On Jan 30, 1:33�pm, "La Puce" wrote:
On 28 Jan, 17:18, PB wrote:

covehithe wrote:
[...]
Her neighbour has told her to plant the potatoes straight in the
ground including in the grass strip without
any digging. The idea is to clear the ground [...]

Potatoes don't clear the ground, you have to dig to plant them, dig to

hill them up and dig the final crop. *Its the three diggings that clear
the ground.Indeed. It's a very strange question though. It feels that there's a
few different ideas and outcomes in there!

First, the idea to clear the ground is interesting. I suspect this is
something to do with perhaps 'fertilising' the soil with say green
manure, and the idea that potatoes could just be the thing because we
do say that potatoes are good as a first crop to 'clear' the ground.
[...]

This whole question arises because British gardening and farming
books, no doubt sometimes uncritically copying one another, always
used to say "potatoes are a good clearing crop". This phrase entered
people's consciousness _without_ the rest of the chapter. It doesn't
mean potatoes are good at clearing: it means they're good crop to grow
if _you're_ clearing a plot.

As other responders have said, potatoes don't do the clearing
themselves: it's just that all the work you have to do to give the
spuds a good start, plus earthing up, plus the digging you have to do
to harvest them, prepares the ground well for subsequent rotations.
What potatoes will do, if and _only_ if, the cultivation has been
conscientious before and during their growth, is to some extent shade
out some later germinating weeds; but this is a pretty insignificant
effect.

Sticking potato sets in a lawn would be a complete waste of time and
effort. There are no short cuts in gardening. Well, you can take
"short cuts", but they end up being longer than the direct route.

--
Mike.