Potatoes - Hill or no?

CatDaddy

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I planted potatoes in the garden this year and want to hear what others do. I've read you should hill them as they grow to get more potatoes. Do you do this? I planted some in pots last year and didn't add dirt - didn't get many potatoes.

Also, can I add wood mulch over the top after planting? I'd like to retain moisture and not have to water so much, but not sure I should do that if I'm thinking about hilling....
 


Allen

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I used mounds for several years. Yes, the yield is greater, I think. However, you run the risk of a good percentage of your spuds getting exposed to daylight. This is a bad deal, they turn green and are less desirable, at a minimum.

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I'd say, if you have tight soils...put them on a hill. Otherwise, I'd be on the fence at this point. Especially if a person could really deep till the soil before planting spuds.
 

LBrandt

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I plant my taters in rows far enough apart so I can run my front tine tiller down the center and the tiller does my hilling for me.
 


BDub

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I plant them in a row. Deep. Some years are better than others. Probably because I don't water them enough.
 

Opie11

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Our county's extension agent on planting potatoes. I know some don't have facebook accounts, but I can't find the video anywhere else.

[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]https://www.facebook.com/mcleancountyextension/videos/1061262364273175[/FONT]
 

Fracman

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I always plant my potatoes next to my onions. That way I don’t have to water them.
 

Lou63

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I hill potatoes. Potato plants only put on taters above the seed tater so with more of the plant in the soil there is more for taters to grow on. If I plant in pots I plant them near the bottom and add soil as they grow until the pot is full.

years ago mom tried the planting on top of the soil with heavy straw over them. It sort of worked except for the bugs, mice and then the snakes chasing the mice and bugs in the patch. It was in a partially shaded area so the potatoes being green was not too much of an issue.
 

KEN W

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As said above.....all potatoes grow above the seed piece. Dig a hole with a hoe 4 to 5 inches deep or so. Put the seed piece in the hole. Barely cover it. It will start to grow. When it is 12 to 18 inches tall, use your hoe to fill in the hole and pull the soil up around the plant so it is hilled up.

If you bag your grass clippings.....put them around each plant for mulch. Check later this summer to make sure none are above the soil or the light will turn them green.

A week or so after they bloom you can start scratching around them looking for baby potatoes if you like them. Check the leaves for Colorodo Potato Beetles.
 


WormWiggler

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I plan on hilling mine this year. Last year I tried placing wooden squares around the plants as they grew. Made 16" - 2x4 squares and added soil as the plant grew. I killed a few by burying too much, or perhaps the black dirt/sun cooked them. Either way the yield was dismal, not going to do that again. Interesting video, she planted pretty close together, I went 16" and I went 7-8" deep compared to her 4". I had google planting depth and just read the first line of the first search result, oh well. I also put them in cut side up, must have been thinking the eye sprouts were roots, going to learn from that I guess. Interesting that the lady had cut the potatoes in advance, if I am understanding her, it was several days in advance.
 

KEN W

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If you cut them, you have to wait until they dry over so they don't get moldy before they can start to grow.
 

SlamminSalmon

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I cut them plant right away and hill them and get great yields every year. Also mulch heavy to prevent green ones and have very good success. Lots of water when they start blooming until harvest.
 

db-2

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As a kid with the horse drawn one roll potatoes planter it would put the potatoe in the ground and then two disks would bring the soil into the roll, cover and leave a hill or ridge down the line.

So for me if that's the way it was done with that old planter back in its day then that is the way to do it and it is the way i do only with shovel. Had a horse drawn culitavtor and horse drawn digger upper to take then out of ground back as a kid.
Now all done with a shovel. Horse die. But the planter, cultivator and digger are still there. Just a few trees now store them. db-2
 
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Davey Crockett

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As a kid with the horse drawn one roll potatoes planter it would put the potatoe in the ground and then two disks would bring the soil into the roll, cover and leave a hill or ridge down the line.

So for me if that's the way it was done with that old planter back in its day then that is the way to do it and it is the way i do only with shovel. Had a horse drawn culitavtor and horse drawn digger upper to take then out of ground back as a kid.
Now all done with a shovel. Horse die. But the planter, cultivator and digger are still there. Just a few trees now store them. db-2



We had one like that too db When I was about 6 years young Dad sold prince , He was too high spirited for planting potatoes but good ahead of the cutter sleigh. Dad bought a 1958 65 massy tractor and I got to pull him with the tractor , I thought it was fun , We planted 6 rows 100 yards long for a few years. They were neat old planters with the hopper and rotating thing that looked liked like a bunch of woodpeckers that stabbed the seed and somehow put it in the ground and the hiller wheels covered it up. The cultivator had foot steering so I got to pull him then too.
I thought I was really going to like potatoes farming but I was still wet behind the ears. One day dad brought out a bunch of gunny sacks and two potato forks and showed me how to dig potatoes then handed me the fork and told me to finish. I didn't last long so he came out and dug along side me and then there was no slacking off. I could only drag half a gunny sack so had to use a basket to finish filling the gunny. Finally grew up so I could lift the bags of potatoes and was happy when someone borrowed the equipment and never brought it back. When I read this topic a couple days ago it made me wish I still had the planter and cultivator .
 


Rowdie

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Are potatoes pretty cheap just to buy at the store?
 

LBrandt

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My dad also had the horse draw potato equipment but he revamped it to be pulled by a model B farmall. Took a lot to the work out of it except for the bagging and that wasn't to bad cause all the relation came and got their share. LB
 

db-2

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Potatoes can be cheap but nothing like a fresh potatoe in August. They taste a lot different than store bought.

Lbrandt:
Dad's last team of horses went in around 1950 and he bought a S Case tractor. Same here with the revamping. Use to get a nickel for every big potatoe bug and one cent for the little red ones. db-2
 

LBrandt

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Those Late July or August fresh dug potatoes that are hard as rocks are the best. Nothing else comes close. The small B size cleaned up and boiled then mashed with the skin on is pure heaven. Store bought softies don't come close for taste and texture. I know if I put the pencil to it figuring in time spent and such I could buy instore a lot cheaper but taste and satisfaction of growing it your self outweighs the convenience. LB
 

Dryfly36

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I plant my potatoes in a trench and just keep covering them as they grow. Trench is probably 8" deep to start, and ground is level when done. I plant Maine Carola potatoes.
 


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