Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Trikidiki on March 04, 2010, 23:08
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I have vague recollections of Geoff Hamilton planting potatoes using a method I have not heard anyone mention since. I haven't grown a huge amount of spuds before but have always used that method. Perhaps it was all a dream.
The idea was to dig a trench then dig a hole at the bottom of the trench and plant the potato in the hole (theory is that potatoes don't send many roots downwards).
The trenches are then covered in polythene creating 'cloches' over the planted spuds.
As the potatoes emerge in the trenches the heaps on either side are pulled into the trench to cover the shoots. Eventually the plot becomes level hopefully around the time of the last frost. The polythene is removed then as the shoots continue to emerge the sprouts are earthed up as normal.
In theory you get the depth of the trench extra to the earthing up. Therefore, theoretically more rooting volume, therefore, more or bigger potatoes.
Was it all a dream, does anyone remember it or even do it?
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That's one I must have missed, but if it was on GW, then I wouldn't have seen it. It sounds more like what you'd do for leeks. It would work, though, as the poly sheeting would protect the shoots from any frosts if you started earlier than usual. Leeks could take frost but potato shoots couldn't.
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nice. think I'll give that a go as my tatty crop is usually poor.
nick
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I have just posted in the thread about using a bulb planter to do spuds. Last year I had some success with first digging a trench then using a bulb planter to plant my spuds. When they came up the first stage of earthing up was just backfilling the trench, leaving me plenty of soil depth to carry on backfilling as needed.
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I'm doing mine in trenches this year, but I'm putting a layer of compost in the bottom of the trench. I'll just earth up as usual.
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I did a similar thing with my spuds last year, without the plastic sheeting, planted out earlies at end of march in Newcastle and had no problems with frost. Produced a great crop of charlottes, pentland javelin not so good. Think I will stick to this method this year as it's prettyy easy and low maintenance with good results.
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This is a great idea
You clever things
I'm off to garden centre for polythene
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i have seen this method i think it was discribed on gardeners world, not tried it but it does make sence and will give much needed early protection ;)
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well im sorry to disagree with you all but it seams to me that if you cover with plastic you would have condensation and that would make things worse because condensation would freeze and your spuds would be in a fridge.
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well im sorry to disagree with you all but it seams to me that if you cover with plastic you would have condensation and that would make things worse because condensation would freeze and your spuds would be in a fridge.
Also many years ago, I think it was on Tomorrow's world didn't they design a cloche a which was a sheet of polythene tubes which you filled with water. The sheet was the wrapped loosely round the plant which needed protection. When the water freezes it actually increases the ambient temperature so the still air within the 'tent' was warmer than the moving air outside.
So condenstaion freezing on the inside of the polythene would actualy be a benefit.
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We used this exact method last year in raised beds and it worked brilliantly as well as being easy for the children to manage.
The rows went short-ways across the beds, and the heavyweigh polythene sheeting was held down with old briacks and milk containers filled with water.
No issues with freezing condensation tbh.
Will be doing the same again this year :D as the crops were very good
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Trust Geoff to mention ideas that have worked for him and that may be used by others - he was so practical and I don't think he would recommend anything that he hadn't already tried.
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I done similar in my raised beds each year without the polyethelene cloches. Dig a trench and then dig down again with a trowel to plant the spud. As it grows refill the trench and then keep earthing up. Always worked for me. Had a few wry smiles and sniggers down the lottie till the first crop came out!