[chili]

as above am looking for advice on the actual planting process, last year (my 1st year) i dug a trench, not very deep and then just back filled it and ridged it up with a rake.
now my question is :- are there any other methods? ie using a hoe of some description

now my plus other question :- when preparing the ground for planting, i have it dug over at the moment so do i just again rake the lumps till they are broken and looking reasonably crumbled up? is a rake suitable or should i invest in one of those 3 pronged claw things a crumbler i think they are called.

i also need a decent hoe, so what is the most universal type to have in the allotment armoury?

many thanks.
apologies for the newbie questions

[doubledug]

Just  finished planting my spuds, the ground was well manured dug over and raked level i then use a bulb planter to make a hole in which to plant said spud. if you have not added compost or manure to the land then back fill the hole with some. I have some tatters planted in bags this year and they are well away now. 

[JayG]

A good Dutch hoe would be my choice if I was only buying one; you may well have to improve the cutting edge with a file to get the best performance from it.

Draw hoes can be used for drawing drills deep enough for planting spuds but I seem to find them quite hard work and nowhere near as handy as a Dutch hoe for routine hoeing and soil-loosening.

I find the good old rake perfect for levelling and preparing seed beds but I'm sure someone will come along to tell you that they use something else which is the bees-knees! 

[greenockian]

I am going to try one bed of potatoes under straw this year. The advice I have been given is to place the potatoes on the ground and cover them with at least 6 inches of straw. When they come through put anothe foot of straw on top and then when that rots down put more on, always keeping plenty on top to keep out the light.

The only problem is that most farms have their straw in the large round bales which weigh about half a ton.

[moose]

Animal feed shops usually have the smaller oblong ones. I get mine for £2 each.

[mumofstig]

I dig a shallow trench and loosen the bottom up with my fork. Mix in fertiler of choice and then make holes with a trowel to plant the potatoes in, and pull a bit more loose soil back over them.
then when they show through use some more of the soil that was dug out to cover them over again.

[noshed]

I'm using the MOS method.
Draw hoes are very handy - I keep mine sharpened with a file.
I also use a hand dutch hoe for weeding between things I have planted too close together.

[BostonInbred]

I use the ridging tool on the rotavator to cut a trench     then i use a bulb planter to make holes to drop seed tates in, then some sort of fertiliser or compost, then i use a 24 inch garden rake (oh yes, you can get them if you look round ) to earth it back up.

[Bohobumble]

I borrowed a home-made potato planting tool from someone who'd been on the allotments for 30-40 years. This is for interest really unless you'll be making your own tool.


I'll see if I can take a picture, it worked a dream. Think of old piping connected together a bit like a pogo stick but with only one 'foothold' and a wider pipe lowermost, blocked off at the bottom.


The action is a little like digging to start - push into the ground with one foot, then you rotate the tool in the ground to create your planting hole, drop your chitted spud in and backfill.


I found it best to make the holes for a row first, then plant all, then backfill all.

[LotuSeed]

I am going to try one bed of potatoes under straw this year. The advice I have been given is to place the potatoes on the ground and cover them with at least 6 inches of straw. When they come through put anothe foot of straw on top and then when that rots down put more on, always keeping plenty on top to keep out the light.

The only problem is that most farms have their straw in the large round bales which weigh about half a ton.

Make sure you get straw and not hay. And then double check again, you want to grow potatoes not more hay lol.   Around here the big round bales are hay and used in bale feeders for horses.

I've covered my potatoes with a mixture of compost/horse manure and straw. I've seen the straw method on videos on youtube but I worry that light would get to them.

[DD.]

I trench my spuds. It's not the simplest - I know that's what you were looking for, but the amount of slugs egss that were uncovered in the process for the local bird population to feed on, made the effort worthwhile, in my opinion.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the swoe (see link for illustration). It's got three cutting edges, so it works on the forward, backward and side strokes. My dutch hoe never gets used these days.

http://www.wilkinsonsword-tools.co.uk/image/cache/data/1111116W-p2-500x500.jpg

[Growster...]

After trying to sow spuds with a bulb planter last year, and not getting enough depth, this year, I 'double-tilled' each row, i.e. tilled to make a shallow depression, then again, to get even deeper. Then I chucked in some blood, fish and bone pellets, and pulled a trench out with 'The Growstada' (a Chillington hoe, with the square edge cut to a point).

This all took a bit of time, as DD says, but I got down to the required depth with little effort, as the soil was all loose, friable and easy to work!

The earlies are under cloches too, because as I have heard, 'Swift' are perfect for planning exactly ten weeks ahead..;0)

(Well that's what a chum down near 'The Patch' says - it's our first year with them)!

[RJR_38]

My soil has clay tendencies this time of year so nice gentle riffing doesn't cut it - I dig a trench, fill it it with spuds then back fill, dig another trench next to it to create the mound. Not easy at all but it's what everyone does on our soil this year I have trialled not digging the first trench and just using a bulb planter for the spids which was much easier on my back I have to say

[cadalot]

Soil sample hand auger for me and now I drill in holes in membrane - no mounds of earth or green tatties or weeding 

[ryetek]

i also need a decent hoe, so what is the most universal type to have in the allotment armoury?

I also use a swoe same as DD.