planting spuds question?

[skell43]

Hope it's not too silly a question , but I had some potatoes given to me last week , I have started them chitting and know that they will need a little while before they sprout and can be planted. I am planning on putting them in a trench spaced apart with the chits facing up. Then what? Are they covered up completely by compost,then when leaves come up , put more earth on to cover ? Can't seem to get an idiots guide anywhere.

[Pies]

Your pretty much correct no need to use compost to earth up,it wont hurt,you can just use the surrounding earth

more info here

JBA - Seed Potatoes and Growing Potatoes

[skell43]

Thanks pies , just watched a great video on there , looks easier than I feared and is suggesting a shorter chitting period and only digging holes in a straight line , not a trench. Says 12 weeks for chitting on the little bag i got free potatoes in , that seemed a bit too long! Haven't planted potatoes before but friends say they taste really different so well worth the space needed.

[Shadylane]

Everyone does spuds differently. Some chit, some don't, some dig a trench some use a bulb planter or dig a hole. Some earth up with soil, some use straw or grass and some don't bother. This is all probably why you can't find a definite answer - it's always a debatable subject. When I put mine in next month they will have had about 6-8 weeks chitting. I'll probably dig a hole then when shoots appear, earth up to protect from frosts. Once they're bigger I'll probably earth up a little, but I don't leave enough room in between rows to earth up properly. Still got a bumper crop last year though. And yes they do taste better

[sewer rat]

The subject of earthing up potatoes has been raised before - indeed I think it was quite a hot discussion not long after I joined all those years ago. Some people earth up as they go, a bit at a time. Me, I dig the trench, manure it, chit tatties, plant tatties, earth up to full height straight away and have never suffered as a result, other tha maybe suffering more weeds as I am not constantly working the ridges - however, I do not have enough time to keep earthing up tatties - that's the main reason -Plant and Forget!

[piskieinboots]

No question is silly - the answers will always be useful to someone

As has been said above, you don't have to chit to plant out, they will do their natural thing, which is to grow, whether you do or don't chit.

I'm an earther-up as I go

[Florence Fennel]

I grow in containers, so it's easy to earth up, you just throw more stuff in. I use grass clippings, newspaper, garden soil and compost. I'm putting some in the ground this year, but under cardboard, so advice on here is that I don't have to earth up using this method.

[Kristen]

Says 12 weeks for chitting on the little bag i got free potatoes in , that seemed a bit too long!

Just to add to what piskieinboots said.

If you chit them they have in effect started growing, and thus should crop earlier. That's it. If you don't chit them they will start growing when you put them in the ground. If you half-chit them ... well, I'm sure you get the idea!

Stick them in when you are ready, and the time is right.

Generally the problem with seed potatoes is that they want to sprout - you'll know what happens if you leave a bag of spuds in the a bag in the back of the cupboard ... My seed potatoes arrived in mid January from the supplier. If I had put them in the dark they would have grown long shoots by now which would be brittle and break off when I planted them ... so I just stood them in a tray in a light place "chitting" away, and right now the chits are only a few millimetres long, and I'll plant them just as soon as the soil has warmed up a bit and I have got the bed ready

[skell43]

Thanks for the advice everyone , will chit for a while to get them going and put in the ground when the time seems right. Have my veg patch right outside the kitchen so will probably be more than happy to earth up as i go. Looking forward to trying something new!

[Loudbarker1]

I'm trying a new route this year, which is to grow under black plastic. I will plant the tubers very shallow, cut holes in the plastic once they grow, not earth up, and hope the plastic prevents the spuds going green. Should prevent weeds without earthing up.

I'm a bit concerned about slugs, so will try nemaslug through the holes in the plastic.

[WillyNelson]

Am I right in thinking that earthing up promotes additional cropping as well as preventing light getting to the spuds? The idea being that with more of the stem covered it promotes more root formation & more tubers.

[chris]

AFAIK, WillyNelson yep. I had tubers right up to the top in my planter/sacks last year.

[taff]

I must be doig something wrong then, I had hardly any potatoes out of a sack. Mind you, i didn't water assiduously, so that'll have something to do with it.
watching with interest because they're going in the ground this year.

[Potstubsdustbins]

In my dustbins I ususally find the first spuds about 2" below the level of the compost. There will then be a blank layer about 4" to 5" then another layer of spuds.

Taff. I think you are right about watering when the actual spuds are growing each bin gets at least a 2 gallon bucket every other day.

Colin