Follow- up videos, Hilling Potatoes | Earthing Up | Improved potato harvests in the garden th-cam.com/video/hd7bcRX39Rc/w-d-xo.html and NEVER Dig Potatoes Again! | No dig potato harvest RESULTS | No till potatoes th-cam.com/video/taPzZUdXsbQ/w-d-xo.html
I watched my grandmother doing this when I was a kid back in the 1950’s. She was in her 80’s and digging was difficult for her. When she wanted just 1 or 2 potatoes for dinner she would lift the hay and just pick them and replace the hay.
Digging through the soil is the best part of growing potatoes. There's nothing quite like the joy of finding a treasure in the earth. Eating them is a whole different joy.
I "dug in" potatoes for over 50 years...then my Son convinced me to try laying the seed spuds into a 3" layer of leaf compost on top of UNTILLED SOIL!! CRAZY... then covering the compost with some grass clippings (not much... 1"- to-2") to preserve moisture in the leaf compost which dries out easily. Same seed potatoes were "dug in" as usual in another bed. The "no dig" beds were the clear winners and required little digging to harvest them. None got "pierced" by my fork.... around a dozen got pierced of the "dug" spuds... my fault hurrying (but eaten that night). No dig beds 146 pounds from 12 seed spuds vs. only 123 pounds from a dozen similar sized seed spuds "dug in". I was sure the dirt below the compost was too hard for the potatoes to grow at all, but I was wrong about that (but I'll still scratch the surface in coming years... that's gotta help getting roots into the soil - I think...should test that theory too).
Filmed 7th March 2022.. I find it helpful to know the date when filmed in case of missed harvest or other reasons. I see TH-cam doesn't show any dates anymore on anything. not a complaint though..love the gardening!
THANK YOU! I also think YT does us a disservice by not posting the creation date. But really shame on the creators? Btw, just recently found you and you're so informative, and well presented! Bravo !💖
I've heard of planting potatoes in this way but have not tried it. I have used grass clippings as mulch for my garden plants and it's especially good for potatoes, corn, and beets. I remember my mother once harvesting potatoes from our compost pile. Apparently, there were some potato eyes on the peeling she'd tossed there. Those were our biggest potatoes, even though they pretty much were just volunteers and not planted from seed potatoes. As to avoiding digging potatoes? Perish the thought! I LOVE digging potatoes. It's an adult form of an Easter egg hunt. 🙂 It's also a good way to collect a few worms for fish bait.
I once lived in a place with ground squirrels. My husband dug a thin ditch and slipped in a wall of chicken wire. All around the potatoe area. It worked fairly well. Not completely but we got a much better harvest than without it. The wire was vertical like a wall.
Hi from Texas, I planted Yukon Gold potatoes in my raised bed. I cut my seed potatoes to have at least 2 eyes and let them sit on the counter for a bit. I wasn't sure if they would sprout but I was so surprised they are coming up and look very healthy. I am following some of your suggestions and look forward to learning and experimenting with different ways of growing potatoes. Thanks again for your informative videos.
Thank you for the bedding info never knew I'd have to wait a year before using chicken bedding as compost. Saved me from a possible future issue as I plan to use chicken bedding as my nutrition for a garden once setup. Btw an old Michigan man told me his dad use to grow potatoes all year even in fridge winters with a a few feet of snow on the ground using this hay method. Just remove the snow and hay and BAM you got fresh taters in the middle of winter. Guy said he did onions as well.
You would not have to wait a year. It all depnds on the state of your compost heap - ideal and composting will takes 6 weeks or so, the worst conditions and the bedding will never compost.
I've been using the Ruth Stout method for a few years now. I don't plant them in the spring anymore. I just leave some potatoes under the hay when i harvest the rest each fall. The ones i leave come up in the spring without me having to do anything.
I have Ruth's book no work. I followed her instructions and put hay down layed the potatoes on the hair, layed more hay over. At harvest I just removed the top layer of hay and picked up the new potatoes. Yes you can use straw instead of hay.
Thanks for watching Nicola. Yes it's very exciting to be starting the next season of growing. Now if I can just sit on my hands for a little longer before sowing tender seeds!
Africans grow and dig up tubers in there deserts,potatoes grow anywhere,maybe not North or south pole! where ever you are if you stick them in a medium they will produce! Thank You for your kind Video! I was born in Luton, and moved to San Diego when I was 20 years, I have grown potatoes in all climates!
Why is it that, in the TH-cam videos, everyone plants whole seed potatoes? I can remember my father cutting his potatoes according to how many eyes they had. If the potato had 3 eyes, he would cut it so that he could have 3 potato plants. He always had a good potato crop.
I personally plant the whole seed potato because if they aren’t sealed they can rot and get diseased which will just end up with a wasted crop or half as much yield.
@CabinGRL cutting the seed is better if you're in no rush to pull them out for the next crop, they'll grow good if you take your time with it, but they'll take longer. If you use whole seed they don't have to waste any energy sealing themselves up and get to growing faster for a faster harvest.
Interesting! I’m watching this from Northern California which is in a terrible, long and probably permanent drought so I haven’t gardened in several years. This looks like so much fun.
I can't imagine not gardening - or being in a long term drought. I know during the summer of 2018 when we had a few months of it being very hot and dry, I was desperate for some rain, but I can't begin to know how it must feel for long term drought.
Growing potatoes is so fun! I don't know if it is the same in the UK, but in the states we have to be concerned about hay or straw being sprayed with Grazon herbicide, it will devastate your nightshades. I love the idea of growing with straw but no one I can purchase from can guarantee that it was not sprayed with herbicide.
We tend not to grow with straw so much because slugs just love it and most of UK is a damp climate (and therefore slug paradise!). The UK also has the potential for herbicide issues, but I use organic hay - I'm sorry I should have explained this in the video, I am so used to growing organically that I forget to mention such things.
I know. Such a terrible problem. I bought a few bales last fall and forgot to ask the farmer until I got home only to be told he sprays. So that pile of bales will just sit against my fence for a few years. 😩
I did a load of early potatoes like this for Erica's Potato Challenge last year - pretty good results especially when you consider the lack of effort required!! Have a great week Liz.
@@LizZorab If it wasn't a lack of space for me then I would most certainly do more like this, but most of mine are in 30L buckets on the front drive LOL
Paul, did you use the grass clippings fresh or did you spread them out to eliminate the grass heating up? How often did you find yourself topping up? Many thanks in advance.
@@alisonandrew5231 Hi Alison - I actually put them on top as soon as mowed. I found by trial and error that a small amount of Compost on the top worked better and then grass clippings fresh on top. I got to the point of begging neighbours for their clippings and cutting the odd lawn for free. I think the principle is there is moisture in fresh clippings and that helps and when it rains it keeps that moisture in too. I keep trying to find a supply of hay bales but they always want to deliver half a farm full!! LOL Any time you can get them is fine I think. The thicker the better.
I bought your book and it arrived last night! I woke up unable to walk due to knee pain today, so I know what I’ll be doing whilst I’m in bed all day. 🙂
I have to grow what i can buy. Geographical location, weather, soil, determines how good my crop is. TN is 100°f and desert for 4 months June to Sept with almost no rain. I never buy $5 per lb seed potatoes anymore. Grocery store potatoes grow great. Red potatoes out produce white potatoes 4 to 1. 5-20-20 fertilizer, very soft soil, lots of water, each 1 eye cutting grows 4 lbs of potatoes. If 1 seed potato has 5 eyes I get 5 plants = 20 lbs of potatoes. 100 plants = 400 lbs of Red Norland potatoes.
A timely video Liz - I planted my first bed of spuds in the market garden today. With an almost unlimited supply of rabbit bedding I’ll be using this method to ‘earth up’ this season. ✌️
I'm doing the same thing but with leaves. I'm planting taters and onions in mine. Leaves are free and people are nice enuff in the states to bag them up n put them at the edge of the road for you to pick them up.
@@slaterdomain they (worms) didn't eat anything last year, now the Voles, got a few potatoes, but I just threw em back in the leaves, they will either make, or add nutrients back to the soil.
Thank you! I'm planning to make some new beds but am short on cash and materials. Think I'll grow my potatoes this way so I'll have more space in the beds I have now, plus the hay and grass clippings left after harvest will be a good start to preparing a new planting area.
I switched my chickens and quail to a wood pellet bedding 2 years ago, rather than wood shaving. I clean out the coops once a month. The bedding doesn’t get wet and smelly like the shavings did. I add it straight to the garden as a mulch. I don’t dig it into the soil and I try to avoid it touching the stems of the plants. This works really well especially for tomatoes, peppers, squash and okra. I haven’t had a problem with it being too ‘hot’ because I don’t dig it in.
Adding uncomposted anything to soil results in nitrogen deficiency in the soil as the bugs that feast on the uncomposted items demand a source of nitrogen. This is why pee (urea - so very often mentioned by Mr Flowerdew) and ammonium nitrate act (amongst other nitrogen sources) as compost accelerators.
@@birdie1585 that is only the case if you dig it into the soil. If you add it as a surface mulch it doesn’t compete with the plant roots for nitrogen. I have very heavy clay soil. If left uncovered it bakes as hard as a brick and nothing can grow in it. A nice layer of sawdust and chicken droppings keeps the soil nice and moist.
@@daniellesunley4807 Really? So where do the bugs get their nitrogen from? Either it comes from the soil, or the mulch does not decompose. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are rare. This does not alter the fact that uncomposted materials are FAR better composted before using as mulch or soil ammendment.
@@daniellesunley4807 Overall, the uric acid in the droppings falls far short of the nitrogen demand to compost the droppings and the shavings, unless you allow the litter to get in one hell of a mess before cleaning them out. Even then, the droppings are well under 1% nitrogen. You logic does not hold water.
Thank you. I would never have thought of doing such a thing. I have been wanting to grow potatoes but the soil in my yard may not be ideal for gardening. Maybe I should loosen the soil with a shovel before trying this? I believe the soil to be a bit dense. Anyway, I am going to give it a go and will use hay. I will return and let you know if I succeed.
Easier method : dig one hole, put in a potatoe 6" down, stick a stick in the ground next to it, & re-fill hole. Repeat till all spuds gone. About 15 inches apart. The sticks allow u to find the potatoes again, after the potatoe leaves have all died away - the spuds will remain in the ground in perfect condition right thro into autumn, & just one shove of the spade will lift out a root full for a meal.
I am doing the Ruth Stout method this year in FL, USA. What a great video! It really grounded me as I get a bit anxious when I experiment with this much garden space. Thanks!
Hello there! Last year after watching this video, stuck a couple left over seed potatoes in a pile of leaf litter to try out your method/theory... worked great! Couple potatoes had a slight scale on the skin but cooked and tasted fine. Earlier this year, like other gardeners I assume, trapped a nerve in my back from leaning forward in the garden, HOWEVER, who needs to dig trenches or bend to the ground when you can stick leaf litter in sacks! A real life quality of life improver - THANK YOU! One thing I have noticed from using a couple of plastic sacks, the potatoes are firmer, the bags tend to gather slugs / snails and the plants are prone to falling over but they do hold the moisture well and no more getting stuck in the fetal position whilst trying to stand back up! Thankfully YT recommended this video to me again so I'm able to drop a comment, your work and inquisitive mind is greatly appreciated. edit: just realized it wasn't this video... it was one of your previous videos covering the same subject, had a taste test also I believe.
Ooh Charlotte, yes I love those too. I've bought some salad potatoes that I'm going to plant in a couple of weeks time (perhaps in the shady garden) and some Maris Piper and Sarpo Miro. We don't eat masses of potatoes, but until I'm sure we have other crops coming in, I'll grow extras in case other crops don't do so well in our new home.
I'm no gardener so, when my potatoes were a little out of date in the kitchen once, I just tossed them out of the window. Suddenly one day I found I had a load of weeds in the garden that I thought I'd better get rid of. Hey presto; spuds everywhere.
Hi Liz I tried this method last year using grass clippings and duck bedding, they were the best I had ever grown and so easy. I put the potatoes on a new bed so made a hole in cardboard first.
Hi Liz, thank you for all your magnificent videos and your writing! Will you be posting an update on the growing of these potatoes? I'm bursting to see just how well they've done using this exciting method. Thank you again for all you're uploads and positivity, both are very much appreciated!
@@LizZorab Fantastic! We've been growing first early potatoes in containers, which have done well and we've been harvesting them a few pots at a time. We ended up with WAY more seed potatoes than we needed due to our supplier sending us multiple orders due to courier issues, then all packages arriving within days of each other and the supplier saying to keep them for the hassle. Whilst not all survived the excessively long delivery time, we have a LOT of spares and I'm thinking to try your no dig row method as I'm struggling for containers now! Fingers crossed for a good and tasty harvest for you, we'll keep an eye out for your results video. 🤞
Hi Liz, I did a similar thing last weekend. Straight over the ground and covered with some compost topped up with hay. 🤞 Best gardening wishes Malgosia and Nigel 🌱😀🌱
I am going to try woodchips rotted down for a year as mulch on my potatoes this season but I will follow your lead on adding grass clippings to top things up. Great idea, thankyou!
I'll tell you Mrs.Liz, my Ruth Stout potatoes didn't work well. I got a lot of rotten ones. Here in the Southern USA, we have certain weeds that come through the hay so constantly weeding. Last June a large tree limb fell on me (just broke off the tree) and broke my back in 3 places (also 1 rib and my clavicle). The weeds from the hay seeds are ridiculous now. Now I am no longer allowed to bend over and pull weeds so I bought some raised beds I can sit next to and weed. Gonna try Heugaculter (spelled that wrong I'm sure) and wood chips to mulch. The hay has never broken down into the soil and I have been doing this for 3 years. Always learn from your videos.
I would agree that my attempts at this (2 years in a row, 2020, 2021 in different spots in my garden, but full sun) did not yield good results at all. I learned this method from Maritime Gardening YT channel and Ruth Stout method. But my potatoes were very few and very small - like baby potatoes. It’s quite discouraging. This year I’m trying again, but in addition to the hay, I’ll also be putting them a little into the soil. Praying for a better harvest this time round. Especially when I see your and others excellent results with this method.
Hi, this could also be about the amount of rain or water the potatoes get as they grow and also how long you are leaving them before harvesting. New potatoes (first earlies grown to be a small size) are, by design, smaller. I tend to leave them until the first flush of flowers are over and then harvest just a few at a time (enough for one or two meals), leaving the rest to continue growing and making larger tubers.
I reserve a small section of my garden each year for straw bale gardening. I use the second-year straw bales to grow my potatoes in, similar to how you've done it. I simply love it and will never put my potatoes in earth again. It's so easy to plant and harvest! Best wishes for a healthy harvest!
@@Iamhome365 I only use second year bales, they are conditioned in the first year to accelerate the composting process of the bale. So there is some composted straw in the center of the bale. If you haven't read Joel Karsten's book on Straw Bale Gardening, I highly recommend it. I usually just squish the bales down toward the ground as they are broken down, tuck the potatoes into the top of bales (just barely, they are still exposed) and then cover with additional straw. I usually add straw a couple of times throughout the growing season.
I’m going to try this in laundry baskets. I saw someone from Vietnam to do that with soil. He just dumps over the baskets and the potatoes fell out. So I’ll try your grass method. Edit Ok. So I think put some soil on the bottom and try the mulch on top. That may work well.
I used this method last year for the first time. Excellent crop but I had a number of greenish potatoes so this year I will be sure to add more grass clippings on top of the hay as the weeks go by.
ooh may try that later on as planted lots in plastic tubs at the weekend in my poly tunnel until frost goes away so dont want to grow too many as will be inundated with potatoes at the same time! great video, thanks Liz
Hi Liz! What an easy, wonderful way to grow potatoes! I will definitely try this with all the goat bedding! I'll be adding rabbit manure in between layers of bedding. Thank you!
I did this last year. The lessons learnt were: 1) it seems a good idea to wait a bit later before planting, since early spring there are lots of hungry rodents around who will dig up the tubers from hay 2) the ones i only put a little bit hay at first and added more later seemed to have et least a better start, those with too much hay all the way from the beginning seemed to struggle a little bit to find their way up from the hay 3) in case u have couch grass around it might grow through the hay and u ll have incredible trouble trying to get ur tubers out of that mess in the end of season. Not fun, believe it or not 😋 otherwise its a good method to consider trying.
We just moved into a house that has the front and backyard covered in tons of leaves. The snow had melted, revealing all of the leaves. We had a good snow last night, and I'm sure it won't be our last snow of the year. I plan to cover potatoes with the leaves and see what happens. I'm a new transplant to the Lake Champlain NY area from Washington State. Gardening here will be a new learning curve. I've only grown potatoes in the past using raised beds. This year, I'll be planting them on the ground and covering them with leaves.
Hi Liz, thanks for your informative video. I am growing veggies for the 1st time & I love learning from you. I have a question. I have placed my potatoes on the soil and covered in hay, but when do I add extra hay ? I have a couple of potatoes producing leaves. The other question is.... When how do I water, will the hay go mouldy ? Tia
look forward to the results. I tried the potato in a container thing, keep earthing it up, BUT noone ever said indeterminate species and I was so disappointed with the results esp cos it took a lot of compost
Hopefully this will work better for you, although growing them in containers works really well when you have an indeterminate variety. th-cam.com/video/FrgqhPbP7sE/w-d-xo.html
I love this idea I had planned on attempting to create extra compost by collecting grass and layering it with pretty worn out wood chips (I can't think of the proper word) in my containers as our compost heaps have been emptied and we plan on moving. This has made me think I could perhaps plant in these containers while making extra compost but obviously fill them about 1/3 full with soil or compost first. It might be a good way of getting started again once we move without spending a fortune on compost to give me a chance to make as much compost as possible to start with. I've had to get rid of most of the compost I grew potatoes in to sort the garden to sell the house so I will he starting again whereas I planned on adding fish blood and bone and reusing it for potatoes. I could also try and use this method in my raises beds when I build them adding different things (not food in case of rats) to create compost in my raises beds while growing potatoes. Just a thought
Or guinea pig hutch bedding😀😀😀I have two working guinea pigs who provide their bedding for compost and also mow our lawn in rotation…def earn their keep😀😀😀jinxy
@@LizZorab thank you Liz, as are you for sharing the wonderful knowledge for us not so green thumbs trying to start there very first mini veg patch. It was very daunting but after watching you I will go in with more confidence.
@@LizZorab brilliant method! And in the attached video I really loved the taste test. I think the leaf mold mulch and wood chips likely resemble the native environment potatoes may have originally developed in? Thank you again
I haven't put in potatoes for quite a while but think you will find the covering with fresh manure will affect the skin of the potatoes. Manure needs to break down for a few years before it isn't a problem. Hope it works out anyway.
Inevitably some of it blows away and some it taken by the birds for using in their nests, but it won't be very long before I'm topping it up with a fresh layer of hay.
If you twist every clump of hay before putting it on the ground the whole "structure" doesn't come apart so easyly. I used that approach for mulching our new hedge and it was quite successful.
Thanks Liz 👋🏻👍 I have been chitting my potatoes in egg boxes in the polytunnel for about 4 weeks or so now and they don’t really appear to be chitting very fast at all , hardly moved . Whereas I have some shop bought potatoes at the side of them chitting much better and healthy , I am not sure why this is ? Too much light ? Too warm ? It’s got me puzzled if I am expecting them to chit too quick ? I got them this time from Potato House as well so was high expectations on the chitting . Any ideas ? Again thanks , love watching you and Huw Richards 🥰
Hi Andrea, I think chitting can take 6 weeks or more, but it's not necessary to chit. Potatoes will grow quite happily without - as can be seen when we don't harvest all the potatoes and they grow back happily the next year!
Liz, can you use STRAW instead of HAY? I know hay is much more dense. Our drought last summer caused a severe hay shortage and we must reserve the use, only for feeding the horses! Much thanks!♥️🙏
Hi Sheila, it very much depends where you live. Here in UK, the climate is generally too damp to use straw as it provides a perfect home for slugs and snails. If you are in a drier area, then straw should work perfectly well - and even better if you also use grass clippings to top up the layers with!
This is my first year planning potatoes and I'm going this method. How are you able up keep the hay in place on windy Spring weather? Thanks! Happy Gardening
Some hay will get blown around, some will be taken by birds to use in their nests, but I'll be topping up the hay next week, when it's flattened a bit and then adding grass clippings (after we have mowed the grass).
We use hay. Here in UK, the climate is very damp and straw is often a great place for slugs to live, hay less so. Yes you can use autumn leaves, my mulches experiment used leaves - there is a taste test in the video too, so you have an idea of whether the mulch impacts the taste of the potatoes! th-cam.com/video/GKB-tan-zdg/w-d-xo.html
Hi Liz,how nice to see you breaking with the common habits but also very handy options. Interesting channel, need to put down my own grocery garden again, something I had in my youth, long ago🤭 but I do miss now very much. With 2 kids I just love to cook with bio vegetables! (soon from my own garden) like to learn again how it was done properly. Last time I got potatoes from a big tile, got a lot of them🥳 but onions did not go that well. I have forgotten that much! Thank you for this video, even though I have no ducks...yet😅
Would it be a good idea to throw seaweed on top of the hay, to stop it blowing away? I have a garden that's too big for me to manage but I'm trying to grow food not grass, so I'm going to give this a go, thanks for the inspirational idea!
Yes you could put seaweed on top of the hay. We live on a pretty windy site on a mountainside and so far (it's only a few days), most of the hay has stayed in place. I'll be topping it up again next week and again when the plants appear through the hay.
LOL i have popped my potatoes in last weekend. I have a mega bed left to complete. Im doing 3 beds of potatoes should be enough for for the year. My OH is the big potato eater but we are more reserved in potato eating. we grow about 100 kgs and thats perfect for us! we do them the ruth stout method which make harvesting to effectless!
i don't know if you have tried this , but "partially dehydrating" my frying potatoes by excessive microwaving renders the potatoe quite capable of frying quickly but also it retains the cooking oils and flavors for a savory change. Plus there is no pre-boiling in water necessary
I have had cray. I worry the ground is too hard. Indianapolis Indiana United States here. What's your thoughts about this. Should I do something different or just go for it ?
If you use a small amount of compost under each potato to give it a nice start in life, there is no reason this shouldn't work. Make sure you water them in well to start with and again later, if you are in an area of low rainfall. Good luck!
I was wondering the same thing as I live a hour away from Indianapolis and have hard clay soil. Thank you for asking this question and for the very informative answer!
Hi liz we grow rocket every year it’s such a lovely early one so we won’t ever change cos don’t think we could find a better flavour and they come abundantly and early. Also I am reading Ruth stout book at moment the lazy gardener I think it’s called. She is great 👍
Follow- up videos, Hilling Potatoes | Earthing Up | Improved potato harvests in the garden th-cam.com/video/hd7bcRX39Rc/w-d-xo.html and NEVER Dig Potatoes Again! | No dig potato harvest RESULTS | No till potatoes th-cam.com/video/taPzZUdXsbQ/w-d-xo.html
I watched my grandmother doing this when I was a kid back in the 1950’s. She was in her 80’s and digging was difficult for her. When she wanted just 1 or 2 potatoes for dinner she would lift the hay and just pick them and replace the hay.
Wonderful!
Digging through the soil is the best part of growing potatoes. There's nothing quite like the joy of finding a treasure in the earth. Eating them is a whole different joy.
I "dug in" potatoes for over 50 years...then my Son convinced me to try laying the seed spuds into a 3" layer of leaf compost on top of UNTILLED SOIL!! CRAZY... then covering the compost with some grass clippings (not much... 1"- to-2") to preserve moisture in the leaf compost which dries out easily. Same seed potatoes were "dug in" as usual in another bed.
The "no dig" beds were the clear winners and required little digging to harvest them. None got "pierced" by my fork.... around a dozen got pierced of the "dug" spuds... my fault hurrying (but eaten that night).
No dig beds 146 pounds from 12 seed spuds vs. only 123 pounds from a dozen similar sized seed spuds "dug in".
I was sure the dirt below the compost was too hard for the potatoes to grow at all, but I was wrong about that (but I'll still scratch the surface in coming years... that's gotta help getting roots into the soil - I think...should test that theory too).
Filmed 7th March 2022.. I find it helpful to know the date when filmed in case of missed harvest or other reasons. I see TH-cam doesn't show any dates anymore on anything. not a complaint though..love the gardening!
I didn’t hear her mention when she filmed it.
Did I miss it? Or how do you know when she filmed it?!
she mentions the date right at the beginning
Zoom out 2x with "Control minus" and the upload date will appear
THANK YOU! I also think YT does us a disservice by not posting the creation date. But really shame on the creators?
Btw, just recently found you and you're so informative, and well presented! Bravo !💖
Thank you for share your experiece with us. Can't wait to see the results. Xx
I've heard of planting potatoes in this way but have not tried it. I have used grass clippings as mulch for my
garden plants and it's especially good for potatoes, corn, and beets.
I remember my mother once harvesting potatoes from our compost pile. Apparently, there were some potato
eyes on the peeling she'd tossed there. Those were our biggest potatoes, even though they pretty much were
just volunteers and not planted from seed potatoes.
As to avoiding digging potatoes? Perish the thought! I LOVE digging potatoes. It's an adult form of an
Easter egg hunt. 🙂 It's also a good way to collect a few worms for fish bait.
I once lived in a place with ground squirrels. My husband dug a thin ditch and slipped in a wall of chicken wire. All around the potatoe area. It worked fairly well. Not completely but we got a much better harvest than without it. The wire was vertical like a wall.
Hi from Texas, I planted Yukon Gold potatoes in my raised bed. I cut my seed potatoes to have at least 2 eyes and let them sit on the counter for a bit. I wasn't sure if they would sprout but I was so surprised they are coming up and look very healthy. I am following some of your suggestions and look forward to learning and experimenting with different ways of growing potatoes.
Thanks again for your informative videos.
Hi Mary, nature is a clever thing, isn't it?
Thank you for the bedding info never knew I'd have to wait a year before using chicken bedding as compost. Saved me from a possible future issue as I plan to use chicken bedding as my nutrition for a garden once setup.
Btw an old Michigan man told me his dad use to grow potatoes all year even in fridge winters with a a few feet of snow on the ground using this hay method. Just remove the snow and hay and BAM you got fresh taters in the middle of winter. Guy said he did onions as well.
You would not have to wait a year. It all depnds on the state of your compost heap - ideal and composting will takes 6 weeks or so, the worst conditions and the bedding will never compost.
I grew them like that last year and it worked a treat. It really is that simple. Thank you for passing on your knowledge.
I've been using the Ruth Stout method for a few years now. I don't plant them in the spring anymore. I just leave some potatoes under the hay when i harvest the rest each fall. The ones i leave come up in the spring without me having to do anything.
I love this!
I have Ruth's book no work. I followed her instructions and put hay down layed the potatoes on the hair, layed more hay over. At harvest I just removed the top layer of hay and picked up the new potatoes. Yes you can use straw instead of hay.
Ooooo I do get excited when it's time to start planting and growing 😀 thank you for the video. Have a lovely day 🌻🌻🌻
Thanks for watching Nicola. Yes it's very exciting to be starting the next season of growing. Now if I can just sit on my hands for a little longer before sowing tender seeds!
Africans grow and dig up tubers in there deserts,potatoes grow anywhere,maybe not North or south pole! where ever you are if you stick them in a medium they will produce! Thank You for your kind Video! I was born in Luton, and moved to San Diego when I was 20 years, I have grown potatoes in all climates!
Why is it that, in the TH-cam videos, everyone plants whole seed potatoes? I can remember my father cutting his potatoes according to how many eyes they had. If the potato had 3 eyes, he would cut it so that he could have 3 potato plants. He always had a good potato crop.
I've seen lots of folks do that too Tony, nothing wrong with it either, it's a great way to make your seed potatoes go further.
I always do that and I get a lot for a few seeds
I personally plant the whole seed potato because if they aren’t sealed they can rot and get diseased which will just end up with a wasted crop or half as much yield.
@CabinGRL cutting the seed is better if you're in no rush to pull them out for the next crop, they'll grow good if you take your time with it, but they'll take longer. If you use whole seed they don't have to waste any energy sealing themselves up and get to growing faster for a faster harvest.
Interesting! I’m watching this from Northern California which is in a terrible, long and probably permanent drought so I haven’t gardened in several years. This looks like so much fun.
I can't imagine not gardening - or being in a long term drought. I know during the summer of 2018 when we had a few months of it being very hot and dry, I was desperate for some rain, but I can't begin to know how it must feel for long term drought.
Growing potatoes is so fun!
I don't know if it is the same in the UK, but in the states we have to be concerned about hay or straw being sprayed with Grazon herbicide, it will devastate your nightshades. I love the idea of growing with straw but no one I can purchase from can guarantee that it was not sprayed with herbicide.
We tend not to grow with straw so much because slugs just love it and most of UK is a damp climate (and therefore slug paradise!). The UK also has the potential for herbicide issues, but I use organic hay - I'm sorry I should have explained this in the video, I am so used to growing organically that I forget to mention such things.
I know. Such a terrible problem. I bought a few bales last fall and forgot to ask the farmer until I got home only to be told he sprays. So that pile of bales will just sit against my fence for a few years. 😩
Great explanation of easy potatoes Liz. Thank your for sharing. I have a few left. This will be easy enough
You are so welcome!
I did a load of early potatoes like this for Erica's Potato Challenge last year - pretty good results especially when you consider the lack of effort required!!
Have a great week Liz.
Thanks Steve! I'll really never go back to that back-breaking task of digging trenches and then digging up spuds. Just the thought of it is tiring!
@@LizZorab If it wasn't a lack of space for me then I would most certainly do more like this, but most of mine are in 30L buckets on the front drive LOL
I harvest my potatoes in the store it is very easy, no digging included for me either lol
I did it last year and it was known as the Ruth Stoute method. I dint space them out that much but kept adding grass clippings. It did work.
Yes, as I refer to at 0:34 in the video, this is based on the Ruth Stout method of growing.
@@LizZorab Getting my ears washed out I missed that!!! ooopsy
Put the syringe away! I put a note on the screen, so you didn't miss me saying it. 🌻💚
Paul, did you use the grass clippings fresh or did you spread them out to eliminate the grass heating up? How often did you find yourself topping up? Many thanks in advance.
@@alisonandrew5231 Hi Alison - I actually put them on top as soon as mowed. I found by trial and error that a small amount of Compost on the top worked better and then grass clippings fresh on top. I got to the point of begging neighbours for their clippings and cutting the odd lawn for free. I think the principle is there is moisture in fresh clippings and that helps and when it rains it keeps that moisture in too. I keep trying to find a supply of hay bales but they always want to deliver half a farm full!! LOL Any time you can get them is fine I think. The thicker the better.
I bought your book and it arrived last night! I woke up unable to walk due to knee pain today, so I know what I’ll be doing whilst I’m in bed all day. 🙂
I hope your knee feels better very soon, but in the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy Grounded. 🌻
I have to grow what i can buy. Geographical location, weather, soil, determines how good my crop is. TN is 100°f and desert for 4 months June to Sept with almost no rain. I never buy $5 per lb seed potatoes anymore. Grocery store potatoes grow great. Red potatoes out produce white potatoes 4 to 1. 5-20-20 fertilizer, very soft soil, lots of water, each 1 eye cutting grows 4 lbs of potatoes. If 1 seed potato has 5 eyes I get 5 plants = 20 lbs of potatoes. 100 plants = 400 lbs of Red Norland potatoes.
A timely video Liz - I planted my first bed of spuds in the market garden today. With an almost unlimited supply of rabbit bedding I’ll be using this method to ‘earth up’ this season. ✌️
It'll be great to see what you do with it. I'd love to create a collab video with you this year, let me know if you are interested!
I'm doing the same thing but with leaves. I'm planting taters and onions in mine. Leaves are free and people are nice enuff in the states to bag them up n put them at the edge of the road for you to pick them up.
Leaves attract worms. They may eat your produce too.
@@slaterdomain they (worms) didn't eat anything last year, now the Voles, got a few potatoes, but I just threw em back in the leaves, they will either make, or add nutrients back to the soil.
Oak leaves tho are very acidic. Do potatoes like acidic soil I wonder?
@@casual454t1 it all breaks down, I've got pine needles in there to. When u buy mulch from stores, there's no telling whats in the mix.
Rocket does exactly what it says on the tin … they are super fast growing!! Loving the new place
Thank you! I'm planning to make some new beds but am short on cash and materials. Think I'll grow my potatoes this way so I'll have more space in the beds I have now, plus the hay and grass clippings left after harvest will be a good start to preparing a new planting area.
I really enjoyed this video. Your voice is very calming and this video made me feel less anxious
For people who are new to composting, “hot” compost is compost that’s high in nitrogen, not in temperature.
Thank you. I have just started composing and was wondering about that so your info is very welcome.
I switched my chickens and quail to a wood pellet bedding 2 years ago, rather than wood shaving. I clean out the coops once a month. The bedding doesn’t get wet and smelly like the shavings did. I add it straight to the garden as a mulch. I don’t dig it into the soil and I try to avoid it touching the stems of the plants. This works really well especially for tomatoes, peppers, squash and okra. I haven’t had a problem with it being too ‘hot’ because I don’t dig it in.
Adding uncomposted anything to soil results in nitrogen deficiency in the soil as the bugs that feast on the uncomposted items demand a source of nitrogen. This is why pee (urea - so very often mentioned by Mr Flowerdew) and ammonium nitrate act (amongst other nitrogen sources) as compost accelerators.
@@birdie1585 that is only the case if you dig it into the soil. If you add it as a surface mulch it doesn’t compete with the plant roots for nitrogen. I have very heavy clay soil. If left uncovered it bakes as hard as a brick and nothing can grow in it. A nice layer of sawdust and chicken droppings keeps the soil nice and moist.
@@daniellesunley4807 Really? So where do the bugs get their nitrogen from? Either it comes from the soil, or the mulch does not decompose. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are rare.
This does not alter the fact that uncomposted materials are FAR better composted before using as mulch or soil ammendment.
@@birdie1585 the chicken droppings are high in nitrogen, the shavings are high in carbon.
@@daniellesunley4807 Overall, the uric acid in the droppings falls far short of the nitrogen demand to compost the droppings and the shavings, unless you allow the litter to get in one hell of a mess before cleaning them out. Even then, the droppings are well under 1% nitrogen.
You logic does not hold water.
Thank you. I would never have thought of doing such a thing. I have been wanting to grow potatoes but the soil in my yard may not be ideal for gardening. Maybe I should loosen the soil with a shovel before trying this? I believe the soil to be a bit dense. Anyway, I am going to give it a go and will use hay. I will return and let you know if I succeed.
Easier method : dig one hole, put in a potatoe 6" down, stick a stick in the ground next to it, & re-fill hole. Repeat till all spuds gone. About 15 inches apart. The sticks allow u to find the potatoes again, after the potatoe leaves have all died away - the spuds will remain in the ground in perfect condition right thro into autumn, & just one shove of the spade will lift out a root full for a meal.
Hi Liz, great video on advice on how to plant seed potatoes and chitting too. Thanks for sharing and take care 😊
Thank you Christine!
I am doing the Ruth Stout method this year in FL, USA. What a great video! It really grounded me as I get a bit anxious when I experiment with this much garden space. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
I should try this with potatoes as well. I used hay for Jerusalem artichokes and the harvest was better than normal.
This seems like a great idea for small areas and for hard clay soils.
Hello there!
Last year after watching this video, stuck a couple left over seed potatoes in a pile of leaf litter to try out your method/theory... worked great! Couple potatoes had a slight scale on the skin but cooked and tasted fine. Earlier this year, like other gardeners I assume, trapped a nerve in my back from leaning forward in the garden, HOWEVER, who needs to dig trenches or bend to the ground when you can stick leaf litter in sacks! A real life quality of life improver - THANK YOU!
One thing I have noticed from using a couple of plastic sacks, the potatoes are firmer, the bags tend to gather slugs / snails and the plants are prone to falling over but they do hold the moisture well and no more getting stuck in the fetal position whilst trying to stand back up!
Thankfully YT recommended this video to me again so I'm able to drop a comment, your work and inquisitive mind is greatly appreciated.
edit: just realized it wasn't this video... it was one of your previous videos covering the same subject, had a taste test also I believe.
I'm so pleased that it worked for you, especially if you have back pain!
Same as you Liz, Rocket, Pentland Javelin and also Charlotte. Love this method, definitely going to try this. Thankyou!
Ooh Charlotte, yes I love those too. I've bought some salad potatoes that I'm going to plant in a couple of weeks time (perhaps in the shady garden) and some Maris Piper and Sarpo Miro. We don't eat masses of potatoes, but until I'm sure we have other crops coming in, I'll grow extras in case other crops don't do so well in our new home.
I'm no gardener so, when my potatoes were a little out of date in the kitchen once, I just tossed them out of the window. Suddenly one day I found I had a load of weeds in the garden that I thought I'd better get rid of. Hey presto; spuds everywhere.
I love your friendship with Huw - there's a great chemistry between you! Special buddies 💕
Hi Liz I tried this method last year using grass clippings and duck bedding, they were the best I had ever grown and so easy. I put the potatoes on a new bed so made a hole in cardboard first.
Hooray! I love it when we get feedback like this. 🌻
I don't did trenches, but I certainly let the potatoes dig the ground for me! Potatoes are the best way to break in New ground.
I am impressed bigtime we need to learn survival skills
in this climate we live in
Hi Liz, thank you for all your magnificent videos and your writing! Will you be posting an update on the growing of these potatoes? I'm bursting to see just how well they've done using this exciting method. Thank you again for all you're uploads and positivity, both are very much appreciated!
Hi, yes an update will be available soon. I plan to check the potatoes tomorrow, so it might be very soon that you see an update!
@@LizZorab Fantastic! We've been growing first early potatoes in containers, which have done well and we've been harvesting them a few pots at a time. We ended up with WAY more seed potatoes than we needed due to our supplier sending us multiple orders due to courier issues, then all packages arriving within days of each other and the supplier saying to keep them for the hassle. Whilst not all survived the excessively long delivery time, we have a LOT of spares and I'm thinking to try your no dig row method as I'm struggling for containers now!
Fingers crossed for a good and tasty harvest for you, we'll keep an eye out for your results video. 🤞
Hi Liz, I did a similar thing last weekend. Straight over the ground and covered with some compost topped up with hay. 🤞
Best gardening wishes Malgosia and Nigel 🌱😀🌱
Here's to a productive growing season!
You look like a boss I want to inspire you thanks for your contributions
Awesome!!! Your amazing. You get straight to the point and i love your video
I am going to try woodchips rotted down for a year as mulch on my potatoes this season but I will follow your lead on adding grass clippings to top things up. Great idea, thankyou!
Here's my video from 2018 where I used wood chips as one of the mulches that I trialed. th-cam.com/video/GKB-tan-zdg/w-d-xo.html
@@LizZorab thankyou
I'll tell you Mrs.Liz, my Ruth Stout potatoes didn't work well. I got a lot of rotten ones. Here in the Southern USA, we have certain weeds that come through the hay so constantly weeding. Last June a large tree limb fell on me (just broke off the tree) and broke my back in 3 places (also 1 rib and my clavicle). The weeds from the hay seeds are ridiculous now. Now I am no longer allowed to bend over and pull weeds so I bought some raised beds I can sit next to and weed. Gonna try Heugaculter (spelled that wrong I'm sure) and wood chips to mulch. The hay has never broken down into the soil and I have been doing this for 3 years. Always learn from your videos.
Wood chips worked okay for us when used as a mulch for potatoes. Here's our trial results from 2018 th-cam.com/video/GKB-tan-zdg/w-d-xo.html
I would agree that my attempts at this (2 years in a row, 2020, 2021 in different spots in my garden, but full sun) did not yield good results at all. I learned this method from Maritime Gardening YT channel and Ruth Stout method. But my potatoes were very few and very small - like baby potatoes. It’s quite discouraging. This year I’m trying again, but in addition to the hay, I’ll also be putting them a little into the soil. Praying for a better harvest this time round. Especially when I see your and others excellent results with this method.
Hi, this could also be about the amount of rain or water the potatoes get as they grow and also how long you are leaving them before harvesting. New potatoes (first earlies grown to be a small size) are, by design, smaller. I tend to leave them until the first flush of flowers are over and then harvest just a few at a time (enough for one or two meals), leaving the rest to continue growing and making larger tubers.
I reserve a small section of my garden each year for straw bale gardening. I use the second-year straw bales to grow my potatoes in, similar to how you've done it. I simply love it and will never put my potatoes in earth again. It's so easy to plant and harvest! Best wishes for a healthy harvest!
So do you push the spud down into the bale and then keep covering it with more straw? Don't use any soil at all?
@@Iamhome365 I only use second year bales, they are conditioned in the first year to accelerate the composting process of the bale. So there is some composted straw in the center of the bale. If you haven't read Joel Karsten's book on Straw Bale Gardening, I highly recommend it. I usually just squish the bales down toward the ground as they are broken down, tuck the potatoes into the top of bales (just barely, they are still exposed) and then cover with additional straw. I usually add straw a couple of times throughout the growing season.
@@UpcycledStuff thank you so much for replying and all the info! Oh I'll look up that book thanks a million 😁
I’m going to try this in laundry baskets. I saw someone from Vietnam to do that with soil. He just dumps over the baskets and the potatoes fell out. So I’ll try your grass method.
Edit
Ok. So I think put some soil on the bottom and try the mulch on top. That may work well.
I used grass clippings this year it made digging them up really easy it worked well thanks
I used this method last year for the first time. Excellent crop but I had a number of greenish potatoes so this year I will be sure to add more grass clippings on top of the hay as the weeks go by.
Yes it definitely needs regular topping up with grass clippings or more hay or bedding.
ooh may try that later on as planted lots in plastic tubs at the weekend in my poly tunnel until frost goes away so dont want to grow too many as will be inundated with potatoes at the same time! great video, thanks Liz
I'm doing some in tubs in the polytunnel too!
@@LizZorab what is the best way of storing them it’s can you leave in the tubs until you are ready? Thanks
Hi Liz! What an easy, wonderful way to grow potatoes! I will definitely try this with all the goat bedding! I'll be adding rabbit manure in between layers of bedding.
Thank you!
I did this last year. The lessons learnt were: 1) it seems a good idea to wait a bit later before planting, since early spring there are lots of hungry rodents around who will dig up the tubers from hay 2) the ones i only put a little bit hay at first and added more later seemed to have et least a better start, those with too much hay all the way from the beginning seemed to struggle a little bit to find their way up from the hay 3) in case u have couch grass around it might grow through the hay and u ll have incredible trouble trying to get ur tubers out of that mess in the end of season. Not fun, believe it or not 😋 otherwise its a good method to consider trying.
nice video been using grass clippings for years great stuff
It's such an underrated resource!
Going to try this. Thanks, Liz!
Hope you like it!
I'm gonna try to grow potatoes in a pile of last year's leaves 👍🤗
We just moved into a house that has the front and backyard covered in tons of leaves. The snow had melted, revealing all of the leaves. We had a good snow last night, and I'm sure it won't be our last snow of the year. I plan to cover potatoes with the leaves and see what happens. I'm a new transplant to the Lake Champlain NY area from Washington State. Gardening here will be a new learning curve. I've only grown potatoes in the past using raised beds. This year, I'll be planting them on the ground and covering them with leaves.
Great ! I have got my first potato leaf poking out of two thick layers of grass clippings. Big question How many layers of clippings should I put on ?
You can keep adding layers until it flowers.
@@LizZorab Thank you
Kan I use dry grass clippings?
I tried some gold potatoes they were buttery flavored years ago I still remember the taste..I wanna try growing my own I need to sprout some
Brilliant video! Enjoyed watching this.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Erica! I'm looking forward to seeing you on Saturday for the willow workshop 💚
Have tried this mdr this year alongside a traditional method. Excited to see how they compare.
Excellent idea , please continue your new ideological potatoes cultivation inovation,very interesting new ideas
Hi Liz, thanks for your informative video. I am growing veggies for the 1st time & I love learning from you.
I have a question. I have placed my potatoes on the soil and covered in hay, but when do I add extra hay ? I have a couple of potatoes producing leaves. The other question is.... When how do I water, will the hay go mouldy ?
Tia
look forward to the results. I tried the potato in a container thing, keep earthing it up, BUT noone ever said indeterminate species and I was so disappointed with the results esp cos it took a lot of compost
Hopefully this will work better for you, although growing them in containers works really well when you have an indeterminate variety. th-cam.com/video/FrgqhPbP7sE/w-d-xo.html
Hi Liz! I think we'll try this in a few places this year. Thank you! Cheers.
Great video Liz. awesome stuff
Thanks Tony! I'm looking forward to showing you round in person.
@@LizZorab Aunty, I enjoyed your content. Keep up the good work.
growing in potatoes in woodchips this year , just to see.. We have to experiment !
Thanks Liz! Defo gonna try this 👍😁
This blew my mind. I can’t wait to try it!
Sarah, it also blew my mind when I first heard about it! The best thing is how well it works 🌻
I love this idea I had planned on attempting to create extra compost by collecting grass and layering it with pretty worn out wood chips (I can't think of the proper word) in my containers as our compost heaps have been emptied and we plan on moving. This has made me think I could perhaps plant in these containers while making extra compost but obviously fill them about 1/3 full with soil or compost first. It might be a good way of getting started again once we move without spending a fortune on compost to give me a chance to make as much compost as possible to start with. I've had to get rid of most of the compost I grew potatoes in to sort the garden to sell the house so I will he starting again whereas I planned on adding fish blood and bone and reusing it for potatoes. I could also try and use this method in my raises beds when I build them adding different things (not food in case of rats) to create compost in my raises beds while growing potatoes. Just a thought
Or guinea pig hutch bedding😀😀😀I have two working guinea pigs who provide their bedding for compost and also mow our lawn in rotation…def earn their keep😀😀😀jinxy
I put my potatoes in this evening, now I am ready to be lazy about it. thanks
Liz , thank you for your perfect explanation about this lazy potatoes. kkk, awesome.
You are welcome!
Kkk?
What a lovely lady. So easy to watch.
You are so kind
@@LizZorab thank you Liz, as are you for sharing the wonderful knowledge for us not so green thumbs trying to start there very first mini veg patch. It was very daunting but after watching you I will go in with more confidence.
This is great! I've been considering trying a different potato growing method so I'm wondering if I've got a spot where I could try this!
It will work in a raised bed Niall!
Nice. Looking forward to your results!
Here's the results video th-cam.com/video/taPzZUdXsbQ/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much Liz, I really really enjoyed watching you experiment with seed potatoes 🥔. I’m going to watch the link next.
Thank You for sharing! Looking forward to giving it a try.
That’s a genius idea!
Can’t wait to try this! Thank you
You're welcome, it's been so liberating to stop digging potatoes and just to find them below the mulch covering.
@@LizZorab brilliant method! And in the attached video I really loved the taste test. I think the leaf mold mulch and wood chips likely resemble the native environment potatoes may have originally developed in? Thank you again
I saw a video where...the guy covered the ground with manure first then did the covering
going to try your method! Thank you so much for making this video!
Good for you we do our potatoes like that and have very good success, well done on your growing on nice fresh spuds.
I'm going to try pine straw this year, because we have a lot of that. I'll be interested in your results. Very nice channel!
I haven't put in potatoes for quite a while but think you will find the covering with fresh manure will affect the skin of the potatoes. Manure needs to break down for a few years before it isn't a problem. Hope it works out anyway.
She mentioned the need to mature the chicken manure for 12-18 months.
Wow you are doing a Great job big Anti!👍❤🥰🍅🥒🥔🥦🥬
How do you stop the wind blowing the hay away until it starts breaking down? Take care and stay safe, Mike
Inevitably some of it blows away and some it taken by the birds for using in their nests, but it won't be very long before I'm topping it up with a fresh layer of hay.
If you twist every clump of hay before putting it on the ground the whole "structure" doesn't come apart so easyly. I used that approach for mulching our new hedge and it was quite successful.
Thanks Liz 👋🏻👍 I have been chitting my potatoes in egg boxes in the polytunnel for about 4 weeks or so now and they don’t really appear to be chitting very fast at all , hardly moved . Whereas I have some shop bought potatoes at the side of them chitting much better and healthy , I am not sure why this is ? Too much light ? Too warm ? It’s got me puzzled if I am expecting them to chit too quick ? I got them this time from Potato House as well so was high expectations on the chitting . Any ideas ? Again thanks , love watching you and Huw Richards 🥰
Hi Andrea, I think chitting can take 6 weeks or more, but it's not necessary to chit. Potatoes will grow quite happily without - as can be seen when we don't harvest all the potatoes and they grow back happily the next year!
Liz, can you use STRAW instead of HAY? I know hay is much more dense. Our drought last summer caused a severe hay shortage and we must reserve the use, only for feeding the horses!
Much thanks!♥️🙏
Hi Sheila, it very much depends where you live. Here in UK, the climate is generally too damp to use straw as it provides a perfect home for slugs and snails. If you are in a drier area, then straw should work perfectly well - and even better if you also use grass clippings to top up the layers with!
I’m growing what ever is in my compost lol
LOLOL, YOU SOUND SO MUCH LIKE ME!! AND I WOULD BE PROUD OF EVERY LEAF I SAW! Never can tell, it might be a stray corn stalk or
bean sprout!
Ha..that's what I do🤣🤣🥰
The first time I grew potatoes i was researching and prepping for weeks..low and behold they were already growing in my compost! lol
I GOT THE BEST PEPPERS THAT WAY!! 😉
🙋🏼♀️👍🏻
This is my first year planning potatoes and I'm going this method. How are you able up keep the hay in place on windy Spring weather? Thanks! Happy Gardening
Some hay will get blown around, some will be taken by birds to use in their nests, but I'll be topping up the hay next week, when it's flattened a bit and then adding grass clippings (after we have mowed the grass).
Two quick questions. Is it hay or straw? And could you use autumn leaves initially and then grass clippings?
We use hay. Here in UK, the climate is very damp and straw is often a great place for slugs to live, hay less so. Yes you can use autumn leaves, my mulches experiment used leaves - there is a taste test in the video too, so you have an idea of whether the mulch impacts the taste of the potatoes! th-cam.com/video/GKB-tan-zdg/w-d-xo.html
Hi Liz,how nice to see you breaking with the common habits but also very handy options. Interesting channel, need to put down my own grocery garden again, something I had in my youth, long ago🤭 but I do miss now very much. With 2 kids I just love to cook with bio vegetables! (soon from my own garden) like to learn again how it was done properly. Last time I got potatoes from a big tile, got a lot of them🥳 but onions did not go that well. I have forgotten that much! Thank you for this video, even though I have no ducks...yet😅
Interesting, I’ll try this as it looks doable and easy!
Would it be a good idea to throw seaweed on top of the hay, to stop it blowing away? I have a garden that's too big for me to manage but I'm trying to grow food not grass, so I'm going to give this a go, thanks for the inspirational idea!
Yes you could put seaweed on top of the hay. We live on a pretty windy site on a mountainside and so far (it's only a few days), most of the hay has stayed in place. I'll be topping it up again next week and again when the plants appear through the hay.
LOL i have popped my potatoes in last weekend. I have a mega bed left to complete. Im doing 3 beds of potatoes should be enough for for the year. My OH is the big potato eater but we are more reserved in potato eating. we grow about 100 kgs and thats perfect for us! we do them the ruth stout method which make harvesting to effectless!
i don't know if you have tried this , but "partially dehydrating" my frying potatoes by excessive microwaving renders the potatoe quite capable of frying quickly but also it retains the cooking oils and flavors for a savory change. Plus there is no pre-boiling in water necessary
Definitely going to try this method.
Hope you like it!
I have had cray. I worry the ground is too hard. Indianapolis Indiana United States here. What's your thoughts about this. Should I do something different or just go for it ?
If you use a small amount of compost under each potato to give it a nice start in life, there is no reason this shouldn't work. Make sure you water them in well to start with and again later, if you are in an area of low rainfall. Good luck!
I was wondering the same thing as I live a hour away from Indianapolis and have hard clay soil. Thank you for asking this question and for the very informative answer!
Hi liz we grow rocket every year it’s such a lovely early one so we won’t ever change cos don’t think we could find a better flavour and they come abundantly and early. Also I am reading Ruth stout book at moment the lazy gardener I think it’s called. She is great 👍
Ooh that's great to know about Rocket potatoes, I'm looking forward to trying them.
fantastic title, lazy potatoes!! yeah!!