[DellDGM]

I have planted potatos for the first time this year and have been asking lots of questions  :oops:  but alas I have another one.  I keep adding straw to the pile but I'm not sure how high up the stem to go and I now have flowers on the tops of the plant - how will I know when they are ready?

second question I was told that to help keep my grass problem under control that I can paint bleach on it and that this would still be ok under organic rules - I'm trying to be organic but am loosing the battle with the grass weed (kikue)

[Stevens706]

If the potatoes are an early variety then they are generally ready when the flowers appear, lates need longer and I usually harvested when the tops start dying back. You can rummage around the plants and carefully check the size of the tubers, if too small just re-cover.

[muntjac]

i cant see how bleach is organic .it kills everything  

[mushroom]

i cant see how bleach is organic .it kills everything  

Depends what is meant by "bleach". Is it chlorine dissolved in water, or sodium hypochlorite solution? If the latter, I can see why it would be termed "organic" in the gardening sense. Common salt and water are its breakdown products.

[gobs]

Salt is not much use for the soil, either.

If you can't cope with it I don't think there many organic solutions left than black sheeting and growing through that.

What is it anyway, I've never heard this word. :?:

[WG.]

I have encountered kikuyu on some golf courses in Australia and it simply 'eats up' golf balls.  Awkward stuff to chip out of too if you do find your ball.  But I digress ...

Potatoes - if they are in flower, I suggest you no longer need to add straw.  I don't go along with the theory of them  being ready though - I think that that is only for the impatient.  You will get a much larger crop if you wait until the foliage turns yellow and dies back.

Back to your grass - can it be mulched out as gobs suggests?

[mushroom]

i cant see how bleach is organic .it kills everything  

Depends what is meant by "bleach". Is it chlorine dissolved in water, or sodium hypochlorite solution? If the latter, I can see why it would be termed "organic" in the gardening sense. Common salt and water are its breakdown products.

[gobs]

Psst! You have posted this already.  

[WG.]

Info on kikuyu grass : http://turf.lib.msu.edu/gsr/1920s/1925/2511252.pdf

Personally, I wouldn't put bleach on my garden - I'd save it for the swimming pool if I had one.  It kills bacteria and, as such, will affect affect the fauna of the soil itself.  We have a septic tank and avoid using bleach in the house for similar reasons.

[mushroom]

Psst! You have posted this already.  

odd... don't know how that happened!! :oops:

[gobs]

Very informative, thanks, WG, it's a shame she can't possibly freeze them.

But it says ploughing also works, is there no way you could hoe your empty from crops beds well over a few times? Are they coming from underneath?

As it says they don't seed...

[DellDGM]

thanks for the answers guys   I have been hoeing and black plasticing the large areas under the fruit trees, I was just thinking of the bleach for the smal (500mm) triangles around the pavers where I can't get the hoe in.

I stuck my hand in the potato patch to see how big the potatos are now I have flowers ( as per stevens706) ad can't seem to find anything??? :o , I gues I just wait until they start dying off and then just remove the mound.

Are potatoes something I can just keep planting through the year ie when I harvest this lot can I plant another crop straight away(in a different part of the garden) or is summer not the time of year to plant?

[WG.]

With your climate, I reckon you could be getting maybe 3 crops per annum of earlies.  You'd just need to ensure they were well enough watered (and fed because they do take a lot from the soil - manure is best).

The least touch of frost will kill them (end of growth) or set them back (start of growth).  Do you normally get frosts?  If so, in which months please?

[gobs]

Weeds: I'm going to try a vinegar solution in such cracks this year. Pickled dandelion, anyone?

Pots: It's a good time to give them a good soak, when tubers are bulking up, if you can.

[DellDGM]

frosts can be anywhere from june to august but usually only about 6 weeks worth if that