[Becky-Lou]

Hello everyone,

Hope you've all had a lovely day on your allotments in the lovely sunshine!  I was just wondering if anyone has tried growing potatoes using the 'no dig' method?  I am very pregnant at the moment, and the thought of all that bending and digging is not too thrilling , but I'm concerned it might have a negative impact on yield.

Many thanks!

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Becky-Lou!  Congratulaions on being pregnant!  Is it your first?

I know some people will disagree with me, but one year I grew potatoes under the very heavy duty weed membrane.  cut a cross in it where I wanted to plant a potato, just dug a slight depression in the soil under it, put in potato.  The haulms then grew through the hole and the baby potatoes on the ground under it.

I did have a few green bits where a potato was growing too near the cross I'd made, and you have to be aware that you can get a lot of slug damage.  I was lucky though and didn't.

Also, what about growing in pots?  They would be easier, and less bending down for you too?  Depends on how many potatoes you wanted to grow! 

[RookieJim]

Hello Becky,

Congrats on the baby 

Growing spuds in containers can produce very good yields. I do 2 seed spuds in a 30L pot of compost, with some fertiliser, and depending on the spud, you can get up to 10lbs per pot.

Worth a try?

Jim

[pigguns]

I had a weedy new plot last year and did well with my charlottes- a layer of cardboard, spuds, layer of wet newspaper over that and then manure on top of that.  My parents do this every year.

[compostqueen]

You can grow them under a blanket of muck. Or you can make a hole for each one and then chuck soil or muck over them as they grow

Blackbirds love muck though and they tend to chuck it all over the place, so you have to keep chucking it back over the spuds 

[Becky-Lou]

Hi Becky-Lou!  Congratulaions on being pregnant!  Is it your first?

I know some people will disagree with me, but one year I grew potatoes under the very heavy duty weed membrane.  cut a cross in it where I wanted to plant a potato, just dug a slight depression in the soil under it, put in potato.  The haulms then grew through the hole and the baby potatoes on the ground under it.

I did have a few green bits where a potato was growing too near the cross I'd made, and you have to be aware that you can get a lot of slug damage.  I was lucky though and didn't.

Also, what about growing in pots?  They would be easier, and less bending down for you too?  Depends on how many potatoes you wanted to grow! 

Thank you!  Yes, this is my first little bean, exciting times!  Thanks for all your ideas everyone, anything I can do to make things a bit less like hard work is great.

[snow white]

last year i ran out of time and energy.  i did not weed - no time.  i laid down cardboard and newspaper onto the earth.  laid manure on top of that.  nestled the seed potatoes at normal spacing and covered with straw.  (to about 6 inches high) watered then covered with netting to keep straw together.  when the halums appeared I put 6 more inches of straw down.   took off the netting.   watered once a week (it was a dry summer) then harvested a very clean crop of potates.  I did not get as big a crop as the other plot holders who put the potatoes in the ground the normal way, but no holes from a fork.  no digging to get the crop either.  very easey and light on the back.   

this year i dug over most of the bed and incorporated manure. I then put the early potates 4 inches down in holes.   The other half of the bed i have been digging trenches and putting manure at the bottom of the trench.  But I am running out of time and the soil is now too hard to dig so, if we get no rain then I will do as I did last year to the last  bit.  This week I will put the mains in the trenches via holes 4 inches down.  And on top of manure for the last bit.   I intend to  not earth up as my soil is very hard and clumpy so I will straw them as they  grow instead. 

Hopefully one of these will appeal to you.

[Auntiemogs]

Brilliant news Becky! 

Never tried it myself, but this may be useful... http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=237