Potato Mulch

Potato Mulching

If you are in a hot climate mulching your potatoes will preserve water and keep your potatoes cool. Mulch will also step-up your potato production. Potatoes will turn green if they are too close to the surface of the soil and get exposed to the sun, mulch will prevent this problem. Don't eat green potatoes as they are not good for you.

Plant your potatoes in rows three feet apart with the potatoes being twelve to eighteen inches apart in the rows. Plant them in eight inch deep trenches. Slowly hill the potatoes as they grow, always leaving a few inches of the potatoes growing above the soil. When the trench is full we keep hilling the potatoes until the mound of dirt around them is 10-12 inches high. If you have enough  organic compost you can use that  in your trenches or hills instead of hilling them up with soil. This will step-up this years potato yield and will also increase your long term soil fertility.

When the potatoes grow a foot or so tall above the dirt hills we mulch with a thick layer of grass leaving the potato tops showing above the mulch. With time and as you water, the mulch will compact and you may need to add more mulch if you did not mulch deep enough the first time. If you see any potatoes growing above the soil then you know you did not mulch deep enough.

Much in between the potato plants and on both sides of the beds. Some people like to mulch their potato beds before their plants have grown letting the potatoes just grow through the mulch. Don't mulch too thickly, if your mulch is dense or too thick the potatoes will have a hard time pushing through it. Your organic gardening guide can answer any gardening questions you may have.

"Plant today, gardeners way"

Farmer Dave