[acwid]

hello peeps wish to avoid drought this year with my spuds do I plant deeper ,line the trench with manure ,newspaper or anything else to retain the moisture all advice appreciated thanks .

[paintedlady]

I think you've answered your own question    Lining the trench with moisture retaining material helps, also earthing up (I wouldn't plant the spuds too deep - earth up as they grow)

Another idea is mulching but should be done when the soil is already moist rather than when it is dry.

PS  and what makes you think there'll be a drought this year?  It could go the other way and (dare I say it?) be a wet one instead 

[Kristen]

I put a really thick layer of grass clippings on mine to protect against a late frost that we get in April / May.  This then serves as a mulch later on (and no mater how well you earth up there are always one or two tubers that appear right on the surface, so the mulch stops them seeing the light and going green too

[bayleaf]

Compost - if you can make your own or get some from someone = it improves the humus content in the soil and so its moisture retention. Get that in a trench round your spuds and you'll be fine. You could also plant under black plastic - saves earthing up and plastic retains moisture apparently but I have never tried it (prefer earthing up).

[solway cropper]

You could also plant under black plastic - saves earthing up and plastic retains moisture apparently but I have never tried it

I tried it a few years ago and got a wonderful crop of slugs which ate most of the tatties 

[andy135]

hello peeps wish to avoid drought this year with my spuds do I plant deeper ,line the trench with manure ,newspaper or anything else to retain the moisture all advice appreciated thanks .

If we are going to have a drought this year I'll be paying more attention to getting the BBQ ready and the beer cooler stocked up.  
Seriously, I don't over water the young plants at the begining of the season, I like to let them put their roots down deep and search for water. That way, IF we get some hot weather, most are equiped to pretty much fend for themselves. Just keep an eye on the salad crops. (To go with the barbie, obviously).  

[acwid]

many thanks folks reason im concerned about long periods without rain or drought is last year just as they were 6wks off getting ready we had a long dry period and this stopped them getting any bigger despite me watering every night ,and occasional heavy showers made no difference at all digging them up they were dry as a bone after the 1st 3 inches so, this year I intend to be better prepared hence the question.

[JayG]

many thanks folks reason im concerned about long periods without rain or drought is last year just as they were 6wks off getting ready we had a long dry period and this stopped them getting any bigger despite me watering every night ,and occasional heavy showers made no difference at all digging them up they were dry as a bone after the 1st 3 inches so, this year I intend to be better prepared hence the question.

As you discovered being dry at the roots will not have helped your crop; you might well have done better giving them a really heavy soaking once a week than a lighter watering every day (less likely to encourage blight, also.)

[Colin of Oxford]

In 2010 I found that despite all the usual moisture retention tricks (with the addition of comfrey for the first time) the very erratic weather caused many spuds to have a 'growth ring' where I think that they had stopped growing and then re-started.
In one well defined area every spud was tunnelled though by slugs.
The spuds will go in a different place in 2011 of course but an additional precaution will be to turn over soil as many times as possible before planting (once it is not soggy!) to allow the birds to find as many eggs as they can.
A picture is worth a thousand words (I hope that this one is not too big)

[acwid]

no its fine I also had a small problem with the slugs but I think the slug pellets I put around the spuds when I planted them helped alot .

[azubah]

The best way to avoid drought is to get the spuds in as early as you can, taking frosts into consideration, and making sure your soil is rich so that they grow as fast as possible as early as possible. This means that you have a good crop before drought or blight strikes. Also buy a heavy cropper.

[gobs]

Try drought resistant varieties, if that is really the problem.

However, 6 weeks is not too much time and think about rich soil too. It will retain more moisture as well.