my taters "hilled"? Whenever it rains or I water them, they flatten back out! (these are in raised beds; I have some in a barrel that I'm covering with straw & compost)

vfem suggested making "cages" with chicken wire, but the thought of all that work tires me out just thinking about it! So, she suggested asking the experts...Steve? hoodat? Anyone?

 

[kmoranjr1]

I usually plant my spuds in a trench about a foot deep. As they grow you can pull soil in from the sides, this keeps them pretty well covered. Also helps keep the weeds from growing between my rows. Never had any issues with erosion using this method. Hope this helps you out.

 

[digitS']

I guess I don't have problems with that much rain, 2bz.

When they are thru counting, this current storm will probably show something over 1". That's a big deal for us here but most others would probably just shrug their shoulders. Much rain would just leave my gardens with a stone mulch surface.

When I hill veggies, I use soil or partially finished compost. I say "partially finished" because my compost is never actually finished. The coarse stuff works just fine on the potatoes and it is what I've used the last couple of years. I put down organic fertilizer first and hill - once.

The rain shouldn't move something like that around should it?

Unless Kmoranjr1's trenches would flood & hold water for you, they seem like a good idea to me. Ridgerunner lives where heavy rains fall and, I believe, he has to take special efforts to keep his plants from drowning.

Steve

 

[marypboland]

Well instead of hilling, I just plant them about 3-4" deep, then as they grow, I keep adding straw all around and the potatoes form in the top few inches of soil or the straw. I end up with maybe 6-8" or more of deep straw. Harvesting is easy -- just pull back the straw, pick up what formed in the straw and dig just a bit to get the ones a little further down.

 

[kmoranjr1]

I didn't think of them flooding. The soil in my area is very sandy and drains quickly. There might be a problem with a trench in places that drain slower.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Ridgerunner lives where heavy rains fall and, I believe, he has to take special efforts to keep his plants from drowning.

Steve

You mean 12.8" from this five day "event" with more forecast. Here this is extremely unusual. When I lived on the Gulf Coast, this might have caused minor street flooding. Here it is very serious for a lot of people. Some of us get the rains, some droughts, some fires, and some tornadoes. I figure I'm pretty lucky compared to many, including many around here. So I personally am not complaining.

However, it will be a few days before I can get back in the garden even if it dies quit raining. I'd sink to mid-calf if I tried walking out there. That water will eventually soak in and in August, I'll be hoping for a rain. This stuff that is soaking in now will help keep the trees alive then.

I don't have any great words of wisdom about hilling potatoes. I don't do raised beds for potatoes and don't know what type of soil you have that washes away so quickly. Mine pretty well stays once I hill it up. Maybe you could get wheat straw or such and pile it in there? I don't know how close to the top of the raised bed your soil is or what else you have in there, but maybe you could pile mulch in there?

Another idea. Could you hill it up, spread a couple of layers of newspaper on top, and use something to hold the newspaper in place? I've got some heavy wire that would work, where I cut the bottom strip off cattle panels so I could anchor the panel in the ground. I've used that heavy wire to hold mulch in place before.

 

[i_am2bz]

It's too late to do a trench this year, since the plants are already a foot high, maybe next year...

I don't think wheat straw will work, I tried it on the strawberries (when it was colder out) & the first stiff wind blew everything all over the yard.

The soil is from a landscaper, a mixture of soil & compost. I tried packing it around the plants while it was wet, even, & most of it still spread out.

I hate to buy anything, like fencing, but looks like I don't have a choice. Arrrgh!

 

[skeeter9]

Marypboland, I love your idea of using straw. Would it work in a very hot zone? I've never grown potatoes before, but always wanted to. maybe I could build a small raised planter (2'x2'), fille it with regular gardening mix, then put a short chicken wire cage around it and start filling with straw as needed? Would something like that really work? 2bz, what if you did something like that? Even without the raised be portion, maybe just using a short chicken wire cage to help hold everything in place? Hmmm. . . .

 

[marypboland]

I don't enclose my potato bed and I live on a fairly windy mesa here in western Colorado. Since you add the straw gradually around the plants as the plants grow up, the plants and the wetness of the straw (because you're watering) hold the straw in place. I don''t know about heat for sure but certainly the straw keeps the soil cooler. Why not just make a small bed, get some straw and try it. If it works you can make the bed bigger next year. Also call or email some reputable nurseries, preferably in your area and ask if they can recommend good varieties for your area.

I was in Borrego Springs, CA this winter and the farmers' market had lots of potatoes. Maybe they are mainly grown as a winter crop in your area.

 

[vfem]

I'm thinking putting cages up may be your only option this far into growth.... it looks like you'll just be battling erosion otherwise. Did today's rains affect them? It was terrible here.

I'm just stuck in my ways, and the buckets work way too well for me to switch now.... but I hear your plight and will keep thinking on it.