[TexasHomesteader]

I am trying to grow some potatos for the first time and need some advise on the mounding that you are supposed to do.

I am already a bit late I think as some of the plants are over 12".

instead of just using dirt I was thinking of using a mix of the waste from the rabbits. its a mix of hay, and the bedding which is equine fresh, like wood pellets, and of course bunny fertilizer.

will this be good or better than dirt ?? what should I use ?

how high do you mound ? it seems like it will hurt the plants??
how much of the plant sticks out?

here are a couple pics before mounding the hay/pellets/poop
and a pic of what I did to the first plant.

any potato advise would be great
thanks

row of plants before mounds

1 plant with hay/mulch

 

[Borsch Dorks Gorge]

I would be wary of using the stuff before it was weathered. However, I see no problem with mounding with eath then putting a layer of the stuff on. Your stuff does not seem dense enough for my likeing either - when it weathers, it will be a lot less voume than it is.

You need a Dutch/draw hoe to mound. You do not bring in earth from elsewhere, just use the earth at the sides of the crop and pull it up in small hills.

I put my main potatoes in on Friday so I will not be earthing up for a while yet, but when I do I will post some pics.

Nothing like seeing some nice ridges for potatoes.

 

[wilderness bushman]

you can still hill those,,,i walk down one row and pull dirt from the walkway on other side of spuds,,do it from both sides,, you can always add the hay later on too ,,,most of the reason for hilling them is to stop the sun from turning the potatoes green ,,it helps some with production to but if the spuds turn green theres a poison in the green part

 

[Illini Warrior]

no fresh do-do .... if you don't have well worked compost or manure to help hill don't worry about it .... don't be afraid to shovel a ditch on both sides to boost that hill ..... the main reason for hilling taters is to prevent "wet feet" ..... good drainage is never a problem

 

[BadgeBunny]

Rabbit poo is fine used fresh in the garden. Horse poo is not fine used fresh in the garden. Put the horse poo in the compost pile and use it next year.

Here is the basic explanation and some little tidbits you may not already know:

Rabbit Manure in Garden

 

[kev]

I usually pull as much dirt as possible up around the plants.

 

[Irishmilitant]

I agree on using as much fresh dirt as possible on them. This year I am trying a white plastic PVC type 55 gallon drum with some drain holes in it. It's a brand new drum. I plan to add soil/ potting mix over the foliage intermittently. Right now the greens are only an inch or so tall but I was also late getting them in. For you, what about staking in some erosion control black fabric parallel to each side of the row, staked in very well, and using that to shade the sides, then top filling? It wold also keep you from spilling out too much. I've never done potatoes in rows, so please someone chime in if I don't know what I'm talking about.

 

[Mortimer]

I don't think the hay/poo/pellets mix is going to be dense enough to properly "hill" them.

Mixing a bit of your rabbit waste in with the dirt would work great (maybe 70% dirt 30% rabbit junk). I do this frequently with hay/poo/junk mixture from my chicken coop. The hay & compost will help keep the hilled-up soil loose which will promote big tater growth, and make it easier to dig them out when you're ready to harvest.

 

[madscotsman26]

I just lace my plants all around with fresh Hay. By the time the potatos start to push thru the top of the soil, the surrounding dirt is to hard and needs cultivateing. The hay will break down and add to the overall health of the soil while shadeing the potatos that do get exposed from sunlight and sunburn.