I heard straw works really well

All of them work. Pine straw offers the less competitive plant ( weed) problem. Hay the most depending on the type of hay. Small grain straw will give wheat,rye, or barley plants.

Why would you mulch taters when you have to keep hilling them up as the plants get bigger? Do we mean after the last hilling. We gre taters for the first time last year and we hilled them three times?

Susan in NC

g'day anney,

first up for me what is pine straw? where is it derived from?

i use the green type mulch hay's and sugar cane mulch as they add nutrients as they decompose.

ordinary straw say from wheat or barley whatever doesn't do that but it takes longer to break down, over here another reason not to use it is it is very expensive and hard to get (drought). we don't use cages just build up the mulch over and around the spuds to a height of about 20"s.

yes susan, there are more way than one of doing many things and growing spuds is just one of them, we have pic's on our page of how we do ours.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page

gardenlen

Pine straw is pine needles that have fallen from the trees and have dried, and there are millions of pine trees in the state where I live. They make very aesthetically-pleasing mulches for flower beds and landscape borders.

I forgot to say that I'll line my "potato cages" with vertical carboard strips before putting in the mulch to cover the potatoes. We have lots of field mice in the summer, and since they nest in all kinds of places, I'm hoping the cardboard barrier will keep some of them out of the mulch. I once delved into a half-empty bag of growing soil on the deck and came up with a handful of baby mice, blind, pink, and wiggly! Startled the dickens out of me!

Just a passing thought on using grain straw. Many people dislike using it because it always has some seed left in it, and if you don't keep it deep enough, they sprout.

When I first started using grain straw, I did have some sprouts. The next year, I asked if I could open a couple of bales of straw in my neighbor's chicken yard. They loved it, manured it a bit, and spent many hours digging through it to find the leftover seeds. Then I gathered it up and mulched my garden. I think I had three oat sprouts, total.

If you've got chickens, put 'em to work!

Sue

anney, thanks for the info on the potatoes. Just what I was looking for as I plan to plant potatoes on or about Valentines Day. Made a 4'x 8'x 12" bed and filled it with good rich soil from where I use to feed the cows. Will plant the potatoes then use pine straw after they emerge. Have lots of pine straw readily available. Have never tried this method before so will be a new experience.

When we dig potatoes, my wife washes them with a hose with a pressure nozzle that removes most of the skin. She boils them until done then adds some corn starch, salt & pepper. All you need is some buttermilk biscuits and iced tea.....
Shot

thanks anney,

i had missed your post 'til now.

over here anything from pine trees tends to make the soil/medium more acid in ph, so your pine trees don't alter the soil to more acid?

not sure that cardboard will keep the field mice out they may nibble through it?

len

gardenlen

The soil in this state is acid anyway, usually below a pH of 6.0, and potatoes prefer soil a little on the acid side -- this site says a pH of 5.8-6.5. Corn has thrived in the area for years where I'll put the potatoes, so I assume the soil is more alkaline from the addition of lime over the years.

I think it will be fine.

Pine straw takes long time to bio-degrade to be usefull mulch.They are slightly acidic too.

I too am planning on putting potaoes in for the first time ever...actually, it's mt first real garden at all. *grin*
I truly know nothing except remember my Dad saying they had to be in the ground no later than Valentine's day. I have pure sand soil (drainage will NOT be a problem)and have 2 specific questions...maybe 3. I remember about pulling dirt onto the plants every couple of weeks. But do I start them in a hill or on a flat bed? And should I mix in fertilizer as I do my initial tilling? I am starting a compost pile, but as yet have only a bit of hay and a cup of coffee grounds. What type of fertilizer? (I knew it would be more than 2 questions)
I want to have a beautiful productive garden like my Dad did, I wish he was still here to teach me everything his Dad taught him. I am willing to work hard!
Thank you so much in advance for your advice.