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29-05-2003, 05:21 AM

In article ,
(IC_Gardener) wrote:

I am trying potatoes for the first time this year. They are growing
nicely. They are big enough to start mounding them up. Do they need
to be mounded up with soil, or can I use straw/mulch? I guess I'm not
sure what induces the stem to form tubers. Is it just the lack of
light, or do they need moist soil around them? I know that I have
read about growing potatoes in straw, but I can't find a good
reference now.

Thanks for any help.

IC Gardener
Iowa City, Iowa
Zone 5A

I was just reading Rodale's Organic Gardening Encyclopedia on spuds yesterday.
It says you can hill them with leaves, soil, straw or compost.

Use whatever you've got. The point is to keep sunlight away from the tubers.
And when you mulch the vines, they'll grow more spuds.

Jan