Mulching is a valuable measure that protects the soil and its inhabitants. Due to the numerous advantages, applying mulch material to the bed every year has proven to be a good idea. This method is recommended as a supplement to piling up.
Why should you mulch potatoes?
Mulching potatoes offers many benefits such as soil protection, weed control and moisture regulation. A 20 cm thick layer of grass clippings, leaves or straw on the bed has a supportive effect in addition to piling up and ensures better plant growth.
Benefits of hilling and mulching
When you grow potatoes and pile soil around the plants, you support root formation in the shoot area. This means that more daughter tubers will form later. This measure also prevents tubers from forming on the surface of the earth and becoming inedible due to sunlight. It promotes a loose soil structure, which means the potatoes grow better and the harvest is larger.
After piling up, a layer of mulch ensures that no more weeds grow between the potatoes in the garden. The substrate remains evenly moist and supports he althy plant growth. They stimulate the microorganisms living in the soil, which make nutrients available to plants by decomposing the organic material.
Hill up before mulching
Before you pile up soil or mulching material around the plants, you should dust the leaves and stems with rock dust (€17.00 on Amazon) or algae lime. This increases resistance to potato diseases such as brown rot or fungal pathogens that cause late blight. As part of this measure, remove weeds and stones from the soil so that the potatoes grow better. As soon as the young plants have reached a height of between ten and 15 centimeters, you can mulch the soil.
Procedure:
- Pull the substrate to the base of the stem with a leaf hoe
- Shoot tips should protrude from the soil
- Repeat measure after three weeks
- cover exposed daughter tubers with substrate
Apply a layer of mulch
Mulching can be seen as an alternative or additional care measure to piling up. Cover the bed with a 20 centimeter thick layer of grass clippings, green manure, leaves or straw. To prevent the material from starting to rot, you should chop it up and let it dry overnight. After this measure, watering the potatoes is reduced.
Tip
You can also cover the bed with black foil with slits after planting. It warms the soil, reduces water evaporation and prevents weeds from spreading.
