Did I “hill” them enough? They’re flowering, which means the baby potatoes are forming. Is it too late to hill them more now?
So many great sites online. This one, Northwest Gardening, says:
“Once the leaves are about a foot tall, hill them up by covering all but the top 2-3 inches of the plant. You can use soil, though some people prefer straw or sawdust to make digging easier in the long run.”
Well, I hilled them for a bit as they were growing but certainly not a foot, more like 6″-8″. And, he goes on to say that he often does this twice. Ugh.
Mine fall over when we get a heavy rain. Frank said that’s because they’re not hilled up enough. Don’t they normally fall over in heavy rains?
I read that 2 weeks after they start flowering, you can dig up new potatoes. I may see if I can find a couple. I would love to know what’s going on under that soil.
I apologize to this first batch of potatoes that they were planted during my practice year. I’ll be making many changes with future plantings!