The potatoes in our garden have really taken off. Now if you'll recall we planted these prior to good Friday, and they are flowering right now. Ott, E tells me that the flowering means the potato plant is going through tuber initiation. This means that the little potatoes are forming underneath the soil.
It also means it's time to hill the potatoes. Hill the potatoes????? Yes, Hill the potatoes. This means you bring dirt up around the base of the plant and make a little mound around the plant. (I took a picture after Ott, E. did this so you could see what it looks like. See below.) This prevents late blight from occurring. Late blight is a disease that effects the tuber of the potato and causes it to rot. Two more reasons to hill your potato plants is that it also helps with weed control and makes it easier to harvest the potatoes later in the season.
16 comments:
Hi there! Thanks so much for stopping by Gerber Days!
I have never heard the term "hill the potatoes", but then again I'm not much of a gardener! Wish I was. Someday. :)
I'm following you back! :)
The potato plants look great! We hill the strawberry plants too. It locks in the moisture, helps them grow better.
I am stopping by from Monday mingle! I hope that you have a great week! I am now following you!
Your potatoes look great! I can't wait to see the harvest! Thanks for stopping by Linderhof. I'll be back!
Wow! Your potatoes are blooming!! They look great! "hill the potatoes" is a fairly common phrase in these parts,folks here start hilling as soon as they get up several inches and then will hill again before they bloom...lots of work in hard Georgia clay...or even raided beds. I'm trying something new...I started last year but was interrupted by a car accident, so we'll see this year...I'm hillling with leaves and straw! I was afraid that I was hilling to late as some of my plants had some size to them, but if you don't have to til they bloom, then I guess I'm ok! Whew! Ireally was worried...so much gardening, so little time!
See you soon!
Sharon
I wish we had enough sun in our yard to grow potatoes! My youngest daughter would be in heaven since potatoes are her favorite food! Thanks for the nice comment on my new planter post and for stopping by! :)
hhmmm...how does it make it easier to harvest? You better post updates later on!
I've always been interested in growing potatoes, though have never attempted. How do you know when to harvest them? (Probably I'll see sometime later in the season, right?) ;-)
Thanks for stopping by today. :) Your We are trying to grow veggie and herbs this year (no potatoes though). The critters have decided to munch on our veggies. I think we are going to put a chicken wire cage around them. We had a thin net around it but they got through it. Any suggestions?
Your plant looks great! You must be from Idaho knowing all this good stuff about spuds! Thanks for the great ideas, Paula from Idaho
I have never grown potatoes except that I threw old potatoes in the compost bin and must have had a piece in my soil b/c I was weeding and it wouldn't come up and I dug up a couple of potatoes.
Wow! Love your potatoes! I've never grown 'tatos. It looks really cool! Maybe next year! BTW how many 'tatos does one plant produce?
Nice! I got my potatoes in kinda late this year, as we had late nasty weather. I also use the straw method to hill potatoes, though I start them under straw and continue to hill them as they grow with straw. It keeps the tubers from turning green (if they're exposed to light) as they grow out from the original tuber. Straw makes harvesting a breeze and the spuds turn out so clean!
Thanks for linking to the Tuesday Garden Party and your lovely comment!
Now I know.
never knew that potatoes bloomed. what exactly to you plant to grow potatoes? Is it an 'eye'?
I wanted to plant potatoes this year and for some reason didn't get around to it. And I didn't even know what potato plants look like, so thanks for posting this. I'll have to try next year!
So impressive! I want to plant potatoes! I want to plant anything! But I just kill everything so I feel bad for the plants so I just leave them at the store...they are safer there.
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com
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