[muckshifter]

I've often asked myself when reading articles about growing potatoes and the author tells us to plant them 6" deep, do they mean make a trench 6" deep and put the potatoes in it, or should the potatoes have 6" of soil over them?
I'm putting myself at your mercy so  I know if i've been doing it wrong for the last 20 years.

[JayG]

I've always understood planting depths to mean the depth of soil on top of the seed/bulb/whatever.

But hey, what's a few inches between friends (please don't answer that!) 

[DD.]

I've never really measured mine, but 6" of soil on top of the spud seems a bit deeper than I go.

I've had a look up at a few recommendations, one site says a trench 3"-5" deep, another 4", yet another 5" and John, being awkward, 100mm. I think that's about 4". 

So, it seems that "deep" refers to the bottom of the spud and 6" is still on the deep side, but as JayG implies, I don't think a bit deeper will hurt. (Don't answer that either!).

As long as we're not talking about a few feet down, I'm sure the spud will find its way out.

[ferreter51]

I always understood that it should be 6" deep, but with a slight mound of soil on top of the row, which puts and extra inch or so  over the spuds themselves.

[DD.]

I always understood that it should be 6" deep, but with a slight mound of soil on top of the row, which puts and extra inch or so  over the spuds themselves.

That doesn't answer the original question. The poster is asking is that 6" trench, or 6" soil on top of the spud.

[Ma and Pa Snip]

Surely since seed potatoes vary in size the depth referred to as a planting guide must be the depth of the trench itself, otherwise you would have to make an undulating trench or different instructions would need to be put on different packs.

As with sowing date instructions these are only a guide.

I plant ours at a depth no less than 4inches and no greater than 6, we dont make a precise science of measuring the trenches.
The important bit is earthing up as required once shoots appear so that new growth potatoes do not break the surface and get hit by sunlight.

[chili]

this year i have done a trench 5" deep am going to then use a spud planting tool and plant the spud about 4" deep into the trench when they begin to show i will gradually fill the trench in as in earthing up till trench is flush with surface and keep on doing this till i get the conventional mound of earth ...........its a plan

[Gandan57]

Then you have the additional problem with oblong potatoes. Do you lay them flat or plant them upright?

I think I may have to dig mine up and replant them.

[Salmo]

If you make a trench the earth is drawn out either side which makes the trench appear deeper. If you think about it, the bottom of a 6 inch trench will only be 3 inches below the original ground level. When the trenches are levelled the potatoes will be 3 inches deep.

[bigben]

Well there seems to be anything from 4 to 6 inches suggested. Given that you then tend to earth up and bury the spuds when they they pop up perhaps it is better to err on the shallow depth and just earth up earlier?

[mumofstig]

I dig a trench about 4 inches deep and pile the earth up either side, then make  holes in the bottom of that to plant my spuds, then just fill in the holes.

Then as the plants begin to show through I have the earth which was dug from the trench to use for earthing up. Simples

[archibtbm]

I use a bulb planter for my spuds, no need to dig trenches or measure depth as the bulb planter is about 4 inches in size...  so the seed potaotes have 4" of soil on top of them

[Ma and Pa Snip]

Ermm, if you take out four inches of soil and put a potato in,  
it has four inches of soil on top of it less the height of the potato.

It has four inches from the bottom of the potato.

Could be a market for flat potatoes. I saw packs of Golden Wonder seed potatoes and my hopes were raised then dashed.   

[bigben]

I do the same MOS. Will be planting my main crop in a week or so. Last year I just dug a trough for some and ran out of earth to earth up with. The ones I had used a bulb planter for as well as doing a trough were ok.

[stompy]

I usually run the rotavator over the bed an then drop the spuds in the trough left by the anti-runaway bar at the back.
Then rake over level, once the shoots start to apear i begin earthing up until the risk of frost has gone, usually the end of May.
By that time the ridge above the potatoe is around 8"/12" high giving plenty of earth above the seed spud.