I planted 5 potatoes a few weeks ago and they are starting to shoot and
show a nice spread of leaves. When do I start to 'earth up' ??

"NC" wrote in message
...
:I planted 5 potatoes a few weeks ago and they are starting to shoot and
: show a nice spread of leaves. When do I start to 'earth up' ??

I start earthing up as soon as they show and gradually increase the earthing
as they grow bigger. There's only so high you can earth them up depending on
the vigour of the type and the space between rows

NC wrote:
I planted 5 potatoes a few weeks ago and they are starting to shoot and
show a nice spread of leaves. When do I start to 'earth up' ??

When there's enough stem showing to earth up without. You don't
need much.

Robert wrote:
"NC" wrote in message
...
:I planted 5 potatoes a few weeks ago and they are starting to shoot and
: show a nice spread of leaves. When do I start to 'earth up' ??

I start earthing up as soon as they show and gradually increase the earthing
as they grow bigger. There's only so high you can earth them up depending on
the vigour of the type and the space between rows



so I should earth up to just below the leaves ?? ie cover the stem ?

No, bury the lot. Spuds can't be kept down, as you will no doubt
discover next year when one you missed pops up in the middle of nowhere!

Taz wrote:
No, bury the lot. Spuds can't be kept down, as you will no doubt
discover next year when one you missed pops up in the middle of nowhere!


really ?? Shirley light needs to be able to get to the leaves ??

Nope - remember that the spud managed perfectly well while it was
buried, and it continues to use that stored energy to push its way up.
If you don't earth up well, you end up with floppy plants and nasty
green potatoes (they develop too close to the surface and the sun gets
them). Keep on earthing up until its obvious that he spud has won.
You'll know when.

There's nothing quite like the taste of a freshly-dug spud...

And be careful when you harvest them - but that's a different matter!

In message , NC
writes
I planted 5 potatoes a few weeks ago and they are starting to shoot and
show a nice spread of leaves. When do I start to 'earth up' ??

We don't bother at all, as it doesn't seem to make any difference
--
Chris French

In message , NC
writes
I planted 5 potatoes a few weeks ago and they are starting to shoot and
show a nice spread of leaves. When do I start to 'earth up' ??
Now. I have never omitted to earth them up but believe that they are
likely to be green if you don't.
--
June Hughes

"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
: In message , NC
: writes
: I planted 5 potatoes a few weeks ago and they are starting to shoot and
: show a nice spread of leaves. When do I start to 'earth up' ??
: Now. I have never omitted to earth them up but believe that they are
: likely to be green if you don't.
: --
: June Hughes
Yes, green and poisonous

In message , Robert
writes

"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
: In message , NC
: writes
: I planted 5 potatoes a few weeks ago and they are starting to shoot and
: show a nice spread of leaves. When do I start to 'earth up' ??
: Now. I have never omitted to earth them up but believe that they are
: likely to be green if you don't.

Yes, green and poisonous

We don't earth up, we don't get significant numbers of green spuds, only
the odd one that pokes out of the ground. Even then only the end out of
the ground will be green.

Yes, green potatoes may be toxic - not he green-ness, - which is just
chlorophyll but they can also contain Solanine which is what gives them
toxicity. However, you would need to eat an awful lot of green potatoes
to suffer from it. Anyway it's easily peeled/cut off.
--
Chris French