Growing Potatoes In Straw
This year I tried something new. I had heard rumors of other people doing it, but I didn’t know of anyone around here trying it.
So this spring, when I planted my potatoes, I didn’t plant them. Instead, I just dropped ‘em on the ground in a somewhat straight row. No digging. No shovel involvement whatsoever. Kinda like this…
Then, after I had them all layed out, I covered them all with about eight inches of straw, like this…
Then I waited. And waited. And now, about a month later, they look like this…
So what do I hope to gain by growing potatoes in straw like this? Well, two things actually.
#1. Less weeding
Thus far in the month that the potatoes and the weeds have had to grow, I’ve only had to pull out about five thistles that have popped through. These have been extra easy to remove because the root goes through the straw and is easily pulled out. Plus, no prickles under the straw either.
#2. Bigger Yield
Last year when I regularly watered my potatoes from the time they flowered until the end, I got the biggest potatoes I had ever grown. So the theory goes, if the potatoes are mulched, the soil won’t dry out nearly as fast. Thus even if I don’t water regularly, my yield will be increased because I won’t lose my water to evaporation. But that part’s still just a theory – I’ll have the proof one way or the other this fall. So stay tuned!
Update: June 22, 2008
And lest I forget…
#3. Easier Harvest
Rake back the straw, and there are all your plump, CLEAN potatoes – what could be easier?
Update: July 16, 2008
Check on the progress of these straw-grown potatoes…
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I’m looking forward to seeing how this works for you. I really wanted to try growing potatoes in a large garbage can this year but it didn’t happen. Maybe next year I’ll get to try potatoes
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
I’m going to be keeping an eye on this! Especially if I stay in this clay soil, the less I have to dig down, the better. It looks really promising!
I tagged you! Check out http://www.garden-of-eatin.com/2008/06/23/im-it/ if you’d like to play along =)
July 12th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I’m looking forward to seeing how this works for you! I have mine in a really deep SQ foot garden box, but I didn’t add straw as early as I should have, I’m afraid.. and next year I’d like to grow a LOT more, so putting them out in the big garden like this may be the way to go next year.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:45 am
If you have a small garden try putting potatoes on ground and stack tires as they grow, continually adding manure compost etc. Huge amount of harvested potatoes as you unstack the tyres.
May 16th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
This sounds really interesting but one thing that I wondered about. Do you find that a lot of grains germinate and after a while you are spending a lot of time weeding?
May 16th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Actually, no. Last year I hardly did any weeding at all in my straw gardens. Only a few weeds were determined enough to push through all that straw and those who did were very easy to pull out.
May 30th, 2009 at 5:34 am
I heard about this method of planting potatoes in straw from a lady who lived in Peru several years. She said this is how the natives planted potatoes….so I’m trying it myself. My only question is whether the potatoes produce in the straw or do they produce at the bottom of the straw where you planted the seedlings???
My thought was to continue to add straw until the plant dies but if this doesn’t help produce more then I don’t that I will continue with this method.
Becky
May 30th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Yes, as you add straw, the potatoes ‘grow up’. Keep doing what you’re doing!
July 18th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Does planting potatoes in straw cut back on potatoe bugs because we have a lot and they do so much damage to our crop??Do you have any
suggestions on how to get rid of them for more than just a day or so??If you could send a reply to my e-mail,I’d really appreciate it. Thanks, Dee
October 9th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Hey:
we tried the potatoe thingy with hay, not straw and it was a mess. Maybe straw is different???
ALSO, how many bales of straw do you go thru for planting 100 feet of potatoes?
AND, (we hill twice) so I’m assuming you need another ___?___ number of bales for the hilling. That’s alot of straw at between 3 to $4.00 per bale.
Thanks,
M