[milkman]

aidy you could try something sturdy like broad beans that will push their way up through the straw mulch.

[lucywil]

how do you stop the straw/hay blowing about all over the place?

[Aidy]

broad beans is kind of an option but and its a big but, they are 4-5 year olds and I can imgine the straw being lifted every day to check to see if any spuds are growing underneath, as it is most havent seen a spud plant let alone know how they grow so keeping them under ground is more sensible me thinks then when we dig them up their little faces light up with amazement  :shock:  plus the time scale, bearing in mind I need sprinter crops because of holidays etc most veg we grow can be sown and lifted before they break up for the summer.

[greenbean]

Muntjac I'm hanging on your every word..... I will follow ur advice to the letter. Looking forward to my top tatty's.

[Salkeela]

how do you stop the straw/hay blowing about all over the place?

I thought this too... however once wet it stays put. Honest!

I've been feeding our ponies over a fence off a concrete lane all winter.  Wouldn't you think the loose bits of hay that end up on the lane would blow off the concrete in all that wild weather we've been having?  
Nope - it just waits til I have to scrape it all away!

[Trillium]

Agree with you there, Salkeela.
But I think Aidy has the wrong end of the bale there; you don't put mulch down until the plant tops sprout so you know where they are. Once you're sure all that will sprout have sprouted, then you spread around the mulch, close to but not touching the plants. And here's the secret: wet the straw down asap with hosing or whatever, or lay it just before expected rain. It mats down well and stays there. You might need some extra topping up of straw later, but its far easier than weeding or hilling up. And Never Ever use hay to mulch; far too many legume seeds which will quickly sprout everywhere and add to headaches.
As for interplanting, I never do with potatos because the mulch is on pretty quick and the tatties quickly put up enough top growth that any intercrop will either fade in the tatty leaves shadows, or vice versa and the tatty crop suffers.  :cry:

[Salkeela]

Well I'm TRYING hay.... apparently one Ruth Stout swore by the method

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Livestock-and-Farming/1999-02-01/Ruth-Stout-and-Permanent-Hay-Mulch.aspx

[Aidy]

Not sure I have wrong end of t bale, on my plot its flat, dont use raised beds so prefer to use earthing up method, my choice, at school the bed is only 3 feet wide by 6 feet long, there are 3 beds, I try to keep a certain level of rotation, the idea of the school plot is to educate the kids where and how the veg arrives home, modern kids think its out of the freezer, if I used the hay/straw method at school I know these kids would be lifting it all the time, as only the top is visible and as  there are a couple of crops around them they are less likely to disturb the spuds, I have read the science and as you lot say it works but I will continue my earthing up on my plot and let the kids see something growing around the spuds at school, I am not knocking this method, each to their own, since having my plot the one thing I have always enjoyed is experimenting to find the system that I am happy with, tried the no dig method with black plastic and I ended up with so many roots from weed I nearly gave up, we are blessed with the worse horstail, red shank and bindweed you could imagine, people are gob smacked when they visit from other plots so for me its dig for victory.

[Trillium]

Well I'm TRYING hay.... apparently one Ruth Stout swore by the method

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Livestock-and-Farming/1999-02-01/Ruth-Stout-and-Permanent-Hay-Mulch.aspx

If you look closely at Ruth's wording, you'll find she used Salt Marsh Hay, not the common livestock hay. Hers is more of a straw with few to no seeds in it. It's called that simply because of the area in which it grows - salt marshes, an area peculiar to the New England, USA area.  I've tried common livestock hay when I couldn't get straw. Once was once too often; had legumes and grasses growing everywhere from the seeds within. Will never use hay again.  

[Trillium]

Had to get the magnifier out to read the super fine print on the Mother Earth link and they do say old hay however I read Mother Earth News for years and found them notorious for shortening up important info or jumping on or glorifying an article bandwagon, so I stopped reading them. I read Stout's book several times years ago, and it clearly stipulated the Salt Marsh Hay - the stuff with no seeds. Perhaps this is similar stuff to Romney marsh hay, I've no idea. But I hate to see you spread regular stuff around and regret your decision - I did.  

[Salkeela]

Well I'm TRYING hay.... apparently one Ruth Stout swore by the method

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Livestock-and-Farming/1999-02-01/Ruth-Stout-and-Permanent-Hay-Mulch.aspx

If you look closely at Ruth's wording, you'll find she used Salt Marsh Hay, not the common livestock hay. Hers is more of a straw with few to no seeds in it. It's called that simply because of the area in which it grows - salt marshes, an area peculiar to the New England, USA area.  I've tried common livestock hay when I couldn't get straw. Once was once too often; had legumes and grasses growing everywhere from the seeds within. Will never use hay again.  

WHOOPS!  Ah well it's down now.... will wait and see what happens & let you know!    

We made our own hay last year, and a few bales were not dry on baling day - so they were left in the field.  I've salvaged them for this project & they are semi-decomposed.  A few others were positioned at damp edges of the barn & I'm using them too.  Perhaps if I keep turning it.....

[Trillium]

Good luck then, Salkeela. I tried old hay as well and found some nasty moldy bits in the centre which I tossed into the compost instead. Didn't want whatever it was affecting my crop. Found some in old straw bales as well; it might be harmless to crops but no way am I chancing it. I put some of it moldy side up at the edges of the raspberry bed to let the sun kill the mold and figuring the raspberry canes are tough enough to resist any problems. So, I hope you split open the layers to look before spreading.  

[Aidy]

Trillium, with what you are saying, to me reading this would'nt it be just a lot easier to earth up? No risk of infection or spreading weeds etc.

[Trillium]

It would, Aidy, but we're not all stout, strong lads as yourself. Quite a few of us are couch potatoes      

[ziggywigs]

I plant my tatties by digging a trench (using a line), putting compost/manure or grass clippings and newspapers in the bottom....then popping tatties in and covering up.  Then i earth up and mark each end with a stick.

When the rows green up (ie weed seedlings) i knock down the mounds and leave to green up again.  Then earth up again, usually takes care of the weeds.  When i see the shaws poking through i will knock them down a bit and then earth up again and don't bother after that as the once the shaws are through they grow like billy ho tend to smother out any weeds.

I do it this way as it's the way my FIL recommended as that was the way they did it on the tattie farms up here (pre mechanical methods).  I get good crops every year.

I found it does take a bit of practise getting the earthing up right....but it's easy when you get a system!