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tators mulch or not??????
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Author:  Mike Knight [ Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:02 pm ]
Post subject:  tators mulch or not??????

I am a little confused I have heard talk about mulching over the tops of potatoes, 1 is this the right way, 2 what does this do for harvest and 3 do you keep adding mulch every time the green tops appear? And sense I am on here one more question off subject, can I put DE on my plants where I am having some bugs eating the leaves on my cabbage plants? Thanks in advance for any help.

Author:  CaptainCompostAL [ Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: tators mulch or not??????

I do no-till potatoes every year.
I plant my potatoes in a sheet compost pile of slighly undone compost, and leaves or hay, right on top of the ground.

I rub powdered sulfur on the potatoes for disease control too. I use bone meal for extra phosphorus for increasing potato harvest. I feed my potatoes with fish emulsion and compost tea and dry molasses.

When the potato stalks poke out of the mulch over several inches, I lightly cover them with more leaves or hay.

I do this from Feb to May or June, or until the potatoes are ready for harvest.

Author:  sandih [ Fri Mar 20, 2009 7:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: tators mulch or not??????

Hey Captain- what kind of potatoes do you grow? If I have a small area can I still grow some? What's the minimum grow space you recommend? Last question - what do you mean by "sheet" compost pile?

Author:  sandih [ Fri Mar 20, 2009 7:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: tators mulch or not??????

Mike - yes, you can sprinkle food grade DE on the plants that are being eaten. It will kill good an bad bugs so you may want to examine what's going on (on the plants) before you apply it.

Author:  CaptainCompostAL [ Fri Mar 20, 2009 7:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: tators mulch or not??????

I order various small organic red and white potatoes from the web every year. I normally start planting them in late January to mid February.

The "sheet compost pile" that I was referring to, can also be called a no-till borderless raised bed or lasagna garden bed.

I normally plant my taters whole, not as slices like some farmers do. I normally space them out about 1-2 feet apart throughout the bed. As they grow I keep adding organic matter around them and on top of them. That guarantees good root growth spacing too.

Happy Gardening!

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