[Casey76]

I've never grown potatoes before, so this might be a simple question.

When do you earth up your potatoes?

My potatoes have just broken the surface of the soil, do I earth them up straight away, or do I let them grow a bit first?

[DD.]

Unless you need to cover them to protect against frost, let them grow a bit, then earth up a bit. Let them grow a bit more, earth a bit more. I do that about 3 times in the growing season.

[Casey76]

Thanks

[salmonking]

Unless you need to cover them to protect against frost, let them grow a bit, then earth up a bit. Let them grow a bit more, earth a bit more. I do that about 3 times in the growing season.

a thanks from me too! I always thought you had to completely cover the leaves when earthing!.running out of soil!

[DD.]

The leaves are the plant's food factory. Depriving them of sunlight stops this production. You only need to earth up to protect the tubers near the surface from sunlight, otherwise they go green. (Or as previously mentioned to protect from a predicted frost).

[gobs]

Quite the contrary, they need the leaves to function for good tuber production.