Mypex / do dig garden

vincent71 · Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:52 pm Post subject: Mypex / do dig garden

Hi folks, I want to try the no dig method for my vegetables and I was going to use mypex to cover the potatoes. I've planted them 4" below the surface. Have any of you used mypex to cover the spuds instead of earthing them up. If so how did it go ?

Vin

tagwex · Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 11:28 pm Post subject:

There was some religious nut on here about two years ago about the no dig method, bored us all to tears. Must put up a link back to it in the morning. Might change your mind. My one comment is that your spuds should be much deeper as you will get more of a crop. Covering the stalks with soil equals more of a crop. How are you going to do that with mypex in the way?
PS. Did Wexford beat Kilkenny recently?

Blowin · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 5:22 am Post subject:

Hi, Vincent! Ignore our racist friend. He can't help it.

There was at least one previous thread on this subject - http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/about3502.html - which will tell its own story. I have just looked up Dr Shewell Cooper's book from 1977. He is/was a big promoter of 'no dig' but nevertheless still advocated earthing up in the normal way. Local Cork man, Michael Brennock, made no mention of covering in his book as an option so I can only assume it has never caught on as a method. I, too, have seen pictures of huge crops of spuds grown in this way. Maybe those people included loads of slug pellets at planting time.

If you're adamant about trying this, and are only doing it on a very small scale, I can only suggest using quite copious quantities of introduced material such as well rotted farmyard manure, compost, or the crumbly under-layer of a long standing pile of lawn mowings, any of which could be placed on top of your existing soil instead of earthing up. However, I don't imagine you'll be able to do it on a regular basis.

tagwex · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 8:30 am Post subject:

Where is the racism comment? They pissed on the powder, it will never be forgotten!!!

This is the link I mentioned. Enjoy. It is a great film. NOT. http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/about6889.html

vincent71 · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:07 am Post subject:

hi tagwex, yes, wexford sure played a great game and the best team won on the day.
How many times do you have to earth up potatoes, main crops ?

tagwex · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:53 am Post subject:

If only there had been more of those days. One way traffic for too long!
Getting ready to sow my potatoes and other veg today finally, tractor men are in preparing the ground. Coming back shortly to plough it up. Drills during the week and sowing next weekend hopefully.

Once or twice is as much earthing up as you can do in open ground. unlimited if growing in tyres. What is your growing area size wise?

vincent71 · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 5:59 pm Post subject:

The spud patch this year is about 10 meters by 5 meter, but there's plenty of space between the drills. 10 drills. I'm growing sarpo mira and sarbo blue danube.
The earlies are duke of yorke in pots and a few in the tunnel. I haven't grown the sarpo varieties before, have you ?
I originally dug out all the nettle and heavy weeds last summer and dug over the beds again this year. I dug in at least a tonne or more of gardeners gold compost.
The spuds are all coming up and I sprinkled a handful of fish blood and bone meal around the stalks. I earthed up the earlies in the tunnel and put more compost on the spuds in the pots.
Some of the pots have just the compost, some chicken pellets, some fish blood and bone meal. Some have a mix of everything.

tagwex · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 6:25 pm Post subject:

Field ploughed at last. Progress is being made. Never grew Sarpos. Aren't they the blight free ones, allegedly? I heard they were soapy tasting. Agree with you on the Red Duke of York. Very tasty spud.

Blowin · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 6:29 pm Post subject:

Essentially, Vincent, the more you earth spuds up, the more they'll crop. As the halms become buried they sprout more tubers. A chap near me waits until his plants flower, and then cuts all the tops off, leaving just short stalks showing. He then leaves them in the soil until he needs them and never suffers with blight. I did the same with my Markies last year and didn't get blight - but of course I could have been lucky.

vincent71 · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 8:30 pm Post subject:

blowin, what are markies ?

tagwex · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 10:47 pm Post subject:

http://varieties.ahdb.org.uk/varieties/view/Markies

Basically a spud. It's a Cork thing!

Blowin · Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:09 am Post subject:

See also previous post under http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/about8473.html. I somehow get the feeling they started off as a commercial variety, not normally available to home gardeners, but I may be wrong. Mine came from Marshall's of Cambridge.