Tending to the Earth: The Art of Hilling Potatoes

Image: AI-Generated; Prompt/edited: Tom Myrick
-Hilling Potatoes –

Hilling potatoes is a widespread practice when growing them. It involves adding soil around the base of the potato plants to encourage stem growth and provide more sites for potatoes to form. Hilling also helps suppress weeds and protects plants from frost damage. Properly hilling potatoes is essential for their healthy growth and prevents them from turning green.

Here at the Veggie-Bed, when our potato plants are 6-8 inches high, it’s time to hill them. We use a hoe or a hand trowel to scoop dirt and create small mounds around the plants. We repeat this for all potato plants, ensuring we pack the dirt tightly with our hands until only the plant’s leaves are visible. Then, we add a thick layer of mulch on top of the soil to keep it cool and prevent weeds.

After a few weeks, the potato tubers will continue to grow, allowing the plants to reach another 8-12 inches in height. For the second hilling, we place a mixture of topsoil and compost around the base of the plants to further protect the tubers and suppress weeds. This helps maintain soil moisture and keeps the potatoes covered. We regularly check for exposed potatoes and cover them with a mixture of topsoil and compost. We water the plants as needed to keep the soil consistently moist.

Proper hilling ensures healthier potato plants and better yields. Happy gardening!

Image: AI-Generated
Prompt/edited: Tom Myrick

Writer/Digital creator/Prompt designer: Tom Myrick

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