Pavel314 wrote:
I've been growing potatoes for many years and plant the usual way; I
plant them in a row, below ground level, and hill two or three times
during the growing season.

The other night we were watching a BBC series called "Foyle's War",
which takes place in England during WWII. In one scene, they were on a
farm where people were planting potatoes. They had plowed the field
with a newly acquired tractor into long, parallel ridges, about 2 feet
high and 3 feet apart, and were planting the seed potatoes along the
tops of the ridges. I guess the plan was that the plants would put
down roots into the ridges and produce tubers down there.


Perhaps they screenwriter was incompetent or subtly trying to say that the
planters were incompetent. During those times all kinds of people had to
substitute for workers who had gone to war so they didn't necessarily know
what they were doing to start with.

Would that really work or was this just poetic license of life on the
farm? I'd always heard that potato plants don't put out tubers below
the level of the original seed potatoe, hence the hilling to build the
ridges around the plants.

Paul

You are correct. Plant them in holes or trenches.

David

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

You are correct. Plant them in holes or trenches.

I just laid mine on top of the ground and covered them with straw. Worked
perfectly, and they weren't even dirty when I harvested them!
--S.

Suzanne D. wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

You are correct. Plant them in holes or trenches.

I just laid mine on top of the ground and covered them with straw.
Worked perfectly, and they weren't even dirty when I harvested them!
--S.

how deep was the straw?

David

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Suzanne D. wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

You are correct. Plant them in holes or trenches.

I just laid mine on top of the ground and covered them with straw. Worked
perfectly, and they weren't even dirty when I harvested them!
--S.

how deep was the straw?

About 18 inches (45 cm). I piled it up little by little as the plants grew,
to within 5 inches of the top of the plants. When I needed potatoes, I just
moved the straw over to the side and picked some up from the ground.
--S.

"Suzanne D." wrote:

When I needed potatoes, I just
moved the straw over to the side and picked some up from the ground.

Ruth Stout lives!


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

Suzanne D. wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Suzanne D. wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

You are correct. Plant them in holes or trenches.

I just laid mine on top of the ground and covered them with straw.
Worked perfectly, and they weren't even dirty when I harvested them!
--S.

how deep was the straw?

About 18 inches (45 cm). I piled it up little by little as the
plants grew, to within 5 inches of the top of the plants. When I
needed potatoes, I just moved the straw over to the side and picked
some up from the ground. --S.

But you wouldn't plant the seed taters on a ridge described by the OP
without the straw would you. The deep straw has the same effect (dark,
nutrients, moisture) as burying them, I think we are describing two ways to
do the same thing rather than opposites. I like the idea of not having to
dig them but I have plenty of soil and not so much straw.


David

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

But you wouldn't plant the seed taters on a ridge described by the OP
without the straw would you.

No, I guess not. I was being conversational at this time rather than
helpful to the OP!

The deep straw has the same effect (dark,
nutrients, moisture) as burying them, I think we are describing two ways
to do the same thing rather than opposites. I like the idea of not having
to dig them but I have plenty of soil and not so much straw.

Our soil is heavy clay, so it's hard to grow things that need a lot of
underground space. The straw method (actually lots of old mowed grass)
worked best for us. Now, if someone can tell me how to grow carrots
aboveground, I'd be very appreciative!
--S.

"Suzanne D." wrote:

Now, if someone can tell me how to grow carrots
aboveground, I'd be very appreciative!

Not exactly aboveground, but this worked well for me with some pretty big
Daikons:

Make a couple of passes down the future row with the rototiller so the soil
is nice and soft; till about 3' wide (with my soil, "soft" is relative).
Then, walking to each side of the row, pull soil to the center with a hoe.
You should wind up with a raised ridge a bit over a foot high, and much
lighter than what passes for dirt around here.
Plant along the top of the ridge. Not as much work as you might thing; I
did a couple of 30-foot rows in less than a half hour each.
The roots did famously, and I might even get brave and try carrots next
summer!


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

"Suzanne D." wrote in message
...

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Suzanne D. wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

You are correct. Plant them in holes or trenches.

I just laid mine on top of the ground and covered them with straw.
Worked perfectly, and they weren't even dirty when I harvested them!
--S.

how deep was the straw?

About 18 inches (45 cm). I piled it up little by little as the plants
grew, to within 5 inches of the top of the plants. When I needed
potatoes, I just moved the straw over to the side and picked some up from
the ground.
--S.

Unless you live in an area where the snakes like to live in straw also.

Dwayne

Dwayne wrote:
"Suzanne D." wrote in message
...

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Suzanne D. wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

You are correct. Plant them in holes or trenches.

I just laid mine on top of the ground and covered them with straw.
Worked perfectly, and they weren't even dirty when I harvested
them! --S.

how deep was the straw?

About 18 inches (45 cm). I piled it up little by little as the
plants grew, to within 5 inches of the top of the plants. When I
needed potatoes, I just moved the straw over to the side and picked
some up from the ground.
--S.

Unless you live in an area where the snakes like to live in straw
also.
Dwayne

I was watching a demonstration of a permaculture garden which was very
interesting and included providing habitat for predators of pests. Every
mandala had its own lizard "house" which was a pile of large loose stones.
The lizards were being encouraged to take up residence to eat snails and
slugs etc. All good. I had to point out that this idea was not useful for
me as I would get a couple of species of elapid snakes taking up the space
instead of lizards. For the same reason I have to be very strict on rodent
control.

David

"Dwayne" wrote in message
...

"Suzanne D." wrote in message
...

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Suzanne D. wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...

You are correct. Plant them in holes or trenches.

I just laid mine on top of the ground and covered them with straw.
Worked perfectly, and they weren't even dirty when I harvested them!
--S.

how deep was the straw?

About 18 inches (45 cm). I piled it up little by little as the plants
grew, to within 5 inches of the top of the plants. When I needed
potatoes, I just moved the straw over to the side and picked some up from
the ground.
--S.

Unless you live in an area where the snakes like to live in straw also.

We get king snakes around here occasionally, and there may be some poisonous
ones that I simply have never seen, but I always move the straw back with a
rake anyway, and just pick up the potatoes instead of sticking my hand in to
get them.
--S.