God I love growing our own

[JamezF]

I put all our spuds in bags. I don’t bother earthing them up just fill to the top in one go.

Gardeners say all sorts of stuff about earthing up potatoes and I've no idea how much of it is actually true. Quite possibly not very much. I know some say that earthing up increases the harvest because more potatoes develop from new shoots off the buried stem, but I'm not aware of any evidence that's true and I'm sure I've read it's the case that potatoes can't produce new roots from buried stems, so it may not be possible at all.

As far as I can see the only clear reason for earthing up is to create a deeper layer of cover on top of the tubers so that as they enlarge they don't get pushed out of the soil and turn green. Inside a bag with loads of foliage coming out of the top it may well be sufficiently dark that it isn't a problem.

James

 

[Bettenham]

Yes, a good idea and I did buy a load of bags at the same time - what do you use to fill them up with?

 

[pargyle]

Yes, a good idea and I did buy a load of bags at the same time - what do you use to fill them up with?

I use a mix of topsoil and home made compost, my local soil is heavy clay so I find that it needs a good amount of compost to make it work for potatoes.

 

[pargyle]

Gardeners say all sorts of stuff about earthing up potatoes and I've no idea how much of it is actually true. Quite possibly not very much. I know some say that earthing up increases the harvest because more potatoes develop from new shoots off the buried stem, but I'm not aware of any evidence that's true and I'm sure I've read it's the case that potatoes can't produce new roots from buried stems, so it may not be possible at all.

As far as I can see the only clear reason for earthing up is to create a deeper layer of cover on top of the tubers so that as they enlarge they don't get pushed out of the soil and turn green. Inside a bag with loads of foliage coming out of the top it may well be sufficiently dark that it isn't a problem.

James

I put all our spuds in bags. I don’t bother earthing them up just fill to the top in one go.

Interesting ... I suppose it's learned behaviour on my part ...

I've always earthed up potatoes when I've grown them in the ground and the instructions provided by the suppliers of potato bags is to put 4" soil in the bottom of the bag with two seed potatoes then another 4" and two more seed potatoes at right angles to the first two then another 4" and when they hulms start to break through cover again and keep going until you get to within 4" of the top of the bag.

So ... perhaps an experiment is in the offing this year .... half earthing them up as I go and half just filling the bags and let them get on with it. See if there is any difference in crop size. I've got enough bags and seed potatoes to do it ... they are currently chitting in the greenhouse (alhough the chits are a bit slow developing - it's been a bit too cold I think - but with some milder weather this next week they should get going.

 

[Murox]

I put all our spuds in bags. I don’t bother earthing them up just fill to the top in one go.

Gardeners say all sorts of stuff about earthing up potatoes and I've no idea how much of it is actually true. Quite possibly not very much. I know some say that earthing up increases the harvest because more potatoes develop from new shoots off the buried stem, but I'm not aware of any evidence that's true and I'm sure I've read it's the case that potatoes can't produce new roots from buried stems, so it may not be possible at all.

As far as I can see the only clear reason for earthing up is to create a deeper layer of cover on top of the tubers so that as they enlarge they don't get pushed out of the soil and turn green. Inside a bag with loads of foliage coming out of the top it may well be sufficiently dark that it isn't a problem.

James

I don't grow any veg now, but when I did it was on a light sandy loam. Earthing up only provides them with a moister warmer place in which to develop and grow and they like that. Black bags worked very well indeed too, for obvious reasons.

 

[Ely]

Does anyone know a really nice big and sweet variety of Strawberry?

 

[philipm]

Not growing potatoes this year but still some left in the ground from last year (The price of having a fractured spine).Think I will probably just run the ridging plough through them just to tidy things up.I,ve had to rethink a lot of the garden this year as my back is still a bit weak and also having Chemo. lucky all the digging is with the tractor .

 

[Erichalfbee]

The price of having a fractured spine).

How are you with that?

 

[philipm]

How are you with that?

Spine isnt too bad now still wear a brace when outside working and I,m taking things a bit easy.It's just knowing when to have a rest and not over do it.The R Chop chemo makes my back ache a bit.
Thanks for asking.

 

[enrico]

Does anyone know a really nice big and sweet variety of Strawberry?

We grow early Christine and later Elegance. Both sweet but elegance is a large fruit

 

[Ely]

We grow early Christine and later Elegance. Both sweet but elegance is a large fruit

Great. Thanks Enrico

 

[Erichalfbee]

Spine isnt too bad now still wear a brace when outside working and I,m taking things a bit easy.It's just knowing when to have a rest and not over do it.The R Chop chemo makes my back ache a bit.
Thanks for asking.

Hell. Yes it would.

 

[Amari]

In his efforts to get rid of some bindweed my father-in-law seems to have managed to kill most of the autumn raspberries last year. I suspect he's been playing with Roundup again because there's also a large area of grass that's disappeared around one of his flower beds that had been a bit overrun by weeds. I really don't like him using it, not least because he seems to have no understanding of how lethal it is.

So today I've been digging the remains out and getting rid of as much of the bindweed as I can. Already have some more ready to go in, which is tomorrow's job. He will be not be spraying them with anything from now on, if I have to break his remaining fingers to make sure...

James

When we moved here 21 years ago we found bindweed infesting a 30m herbaceous/shrub border. We commenced a weekly 'bindweed patrol'. I would unwind the bindweed stems from adjacent plants and stuff them into a plastic bag, then spray glyphosate into the bag. Worked a treat but eradication took 2-3 years........

 

[JamezF]

When we moved here 21 years ago we found bindweed infesting a 30m herbaceous/shrub border. We commenced a weekly 'bindweed patrol'. I would unwind the bindweed stems from adjacent plants and stuff them into a plastic bag, then spray glyphosate into the bag. Worked a treat but eradication took 2-3 years........

I've heard of it being done that way, with people even providing canes for the bindweed to climb to make it easier to get enough to put in the bag.

When I converted the polytunnel to no dig I found one raised bed had loads of bindweed in it. I dug out what I could, smothered it with cardboard and shovelled about 4" of compost on top. That's actually kept a lot of it at bay. I had occasional shoots breaking the surface the following year, but digging them out early or even just cutting them off with a trowel seems to have weakened it to the point that it's not a problem any more.

I think the most important thing is that you really have to keep on top of it, like having weekly patrols, as you say.

James

 

[philipm]

My father has Bind Weed in his garden I have to make sure not to bring any home in pot plants it's very similar to Japanese Knot Weed in that a little bit of root soon grows and speads. Once you have it its difficult to eradicate.

 

[Moobee]

I see your bindeeed and raise you Chinese garlic chives. A huge flower bed absolutely infested with it. It propagates by division and seed and I spent one spring digging out so many bulbs (& teeny little bulblets) from between the herbaceous perennials that I filled an entire green wheely bin (& my back has never been the same since). Three years on and I’m still having to regularly weed this bed and the veg patch nearby. Can’t risk composting it either. Bloody stuff.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I see your bindeeed and raise you Chinese garlic chives

Infested is the word. It's in my garden and in one of my fields too

 

[JamezF]

Can’t risk composting it either. Bloody stuff.

You probably could if you were sure the heap would get sufficiently hot (which is probably what would happen if the plants went in a green waste collection, for example). The "dalek" style compost bins just don't work for that in my experience. A larger amount of material is required.

James

 

[rossbyjove]

I've heard of it being done that way, with people even providing canes for the bindweed to climb to make it easier to get enough to put in the bag.

When I converted the polytunnel to no dig I found one raised bed had loads of bindweed in it. I dug out what I could, smothered it with cardboard and shovelled about 4" of compost on top. That's actually kept a lot of it at bay. I had occasional shoots breaking the surface the following year, but digging them out early or even just cutting them off with a trowel seems to have weakened it to the point that it's not a problem any more.

I think the most important thing is that you really have to keep on top of it, like having weekly patrols, as you say.

James

Went no dig here as well, the art of getting rid of bindweed is getting a trowel down as far ss you can go and teasing out the roots. If you get a nice fat brown one that's the motherlode and it's done for!!!
Very little bindweed in my veg garden now.

 

[enrico]

Went no dig here as well, the art of getting rid of bindweed is getting a trowel down as far ss you can go and teasing out the roots. If you get a nice fat brown one that's the motherlode and it's done for!!!
Very little bindweed in my veg garden now.

My daughter found that the top half of a plastic bottle taped round a sprayer head was effective on young plants just coming through. Stopped drift of weedkiller. One broken root is two plants instead of one!