Yes another potato question

[steff bugielski]

I planted my taters two different ways this year just to see if there was a difference. One row in the trench, covered with soil and then mulched with 6-8" of hay. The other was layed on the prepared soiled and covered with the same 6-8" of hay, no soil on top. My question is the second row is up and growing , do i add more hay ontop of the growing plant?

[Guilt Trip]

wait until their about 8" - 12"high and cover , leaving 2" of tops showing, if your using hay try using a side dressing of fertilizer then throw/rake the fertilized hay/soil mix to the plants, ? I think hay is good mulch/but will it have enough fertilizer to grow taters ? Guilt Trip

[NickieL]

Guilt trip, no fert needed in the hay, as the roots that are sucking in nutrients are actually bellow where the original seed potato is.

[Cheryl in SD]

We did this last year and needed no extra fertilizer. By sure it is clean hay (not barn waste), manure and potatoes don't mix.

[steff bugielski]

What is it about manure and potatoes that does not mix?

[Marcia in MT]

Fresh manure tends to be alkaline, and the organism that makes scab on potatoes operates best in alkaline conditions. At pH 5.5 or so, the organism becomes inactive.

So, in order to keep the scab down on your potatoes, you would want to make more acid conditions, not the more alkaline one caused by fresh manure.