In a previous post we gave the background to our decision to try growing potatoes under straw.  This time a little detail on the planting process – well it’s not  really  planting, but read on to find out more.

Our potatoes had been ‘chitted’ – the process where the seed potatoes are left out in a dry, light environment to grow stout dark (not white spindly) shoots. This gives them a head start, especially the earlier varieties.

Essentially, all that we did was lay the seed potatoes on the ground with a handful of chicken manure pellets and then covered them with about 6 inches/15cms of the dry straw.  After that a good soaking to dampen it down and that was it.  About 30 potatoes ‘planted’ in as many minutes.

Honestly we took almost as long writing the labels to hang on the little wire fencing surround; which with hindsight wasn’t really necessary, but we worried the straw might blow around onto our neighbour’s plots.

The proof of this would all come much later as they grew and we came to harvest time, but more of that in another post.