# Do you have to hill potatoes?



## potatoguru (May 6, 2013)

I've read that you need to hill your potatoes or else they will become sunburned making them green. When my dad was a kid they never hilled there potatoes but they grew them in a raised bed that they made with there tractor. Kinda like this : 












I don't grow my potatoes in a raised bed like that. I live in Oregon and have red clay type soil. So should I have been hilling them(the tops are already blooming and there quite tall) or will they be alright without it? Thanks for the help


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## Farmer Willy (Aug 7, 2005)

Waaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttt a minute! If'n you're the potatoguru why are you askin us? Shouldn't you be the one atellin us if'n we need to be ahillin our taters or not?


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## Brighton (Apr 14, 2013)

I have never hilled potatoes, might poke one down (gently) with my toe now and then, but nope and I get good to very good harvests.


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## potatoguru (May 6, 2013)

Farmer Willy said:


> Waaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttt a minute! If'n you're the potatoguru why are you askin us? Shouldn't you be the one atellin us if'n we need to be ahillin our taters or not?


haha :happy2: I aspire to be a potato guru


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## randm (May 24, 2013)

My papa hills his potatoes and we had a good harvest this year. We have a sandy soil, while hilling may not be necessary it doesn't hurt.


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## Farmer Willy (Aug 7, 2005)

potatoguru said:


> haha :happy2: I aspire to be a potato guru


 
Well that's different. Until you attain tater enlightenment I dub you 'lil spud.

As for your question, not necessary to hill, just ensure the new taters are out of direct sunlight. Dirt is cheapest so folks hill with dirt. Some like straw instead as it makes them easier to uncover and keeps the little darlins cleaner. I prefer to use butter, sour cream and some chopped chive----when I dig em up I just need to heat and serve.


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

In red clay soil, it would have been best to plant them and cover them with an inch of soil over the seed piece, then use straw or some other loose material to cover them. If they were planted any deeper in the clay, its stiffness will tend to choke the developing tubers and keep them small. If this is your case, I would hill them in order to loosen the soil. That way, they can "slip 'n slide" as they develop. It is true, most often, that hilling serves to keep them protected from sunlight, but here, you are helping them to develop.

geo


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Depends upon the depth that the seed pieces are planted. If I plant only a few inches deep in order to obtain quick emergence, then the plants get covered right away and again when the next couple inches appear. If I plant 8 inches deep to start with for slow emergence, and 6 of that is higher than the garden grade, then only one minor hilling is done just to make the mounded row somewhat uniform. That also allows the valley between rows to be filled in with shredded leaves or similar. 

Martin


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I usually lay my seed potatoes on the surface and cover them with a foot of oak leaves. 

This year I planted them an inch or 2 below the surface and now that the plants are a few inches high I'll cover them with the leaves after a couple of weedings.


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## LittleRedHen (Apr 26, 2006)

I used to hill them thinking somehow it made more taters and it sure didn't! lol! This year I just have a layer of straw to keep them out of the sun when it gets to that time and thats all I am doing! I have very sandy soil so its an issue for me as somehow the sand eventually becomes sugar sand and a slight breeze uncovers taters a little


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Hilling for production is possible but demands careful attention and timing. All one needs to be concerned about is allowing about a 6" zone for tuber production. That means 8" of moist soil or other medium is needed above the seed piece.

Martin


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

Here with a high amount of clay in our soils, potatoes are hilled for two reasons. First, if one doesn't they sometimes get too wet with the heavy rains in the spring. which can cause rot and other problems. Secondly, the clay can get pretty tight latter on in the growing season, and then the tubers have trouble pushing it apart, causing knobby potatoes, and potatoes to push up partially out of the ground, causing the green potatoes you were worried about.

What works best here, is to hill (actually a ridge, not individual hills) the potatoes and then cover with a thick layer of straw once they have sprouted though the soil. The ridge gives the potatoes a good start without "wet feet" the straw keeps out weeds and sun until the potatoes are ready to dig. I make rather large hills (ridges) then plant strawberries in them after I harvest the potatoes. 

All this is not necessary on loose well drained soils.


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