Plant Deeply to Grow Fuller Hills, a Second Billing, or Plant Potatoes under Mulch?

Potatoes need to be planted in a deep trench, and for good reason. You see, a potato plant will form its potatoes above the seed piece that you put in the ground. To get a good crop, you must provide the plant with room to form and develop those potatoes. The trick is to start low in a trench.

I plow a deep trench, at least 6 or 8 inches down, with my tiller and furrowing attachment. Then

I put a balanced fertilizer (such as 5-10-10) in a thin band along the bottom of the trench. I add a small handful of superphosphate (0-20-0) at 10- or 12-inch intervals right over the other fertilizer. This will furnish the plants with vital phosphorus as they develop their roots. I put this fertilizer at 10- or 12-inch intervals because I plant a seed piece directly above the superphosphate and I want 10 to 12 inches between my potato plants. Please note: there should be a buffer of 2 or 3 inches of soil between the seed piece and the first band of fertilizer. If the seed piece touches the nitrogen in the 5-10-10, it may burn and rot.

The easy way to do this is to push soil from the side of the trench over the fertilizer and firm the seed piece—cut side down— into the soil, all in one motion. It’s a quick way to plant a lot of potatoes.

The final step is to cover the row of seed potatoes with 4 inches of soil and tamp it down.

I give Potatoes a Second Billing

Potato plants have to be hilled. They need lots of soil around them above ground to create a place for the plants to grow their potatoes, or “tubers.”

I hill most potato rows twice—the first time when the green tops of the plants are 3 to 5 inches tall. I use my tiller with a hilling attachment because I have a large potato patch. I put the rows 36 inches apart so my tiller can do the job with a single pass between each row. I get it done in minutes. Many of the plants are almost covered with loose soil. That’s fine. They’ll keep growing and show themselves in a day or two.

It’s easy to hill by hand, too. Use the broadest hoe you have so that you can bring up a lot of soil with one pull. Loosen the soil between your rows with a quick cultivation to make the job a lot easier.

You’ll notice that hilling eliminates many small weeds. They are smothered by the soil and won’t come back.

I do a second hilling when the plant tops have grown 8 or 10 inches tall, about 3 or 4 weeks after the first hilling.

Think twice before you Plant Potatoes under Mulch

You’ve probably seen articles about planting potatoes under a deep layer of mulch without digging trenches or hilling up rows. This no-work method is easy and fun, but it won’t give you as big a crop as planting in rows. In fact, with all that mulch (usually hay) lying around, you’re apt to get invaded by mice who first nibble on seeds in the mulch and then turn their attention to your potatoes. Mice have another bad habit—they attract snakes. I tell gardeners, “If you reach through the mulch to grab a potato and it shakes, let go!”

Despite these risks, I grow some potatoes under mulch—but more for fun than for a reliable crop.

To plant them, till up an area of soil, say 10 or 15 feet square, and mix fertilizer into the soil. Put the small seed potatoes or cut pieces about a foot apart in all directions. Push them into the soil cut-side-down. Cover the potatoes with 11/2 to 2 feet of mulch, such as straw or hay that has as little seed as possible in it.

Forget about them for a while. The tops will grow up through the mulch and new potatoes will form on top of the ground where it’s roomy and shut off from sunlight. As the season goes on, reach under the mulch from time to time. If you feel a potato big enough to eat, grab it. In the fall, rake back the mulch and pick the potatoes.

Potato plants growing in mulch sometimes are hardly bothered by hungry potato beetles. No one really knows why, but a Department of Agriculture researcher once offered me a theory. He said potato beetles often seem hesitant to travel over thin, unsteady materials and so may not be eager to walk across a deep loose mulch to get from plant to plant.

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