Planting Potatoes and More Work for the Merry Tiller

I ran over the beds on plot 29 with the Merry Tiller, which has managed to create quite a fine tilth (tilth is the texture of the soil) mixing in the leafmould and contents of old growbags and pots to add organic matter.

Back to plot 5 where the tiller ran over the potato patch a couple of times, further breaking up the clods and lumps prior to planting potatoes.

The next bit was to dig a shallow trench about half a spade deep placing the soil to the side and then to fill it back up with compost. The next thing was to run the Mantis tiller up and down the trench to thoroughly mix and produce a really fine tilth.

Having got a trench of nice soil I then scooped out a hole every 12 inches and placed the tuber in covering with a couple of inches of compost.

Earthing Up Potatoes

Now when the tubers sprout and the leaves, or haulm as potato foliage is called, is a few inches high, I will scrape the soil from the side over the potatoes. This process is called earthing up and is done because the potatoes tend to form at ground level but exposure to light turns them green. Green potatoes contain an alkaloid poison that can give you a nasty tummy so we want them covered in soil to prevent the light from getting to the tubers.

This is what causes the ridge effect when you see potatoes planted . I’ve noticed a lot of people seen to pile the soil into these ridges over the tubers when they are first planted but I believe the way I do it is correct for best results.

Spacing Potatoes

For first early potatoes I space the rows two feet apart and the potatoes one foot apart in the row. You can see the marked batten I use for spacing in the photo.

Second early potatoes are spaced the same but for the maincrop I space at 15" in rows which are 30" apart as they need a bit more space

Varieties

I planted the first row with Adora, the ‘low calorie’ potato and the next row and a half with Arran Pilot, which is my good old standard early potato.

My sneaky plan is that the compost will help give me clean potatoes and when they are lifted and the compost is rotovated into the soil it will help to improve it generally. It’s often said that potatoes clean the soil but the truth is that the cultivation of the soil cleans it up.

Planting Potatoes

Rodent Control

We have had a few rats and mice on the plot which can be problematic but we now have a lovely young cat who patrols daily seeking them out on his hunting expeditions. I keep trying to make friends but he’s having none of it. Did manage to get a photo using my new camera’s zoom facility. I swear he knows when I’m ready to snap a shot and runs.

Posted in Allotment Garden Diary
One comment on “Planting Potatoes and More Work for the Merry Tiller
  1. Nigel Shaw says:

    Hi. John We earth our potatoes up as we plant. This buys us extra time and protection from late frosts, allowing us to plant earlier as the shoots have further to go before they break through the surface.

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