Not sure if I understand exactly what your question is but hilling potatoes with soil and mulch of some kind is not only standard practice, it is required. As they develop the potatoes need to be covered, protected from the sun to prevent them from turning green and so not edible. And when properly mulched will increase the crop production.

Sorry if that isn't what you wanted to hear but it sounds to me like he is doing exactly what is needed and the photo looks good although very shady.

Dave

NO, no, exactly the opposite. I know they need to be hilled and he's doing a LOVELY job. I just wanted to know if they can be hilled up too much or fussed with too often. He adds mulch at least once a week and evens out the soil over new sprouts and fluffs it up so they can grow more easily.

I thought it needed to be hilled up after they hit six to twelve inches and only a few times during the season. But these potatoes have only been in the ground for three or four weeks.

As an aside, I have some sprouty potatoes. Is there any reason to not add them?

I just wanted to know if they can be hilled up too much or fussed with too often.

Not really although there is no need to build up 3 foot tall mounds.

Hilling the foliage as it grows is what is recommended. It just keeps on growing up through the soil/mulch. Depending on the variety, you get more potatoes that way, the soil moisture is stabilized, and the soil temp is kept down in the cooler ranges.

If you wait until the plants are already 6-12" tall then you have already lost any potatoes that would have developed from those exposed nodes and the soil is already warming up.

Planting sprouted potatoes now? Sure if you can get them in where there is still cool soil. Warm soil gives you plants with little to no potatoes.

Dave

g'day sandra,

hilling spuds is a common practice, all it really does is protect the spuds from the effects of the sun turning them green.

we hill ours with hay/straw whatever, but only to enough height to protect underground spuds from the sun.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens instant potato patch

Len, I understand that. I was concerned that he might be adding mulch too often. Is there such a thing?

I believe that it is possible to over-hill potatoes. There's a point where hilling is beneficial and a point where it does nothing. If you do a search here for 'potato bins' you'll see evidence of this. The thought was that you could plant your potatoes in the bin and continually build up both the bin and the soil around the potatoes in the hopes of increasing your yield. But when people took their bins apart they were sorely disappointed by the results.

Rodney