no dig potatoes

nick · Post: # 9804Post **nick** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 10:30 pm

thought I would share the results of my 'experiment' in spring I planted 3 patches of potatoes, each 2 x2 m, one was digging them into the ground and hilling when necessary, two was digging into the ground and putting hay, a little manure and a lot of hay on top along with some weeds as they were pulled, three was using a no dig method by putting newspaper on the ground, followed by the potatoes, lots of hay to about knee deep, lots of cow manure and chook poo (dried out) and watered well. needed a bit more of a top up when the shoots started to appear.

the yeild from the no one plot was good and have got a lot of the weeds under control and improved the soil structure.

the yeild from the no two plot was pretty poor

the yeild from the no dig potatoes was excellent and the ground has improved a lot.

I have good access to hay and cow manure makes a big difference.

Wombat · Post: # 9812Post **Wombat** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 7:18 am

Thanks Nick,

Thats goos to know!

Nev

Millymollymandy · Tue Jan 31, 2006 7:37 am

That's very interesting! Did the roots grow through the newspaper? Did you have to keep watering no. 3 trial a lot?

nick · Post: # 9863Post **nick** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 9:26 pm

MMM everything was pretty rotted down when they were dug and I didn't pay attention to where the roots were. Apart from the initial watering which had to have all the materials wet right through, lot 3 held more water than the other two. the soil in the garden is fairly sandy.

ina · Post: # 9871Post **ina** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 10:02 pm

Don't think that method will catch on in Scotland - some years it's hard enough to make enough good hay for the livestock, let alone wasting it on the tattie plot! But I can imaging that it's a great way to grow potatoes without breaking your back digging, and conserving moisture in sandy soil.

Ina

Shirley · Post: # 9873Post **Shirley** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 10:09 pm

I wonder whether it could be adapted to use grass cuttings mixed with other dryer matter instead of the hay?

Ina... how could anything be WASTED on the tattie patch lol... I love homegrown tatties, they are like lumps of gold dug out from the black earth.

ina · Post: # 9874Post **ina** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 10:11 pm

I know, I know... But then, your hens don't need hay - I'm thinking more along the lines of goats and sheep!

Ina

PS: Those Pink Fir Apple were nice, weren't they!

nick · Post: # 9912Post **nick** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:33 am

helps when you make your own hay. the hay i usually use has had a fair bit of weather damage (from getting wet before being baled) or the dusty bits out of the bottom of the shed. dried grass clippings would work well. depend how big you make the patch. I am in the process of doing another lot of no dig potatoes. they may be no dig in theory but there has been a lot of barrows to and from the sheds with more to go. got to 39 C today and hasn't cooled any tonight. have to wait for a cooler day to get into the garden.

Wombat · Post: # 9979Post **Wombat** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 7:38 am

Boy, Nick! you can say that again!

Nev

hedgewizard · Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:34 pm

The problem with grass clippings would be blowing away, which hay has to some extent too (it can be overcome by soaking the hay in a bucket of weak wallpaper paste before spreading it out). I suppose heat might be a problem too since grass gets pretty damned hot and soggy if allowed to. Let us know how you get on!

My main problem with sheet mulching for potatoes is BADGERS which live nearby. Year before last they pulled the whole backbone of my keyhole beds off - about nine meters of it - because they knew there'd be slugs under the paper.

The Chili Monster · Tue Feb 28, 2006 1:42 pm

that sounds interesting, Nick. I've got some seed potatoes that I plan to get underway soon. I may give your newspaper method a go this year.

caithnesscrofter · Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:12 pm

gonnae try the no dig method this year. We have plenty of excess haylage that birds or mice get into that spoils it and plenty of well rotted poo! Last year we were clearing rashes by digging them up flipping them over planting a tattie and earthing up or piling up rotten haylage. Worked a treat, killed the rash, actually these did better than our dug patch did.

Ellendra · Post: # 84158Post **Ellendra** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:32 pm

I would guess you could use shredded newspaper if getting hay is a problem. Or shredded leaves, or chopped-up cornstalks. Lots of things would work.

-Ellendra

Cassiepod · Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:10 pm

Wst coast used to do te no-dig emthod with seaweed. and continue to 'earth up' with seaweed through the season. Haven't tried it myself but would love to no dig sounds fantatic :)

Although having started digging my veg plot and expected stones galore I have found the first patch much easier than expected

farmerdrea · Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:34 pm

I did a no-dig potato bed this growing season, just as you describe (paper/hay/manure), and have got a very poor harvest, worst yet! I was really disappointed, but I also think it may have had more to do with our abyssmal weather (first too cold, many late frosts; then drought, drought, drought and eventual watering ban). Many of the seed potatoes simply rotted, and I only got about 30% germination across 4 different types of potatoes.

Where we took the time to dig over the ground and remove any vestige of twitch grass rhizome, we have huge, lovely plants, but not sure of harvest yet, as they are Maori varieties which take longer to produce. They are only now getting their flower head, while the others have just finished flowering. There are 5 varieties planted in that bed, but 100% germination.

I'm not going to give up on the no-dig yet, but we really have to do something about the twitch first.

Cheers
Andrea
NZ