No Digging! Grow the Best Potatoes in Straw
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- Опубликовано: 25 мар 2021
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Love potatoes but not so keen on the digging? There is an easy way to grow them with much less fuss and bother!
In this video, Ben demonstrates how to grow potatoes the no-dig way using a thick mulch of straw. Find out how to get a bountiful harvest with far less work!
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I tried this last year 2021 and it was a huge lot of pain lifted off my back and knee. The potatoes seemed like they grew faster, this way they yielded a lot too. I'm in a wheelchair so this way was very easy for me. Doing it again this year will put them out this weekend I'm in zone 5b. I got my straw from Meijer's, but Walmart sells it too. I Love You Ben and All your Videos!
That's really great to hear you had such success with them. I really appreciate you watching the videos. Happy gardening for 2022. :-)
Not to be critical but of all the things to grow why potatoes? In terms of inputs to outputs and effort they would be one of the first plants I would just buy. Unless it's a huge portion of your diet.
@BryceG i have to feed 4 kids all winter potatoes keep for a long time so the less i buy them the better
@@bryceg5709 It's the joy of growing and harvesting.
@@WakandaBabe yes but grow qnd harvest the good stuff that costs real money.
Hi Ben, I live in NZ. I tried this method. It was a paddock. I lay down cardboard over top of the mown field, put the potatoes in and then covered them with a deep layer of straw. It worked fantastic, the worms worked the earth while eating the rotting cardboard and I had a bumper crop. I now use old beehive boxes which we’re getting thrown away. You can put them anywhere as they take up very little space, put some compost in the bottom, cover the potatoes with straw. I have had a big success with these with the biggest crops I’ve ever seen!
Hi John. That's really great to hear of your experiences, particularly as you were planting straight over the paddock. Nice one!
Ok I’m going to try this 🤗 Thank you ♥️
hi when you put the cardboard down did you just cut a hole for the potatoes then covered them ? also did the pots not just grown under the cardboard ? please let me no , thanks from susan
Susan, I just placed the potatoes on top of the cardboard, then watered it then placed a heavy layer of straw on top.
@@John-gj9db THANKYOU very much for your quick reply that's very helpful. As we have took over a large neglected allotment last year and our potatoes got eaten by wirework. So we're wanting to try other options THANKS AGAIN
I'm doing this, this year...so excited!
Grew Charlotte potatoes in grass cuttings, a few years ago, and had the best crop ever!
I'm using Hay and leaves, mine are already sprouting, and all my taters are store bought, off the shelf. Leaves are free, and i can pick up bags of them off the side of the road... Will keep you updated, as this is my first year to grow me some taters, yes I'm from the SOUTH, I live north of Memphis TN.
Please do keep me posted, I'd love to know how you get on. :-)
How did the potatoes go?
@@MsCGrace I grew more Potatoes than I ever grew. I save some of the smaller ones and replanted em this year. I doubled down n got even more leaves and I'm trying to grow twice as many. Leaves are free. Ck out my channel n see how I'm doing it.
Hello Southern girl. I'm in North Carolina. My first year for taters also. Fingers crossed.
@@fifeohfarmingnstuff4416 well done buddy, and this channel is the best ever to get tips and advice.hes great
This is brilliantly done - short, informative AND entertaining. Love your chipper personality
Thank you :-)
Ruth Stout method did this in the 60s. She used straw for her whole garden.
"The more things change..."
Hi Ben I live in NZ as well. I used this method last year. All we did was cut the grass. Staked and strung the bed size.
Laid the potatoes on top of the grass in a grid pattern like yours. Put the cut grass on top. I was sick so didn’t get back to check the crop three months later. There was very little grass left but when I pulled it aside I was amazed at the beautiful moist black earth under neath was potatoes sitting on the ground and some further down in the soil. There were also an abundance of extremely large worms. I am using straw this year
Oh wow - that's an incredible result Heather!
Thanks for replying Ben. Yesterday I bought a subscription to your garden planner. I’m very excited to be using it and can’t believe how much confidence with how and where to start planting my seedlings today. It was easy to learn the basics. It’s a brilliant tool and will be an indispensable part of my gardening success.
Thank you for all the hard work the development must have taken.
I have been using this method for growing my potatoes for years now with great success. I encourage you all to give is a shot using straw not hay.
I live in an area where we get tons of fall leaves. So I did exactly the method you did Except using leaves instead of straw. So far so good. Couldnt be easier.
Nice one! :-)
I'm going to try leaves this year. Glad to know it worked for you.
I've not used straw but used to get woolen insulating material wrapped around my groceries from a meal supply company. I had thrown some potatoes which had gone to seed in my kitchen cupboard into an old veggie bed, and decided to mulch the bed with the wool over winter thinking the spuds would rot. The plan was to put new soil over the mulch and plant salad greens in spring. But didn't get around to it. Christmas eve came (I'm in nz) and I went outside to tidy the garden,finding potato plants coming up in the gaps. I lifted the mulch to find a heap of perfectly clean potatoes
Nice one - what a lovely surprise!
@@GrowVeg it was and they were delicious with Christmas dinner
I love your vids, no waffle, clear and to the point. I have a bed that has had a couple of bales on for a year, I’m gonna try Ruth Stot and just Push the potatoes down into the straw and hope for the best!
Excellent, we'll be trying this method for the first time this year. Very informative, thank you.
Great idea better than all that digging I am going to give this a try this year, thanks for sharing 👍 🙂
Brilliant.im going to try that for the first time this year.thank you
Thank you for posting such good ideas for growing potatoes. All seems so easy and reliable.❤
I think I had a pretty good harvest last year with the straw. Just remember to put it on really sick, I lost some potatoes to the sun. And not having to dig potatoes, that's really good on your back.
Bless, thank you gonna try that this year.
Thank you for this video! Very helpful for this new gardener-grower!
Great video. This is exactly what I'll be doing this year
This is an excellent method that makes it easier to grow and harvest potatoes! We cover our seed potatoes with chopped leaf litter and wood chips and this works very well too. :)
You have shown new idea for plantation of potato. Definitely we will do next year.
I just planted my potatoes in straw this week. It's the first time I try it and I am looking forward to the results. I will also try growing purple potatoes in grow bags.
Perfect- just what I was looking for!
Thanks for sharing garden friend!
I use grass mower cuttings from our garden. Our earlies are growing a treat.
This seems like a good idea, since you know that no herbicides were used there.
We’ve been doing this straw-method slightly different, we start with no soil prep, just dump 12 inches of spent hay or straw, drop potato 🥔 in, forget about them, no watering, no mounding, no care, we put a wind break around our 10 by 10 bed. then when ready, just move the straw and there they are !! It’s called the Ruth Stout method. See if you can find her documentary, it’s fascinating
Can I ask whether this approach is likely to cause nightmare weed problems later on, with dandelion seeds etc amongst the grass cuttings?
@@InspirationSessions it’s never happened to me, but if it did I’d be sooo happy as they are not only edible but soooo good for you! And dandelion honey alternative , dandelion coffee are both simply delicious!! So perhaps change the perception of this glorious little 🌱 plants x
@@InspirationSessions I use grass clippings as a mulch and don't have a problem with weeds. The grass supresses germination of any seeds.
I will try this method this year because last year I failed using the raise bed. I’m hopeful that this year will be better. Thanks Ben! ❤🙏
Thank you! Very good tip 👌
Il take this knowledge with me for the future
Thank you . Going to try it this season and will post my experience.👍
Please do, I look forward to finding out how you get on.
I actually did exactly this method as i had compost I put in an area away from the garden. I had extra potato seed and several straw bales.
Wow potatoes ...Amazing grows ....good luck dear...
Thank you for your time.
Not at all. I hope the planting goes well. It's the best time of year to plant.
Great idea using the egg crate to chit. I have grown the Yukon Gold variety in welded wire hoops and used straw to cover. Works like a charm! Enjoy Your Spuds!
Thank you. I've heard great things about Yoken Gold.
Were doing this for the first time this growing season. We're using organically tendered hay which has been laying on our raised beds over most of the winter. We're also using this technique for other crops in our garden much as Ruth Stout did. Cross your fingers! Thanks for the corroborating vid, Ben! I feel better about our choice and efforts already.
Fingers crossed for you. :-)
Brilliant video Ben. Will have to give this a try👍
Cheers Mark - it's a very satisfying way to grow them.
Thank you. 😊I loved the help of your dog😁
Haha - I'm going to have to watch her. She loves my new raised beds!
Ive used grass clippings to do this -unsprayed - yes, I had a few slug damaged ones but on the whole a fantastic crop
I used grass clippings last year. It was very successful.
exactly the info i was looking for!
Great video. The best I've seen on youtube. Thank you so much. This is how I'm gonna grow my potatoes this year, and it's my 1st time trying to grow potatoes.
So pleased you enjoyed the video. I hope you enjoy a bountiful harvest! :-)
I BOUGHT YOUR GARDEN PLANNER! It's brilliant. It makes me follow what I've written down!! (Which is difficult sometimes😜)
That's really fab to hear! Good on yer!
VERY LONG AGO EXCELLENT RUTH STOUT METHOD YES ITS AMAZING AND GREAT RESULTS DIDN'T KNOW CAN GET STRAW FROM WALMART THATS NEW INFORMATION THX 2 COMMENTERS
Thank you
Thank you so much very helpful video
I'm trying straw-grown potatoes this year. Made a chicken wire enclosure and slowly filling with straw as the plants grow. I'm SO excited to see the harvest in a few months.
I'm sure you'll have a bumper harvest Tim - good work!
Good idea
😁 thank you for being a Teacher
I really appreciate your potato planting.
Thanks so much for watching.
Tried this two years ago. I lost most of the crop to rats. Countryside garden. They had made lovely runs under the straw. I had no idea they were there. Last year moved back to growing in soil with masses of compost on the top. Good crop, no damage and no rats.
Thanks for sharing your experiences there Simon. That must have been very frustrating. I guess that's something to watch out for. I didn't have issues with rats last year, but maybe I was lucky! I wonder if keeping the straw consistently moist would help to deter them too?
You need a farm cat or dog.
@@GrowVeg add shampoo to have clean rats, sell them as these tiny pet dogs?
Thank you, I’m going to try this!
Brill - I'm sure you'll be impressed with this method, it's very satisfying.
Good video!
I used this method last season using old grass clippings instead of straw. Worked beautifully!
Me too!
I alway heard use HAY, not straw, more nutrients
@@davidbruce5524 I believe that’s true about more nutrients, but the downside of using hay are the weed seeds. We need to be careful also when using hay or straw that the grower hasn’t used Roundup because it poisons the plants.
I use grass clippings as well. An acre's worth which is infrequently mowed, free and available, I use it to mulch everywhere else. I recommend this method, even when you dig them in to deter pest damage.
🌍💚🇦🇺👍thanks Ben, awesome content.
4:18 excellent point about hey and straw not being contaminated.
I'll be using this method next spring. I can't wait to try it out. Got some hay locally, no spray. Cow/Horse/Chicken manure inside. Under a tarp. Waiting for potatoes!
Reckon you'll have a fantastic crop of potatoes with all that!
Keep the videos coming heemsy. From the Canadian prairie
Will do Dan, don't worry! :-)
We tried this method in our local (NM) community garden. The problem we encountered was mice. The straw is easy for them to penetrate and the potatoes they discovered were delicious. Next time, we will dig and hill the traditional way. Good presentation though.
I'm trying it this way this year. I have three bullets in me and this looks easier! Love all your videos and your classy accent. Hello from Kentucky!
Cheers - and I hope you get a weighty harvest of potatoes.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2022. I liked your video and SUBSCRIBED to your channel.
Cheers for the sub! :-)
Trying this
In my first attempt doing this, I decided to toss a thin layer of 'play sand' on top of the straw to weight it down and eventually be worked into the soil after the season. At least I'm glad the straw idea is not uncommon, even if the top layer of sand is.
What a good idea!! Did it work out well for you? I'm about to plant more potatoes for a fall harvest and happen to have extra sand I bought for another experiment of growing potatoes in saw dust mixed with sand (Mittleider method, fertilize weekly). Curious if it worked out well, if so I'll be borrowing your idea!
@@lanamulyar6021 It worked out well.
Hi Ben,
Im a firm believer in this method but last year my crop was poor and there was a lot of slug damage, not helpful as a proponent of no dig on a new allotment site! I'm putting it down to extraordinary heat and irregular watering. However its January202, I've bought my seed potatoes, they are chitting away nicely and I'm putting my planting date in the diary, now just to prep the plot and be patient.Happy New Year to you and your followers. Thanks for a great upbeat gardening sharing space. Happy Growing 20223.
Happy New Year to you too Paula. I hope your potatoes are a resounding success this time round. 😀
I mix potting soil and chainsaw wood chips. I hill my potatoes up until they grow about 16” and then add a thick layer of the chips.
Thinking last season's leaf pile will become a potato palace.
What I'm doing, w/ some hay mix..
Well I harvested them, (my Taters) and the sto bought reds did awesome. The Yukon Golds did ok, but I'm impressed w/ the Reds. The Idaho Taters didnt do so hot. I will tell you this, taking a bunch of small reds and putting them in a Foil Pack w/ butter and garlic salt and letting them cook indirect on the grill, all ima say is Mmmmmmmmm they good. I learnt that I can grow taters and they did good. Next spring I'll do twice as much.
That does sound delicious!
wow!!!
We live on acid red soil and are trying the straw method this year. Standard method worked ok in previous years but the soil dries out so much quicker so needs lots of watering. We have had to put a two foot high wire fence around the area to keep the local pheasants from roosting on it.
Me too ! We have rabbits instead of pheasants.
Top top 💓
I grew several beds of potatoes last year under a thick layer of hay. The potatoes grew very well with no watering - but the harvest was entirely consumed by the resident population of voles. They left nothing for me but a few chewed up ends of potatoes. At least someone got to enjoy them!
Sorry to hear that Laura. Voles do seem to be a risk with this method it appears.
@@GrowVeg This method works really well for some people - and I think it's worth a try for anyone, once. If someone does have a lot of rodents on their property, they will soon find out! I'm glad I tried but I definitely won't be doing it again.
Because of rodents, I grow in raised beds. I do my potatoes in food grade 5 gal buckets...soil in the bottom, then either more soil or straw to “hill”. Works great!!
Hey Ben, this will be my third year using the same method. Each year gets better.
That's great to hear Alfred.
Do you need to fertilize/feed or does the straw provide all the nutrients?
Straw or conventional I am a lay and busy person Rathe than lift clamp and look after stored potatoes he conventional way I tend to leave them in the soil and harvest as required all winter long Heavy frost / frozen ground means I have to wait for a thaw but seldom wait more than few days AND I find the potatoes when dug up are (almost) like new potatoes - still that fresh wet texture often lacking from "dried" and tired clamp potatoes Covering the ground with stray can protect against ground freezing but even when it freezes just wait and resume cropping as required when thaw follows a few days on
How fab that your potatoes don't get too clobbered by slugs etc. Lovely to have a fresh supply all winter like that.
Great video as always!
Thank you so much for sharing.
This is a really good way to plant potatoes. I have done it before and it works really well. The only thing I would advise to anyone doing it, is to make sure that the straw have no seeds. The straw I used the first time had seeds in it, and my garden was invaded by the weeds. Other than that and the pesticides this method works really well.
Have a blessed and wonderful day!
Thanks for sharing
❤🙏
Good point about weed seeds and good advice, thank you. :-)
I tried this last year in a humid climate... the slugs loved the potatoes. I'm sure it would have been a bumper crop. I also tried layered straw and soil in wire towers... I had to feed often and again.. the slugs loved them. This year I'm trying buckets of manure topped with straw, covered in mesh and doubling my slug bait traps (🍺) We shall see how it grows!
This year I'm planting turnips as a bait plant for slugs. Apparently this is an answer. the slugs are in one place and turnips can still grow.
They make a slug bait that I use to control slugs.
I've been using this method, almost exactly as you describe, for the last 5 or 6 years in my veggie garden in the hills of the Algarve, Portugal. Local gardeners had never seen this method before and thought it was weird and doomed to failure! But the good results spoke for themselves! This year I planted my chitted spuds (Spunta, Romano & Désirée) mid-February, just nestling them in the prepared ground, and they're now a good 20-35 cms tall. Time for another layer of straw! The only problem I've had, rather surprisingly, is finding good-quality straw, without an abundance of seed in it. This year I've had to spend quite a lot of time pulling up loads of young seedlings!
That can be an issue, but the seedlings come out pretty easily. You're way ahead down there in Portugal!
If you have pine trees in your area, the pine needles are supposed to work well as an alternative, and helps up the acidity of the soil.
I’m going to start planting potatoes now to my backyard food forest!! Running out of room lol
Trying to get my husband to try this
We do something similar with porridge.
Potatastic They do love straw. I was putting straw down under the dug trench, then a little compost over then potatoes, then pull in first pass of dirt.
And always enjoy your british expressions "can't wait to tuck into these potatoes". Thanks
Haha - hadn't realised that was a Britishism!
Just a word of caution: If you or a close neighbor have a flock of guinea fowl the guineas are apt to kick the straw out of the way and eat the seed potatoes. I found out the hard way. Planted about half the crop traditionally, and half just under straw. Guineas got all but 2 and they'll probably be gone by tomorrow. Back to the feed/seed store for more potatoes if they aren't already sold out.
ns
Interesting, thank you so much for the warning.
I’d never been good at getting sizable potatoes. I had some broken down straw bales and put some chitted potatoes in after breaking them down last year and expected nothing. In the fall I checked and they were great!!
Great job! :-)
I'm in the states (deep South) and this is my first year growing potatoes. I have a backyard garden so not a lot of room. I'm trying some of my crops in growing bags (porous bags with handles). I started my seeds in a small greenhouse and my plants are growing beautifully right now! I'm very excited!
So pleased you've got everything off to a great start. Enjoy your first year with the potatoes! :-)
JUst cleaning up my first potato growing bed - not a huge success although what i got were amazing. Feeding the bed this time and ensuring water is adequate as I think these are the most likely causes of low yield of small spuds.
Nice , Elton John gardening
**If you take last year's leaves that are over there in the corner composting for leaf mould and layer that on top...it works VERY well. Some of the added benefits are...(1) it was just sitting there anyway....get that compost pile to work!! (2) you wont have to add compost to that bed at the end of the season (b/c it composted in place...next up carrots and such) and (3) the one i like...it drops the PH a bit to help keep scab away. This method has all the same benefits as the straw but i think it works even better at retaining moisture. YYMV...happy gardening :-)
Nice advice there - thanks for sharing!
Because sunny spots in our woodland lot are a premium, we’re thinking of growing potato towers this season in a medium of layered straw/soil. We’d love to hear some tips on this method if you have them
I have a friend who used straw in potato towers and did have issues with slugs, but I guess that could happen with them at ground level too. What I would say is be sure to use an indeterminate variety, which will give potatoes throughout its root zone, rather than in just a single layer.
@@GrowVeg until today I had no idea there were determinant/indeterminate varieties of potato too. I just verified the three varieties I ordered for planting this season are mixed, so I suppose I’ll now employ both grow methods. You probably just saved me from setting myself up for a huge disappointment. Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi Ben, I have tried to grow potatoes in deep tubs and adding compost at regular intervals like in many videos here on RUclips that suggest you will end up with vast amounts of potatoes but with very little success. After reading your reply to this post, would I be right in thinking that the method I mentioned would benefit from using an indeterminate variety, as I did not know there were different types. Hope that makes sense. Cheers
First year using this method... fingers crossed!
Fingers crossed for you Tiffany. Hope it works out. :-)
@@GrowVeg inside this last year and harvest was good and easy, but even better...I had no potatoe bugs! How come nobody mentions that ?! It's incredible task saving time not having to pinch them!
Okay, now I really really know Google is spying on me, not only did I use this method for the first time last year, I picked up seed potatoes this morning. This is creepy 😀. Love you show and content, keep up the good work 🤘🤘👍👍.
Thank you. Great to have timed this video so perfectly for you! :-)
Just curious.......do you have an Alexa ? .....I unplugged mine for this reason 🤨
@@lynnrushton7458 no. I have no home devices like that. Just my smart phone.
lexington476 ah ok..... I swear Alexa listened to conversationsin my house, there were too many coincidences , & it’s stopped now 🤨🤔
Anything that is marketed as "smart" will listen in for sure. Once we ditched the smart phones (highly recommended for MANY reasons, including health!) the "coincidences" stopped- as long as we remember to unplug our PC microphone every time we use it.
I have lots of videos and articles up regarding EMFs.... be safe! EMFs cause immense harm and Western medicine is utterly clueless.
We just added straw to our compost and the turnaround was immediate. Its magic oh no scary pesticides eeeks
We are doing a huge container with nothing but leaves. We shall see how it turns out.
Thanks for this video. Can you pick your potatoes a meal at a time without destroying the plant -- then do a full harvest when the plant dies back? Do you have any video on sweet potatoes?
If you are very careful you can dig out just what you need, leaving the rest of the plant intact.
I haven't done a video on sweet potatoes yet.
Hi just wondering if I could use old rushes I had cut away and piled up instead of straw? Great video by the way.
Cheers Michael. You could potentially use old rushes, so long as they have a similar texture and form to straw, but I think straw may be preferable. But certainly worth a try.
Thanks Ben for your reply about box hedging. Sorry I may not have been clear. The box hedging I'm thinking of getting are very small plants 10cm in hight or 150ml pots. So planting would be close together right?
Ah sorry, I see. It's fine to start with small plants - sometimes it's even better. They settle in quicker (because they are more versatile and the roots are growing quicker). Plants that are 10cm high will soon catch up with larger specimens. They grow quite fast. And they are SO much cheaper than buying bigger. I'd buy the 10cm high plants if you don't mind waiting an extra season.
I tried this last year and it worked amazingly! Over winter I left the straw in the area that I grew the potatoes to break down. It has somewhat, but there is still a lot of straw there.
Should I just turn it, or should I remove it completely until I reach the soil bed?
I would be inclined to just leave it in place, pushing it apart in order to plant into the soil. If sowing direct, you may need to remove it then return it to the bed once the plants are a bit bigger.
@@GrowVeg you wouldn’t turn it or anything? I’m happy to just leave it. Will that straw breaking down be enough to amend or should I still get something like that organic potato fertilizer?
Hi Ben, another great video thank you . im looking to plant some new potatoes I no we are in august at the moment would I get a yield of potatoes if I planted some new potatoes I live in greater Manchester and not sure if the weather conditions would have a negative affect planting in august what are your thoughts on this best wishes ken
Hi Kenneth. You can buy what are called 'second cropping potatoes' from most garden centres. These are seed potatoes that have been held back specifically for planting in the second half of summer. The idea is that they are planted into potato bags/containers etc. and then grown on for a harvest in late autumn/early winter. You have to keep plants protected from frosts - so they would need moving into a greenhouse or conservatory or similar before it gets too cold. But with the summer we're having I'd say we have a better chance than normal of success. I have just planted some myself.
G'day Ben,
I'm growing a variety named International Kidney, better known as Jersey Royals in the green grocers.
I'm trying them in 40 litre growing sacks this year. As the green shoots grow, add more seaweed compost.
These potatoes can either be harvested as jersey royal new potatoes ( early crop) or let them grow on as a main crop. Delicious and full of flavour either way.
The reason I started growing this variety myself is simply that the flavour from the green grocer or supermarket Jersey Royals just do not taste or have the texture that they used to have ten years ago.
I don't know what happened to the traditional growing techniques ( or even if they changed at all ), on Jersey, but the old /earthy/ flavour has long since gone.
I'm not a religious person, /BUT/ hopefully one of the 3000+ Gods will shine down on my spuds and make my Jersey spuds taste as they should .....delightful .
Interesting - I hadn't noticed the change in taste, but certainly growing them yourself is the best solution to ensuring top-rate taste. :-)
We tried it this spring but the greens of the plants, all of them in 5 different places fell over due to no soil support it seems. Had to tie them up hoping to complete production but quite a mess.
Really sorry to hear that Elizabeth.
I have just planted my first potatoes straight on to grass and with hey on top. I hope it works. They were just potatoes from my fridge thT had sprouted and i put the on the windowsill to chit for. Few weeks.
Do you think they will grow?
I think they may struggle as it's getting darker and cooler now. You may get some growth before winter, but they are unlikely to produce new potatoes, sorry.
Hi Ben. I am wondering what the difference is between hay and straw. I just happened to have bought yesterday some Bintje seed potatoes. I have never sprouted them before sowing but will get to work on this now. Do you have any advice on potato varieties. I live in Alsace in France. Many thanks for all your tips. I really enjoy your channel.
Thanks for the explanation Steve.
I'm not sure which varieties are best for the Alsace region of France. It would be best to check with local nurseries on this, who will have that local knowledge. I expect you would need to water a little more than I do, given it's likely warmer and perhaps a little dryer in spring/summer that much further south. Bon chance!
Straw is the stems left over from harvesting grain crops. Very clean, long, dried golden tubes. Hay is full of different plants and leaves and seeds and is used to feed animals in the winter when they can’t go outside to graze. If you use hay as mulch you will be planting hayseeds in your garden. I’m using old hay for potatoes this year because that’s all I can get. Real straw is a rare commodity now because farmers grow gmo cereals with shorter stems and there is not much straw available.
I grow my potatoes in baskets or tubs as my soil is not very deep and the raised beds are small. They do well but are very heavy to empty as we move them to a different place so we don't dump soil around the grass near the house. This year i will try using star on top of the compost base to see if that makes them easier to carry or maybe I can just pull out the straw to harvest in place. SOunds easer than how we do it now. Does SRAW have seeds or only HAY?
Straw might have some seeds - just those that have dropped down from the seed heads above. So you do get the odd seedling, but it's nothing unmanageable.
2:39 cutting thespuds in half is also known as "cracking the chits" or so ive been told
Never heard that expression - nice one. :-)
What do you find better mulch or manure for base before adding straw please.
I'm using really well-rotted manure, which suits these hungry plants quite nicely. Bit you could use ordinary compost as a base too. Either is fine.
Hi Ben! Would this work if I grow potatoes in containers/sacks? Also, would it work if I alternate the medium I use? For instance, I have some straw and hay, but would also like to use grass cuttings when the lawn's been mowed - basically, whatever I have to hand. Do you think it would work o.k.? Love your videos; so helpful and informative. Thank you! x
My concern is that piled quite high the hay and grass cuttings might compress down and turn into a bit of a mush (like you sometimes get on compost heaps when a lot are added at once). I'd be more tempted to just use straw in this instance.
@@GrowVeg Makes sense. Thanks for that.