[mrsparkle]

I posted last week regarding earthing up my spuds and the problems it has caused me.

Ive attached some pics of the mounds and becuase they are so steep and the top such a sharp point I can't earth up any further (the soils just falls back down the sides)

The spuds are first and second earlies and have been in the ground for 6.5 weeks  and I wonder whether I should persist earthing up or just leave them now?

[Fisherman]

The warm weather has made all the plants sown in the last couple of months grow so quickly. I would give up earthing them up now and just keep an eye on the weather forecast for any frost and then cover them with fleece or any old sheets. Plastic sheeting isn't much good if it comes into contact with the leaves as they can still get burned with the frost. With a bit of luck we may not get any more frost this spring. Dependent on the variety you should be able to to start harvesting in 4 -6 weeks time.

[Yorkie]

I agree 

[Trillium]

Listen to weather forecasts, and if frost is expected, throw on fleece or old blankets over the spuds and remove (if possible) in the morning. Its a bother but will save your spuds.

[Paul Plots]

If you haven't got sheets or old blankets you could try newspaper layers with a little soil or stones / bricks here and there to keep the sheets in place until the frost has passed.

Paper is a good insulator if you haven't any fleece. (Once I've run out of soil to earth-up with I like to use grass mowings as I have huge heaps of the stuff and I can leave it in place to add to the texture of the soil.)

May the frost stay clear of you. 

[Auntie Rain]

If you are worried about exosed tubers rather than frost, you are going to need to protect any emerging from the sides of your earthing up by using some kind of cover.

Black plastic has been used but slugs 'love' the warm dark, damp space..... A recent trial by RHS reccomends using straw. Keeping it in place will be the next trick!

Like me, you will need to remember to plant deeper and further apart next year....

Remember the gardeners mantra - 'Next year....' :-)

[Nige2Plots]

A layer of Straw covered with fleece helps. The straw can then be used for other things

[Kristen]

I put grass clippings on mine when they are fully earthed up. There are always a few tubers that form right on the surface, and the grass stops them seeing daylight.  Needs to be quite a thick layer though, 'coz once the tops are up you won;t be able to get in there to add more, and it will compact down a fair bit over the next month or two.

If you are worried about frost my solution is to only plant a few first early tubers at an early date, I plant as many tubers as we will be able to eat over two or three weeks, and then plant the rest 2 or 3 weeks later - less chance of them being up and tall when we get the last frost; those are only just poking through now and not earthed up at all as yet

[JayG]

I had the same problem last year, and only just scraped them through the late frosts (panic buying of fleece!) so I did 2 things differently this year:

I planted them in trenches rather than plain soil giving me ready-made hills of soil for earthing up (Mumofstig's technique!), and also planted them a couple of weeks later than usual to make sure they stayed underground that bit longer (another reason was that I wanted to grow them quickly as I have eelworm on my plot and need to get them in and out as fast as possible.)

I've already earthed them up twice and still have enough soil left to do it again, although I don't intend to unless frost threatens again. 

[moose]

I have mine covered with straw. It does not blow around. A recent magazine article did a test using 3 different mulches and straw was marginally the best.

[Aidy]

According to the last frost dates, you should be pretty much safe now, early May for Sheff, are you enjoying this balmy stormy weather at the mo?

[JayG]

According to the last frost dates, you should be pretty much safe now, early May for Sheff, are you enjoying this balmy stormy weather at the mo?

Normally safe, yes, but last year changed all that!

Barmy yes !  ) , very mild yes, stormy no, although it has just started raining in a rather tentative fashion!    

[JohnB47]

Is it just me or do those earthed up rows look like they've been done with a digger?!

I don't have the time/enegry/soil to earth up anything like that. Then again perhaps I don't need to - it's pretty warm down here so frost is not as much a threat as oop north. I've only had a few go green on me from the light getting to them.

Personally I think you've done well to get that far.

[Paul Plots]

I make a trench, dig down with a trowel and plant about 5" below ground level and then earth up.... later I add grass

....and when the foxes have fiddled about I earth up again and again with a final mound of grass on top. How the shoots reach the surface is beyond me. I may need step-ladders to reach the top this year.