The Trusty Gardener-Growing Potatoes in Straw

I May Try This No Digging Method

Every year I grow potatoes. It’s a very rewarding process that pays off with a nice harvest of those delicious spuds. Nothing beats home grown potatoes. But oh the digging, from planting to hilling to harvesting; it can be labor intensive. Perhaps using straw is the answer.

Growing potatoes is a family tradition. My parents did. My grandparents did. Growing spuds probably is only surpassed in popularity in my family by growing tomatoes. If you follow my articles, you know how I love to grow tomatoes.

However, along with the great reward that cultivating potatoes brings, there is also a lot of digging involved. If you grow them you know all about it. The traditional method involves digging a trench at least 6 inches deep to plant the seed potatoes. Then, as the plants grow, the plants must be hilled, a piling up of the dirt to give the potatoes soil to grow in. This also prevents the developing tubers from being exposed to the sun, which will turn them green.

In addition to hilling, I also mulch in-between the rows to keep down the weeds, which can be a problem if allowed to get out of control. I have used straw for that. At the end of the season, it is then time to harvest the crop. More digging.

Although this can be fun, like digging for treasure, it is work. At least there is a reward. Recently a video from www.jungseed.com caught my eye. How to grow potatoes using straw. Very interesting concept. Let’s take a look:

I may just give this a try. My local farm store does carry straw bales. I would not recommend using hay since it contains too many seeds that would grow grass and weeds. Straw is also much coarser, and would be less likely to mat down, thereby providing more water to enter and better airflow.

I will follow up with this story as the growing season progresses. Stay tuned.