Last updated on November 21st, 2021
TO GET THE LARGEST POSSIBLE HARVEST OF POTATOES, it is necessary to “hill” the plants. To do this, you simply mound soil, shredded leaves or straw over the vines, until only the uppermost leaves are exposed to the sun. It is under this mounding-material that new potato-making stems or “stolons” form. I’m hilling my own potatoes today. Would you like to watch?
Above: As you can see, my seed potatoes are planted in a timber-framed bed. The bed is only half-filled with soil, in order to later accommodate hilling-material. I’ve let the vines grow to about 8 inches in length.
Here, chopped straw has been poured right up to the tops of the vines, until only the upper 2-4 inches of leaves are on view.
With hilling, the goal is to keep adding material each time the vines add 6-8 inches to their stature. If you grow your potatoes in the open ground, you can hill and hill until the vines finally flower. But if you grow your tubers in a raised bed, as I do, hilling generally stops when the top of the bed is reached. Unless, of course, you are aiming for a “Mount Vesuvius” effect, as illustrated above.
Anyway, if you haven’t planted your potatoes yet, don’t worry – there’s still time to get them in the ground. Believe me, having a store of tubers in your cold cellar (or unheated spare room) will give you one less reason to visit the supermarket during winter. And what’s not to like about that?
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Related Posts:
How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Potatoes
Peggy says
Kevin, your post is right on time! My potatoes are about 8 inches tall now, and I was wondering when to hill them, or if it was even possible to hill them in a raised bed. Now I know! Many thanks!
Alan says
This may seem like a dumb question, but how do you keep the straw from blowing away?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Peggy – welcome to A Garden for the House. Very easy to grow and hill potatoes in a raised bed, especially if start, as I did, with a bed only half-filled with soil.
Alan – No such thing as a dumb question! Once you wet the straw, it stays firmly in place.
Randy J says
Kevin,
I did mound as high as I could without burying the onions that are plated at the perimeter of the raised beds that contain the potatoes. My potatoes are starting to bloom now!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Randy – aren't potato-blossoms the most beautiful shade of blue?
Brigid says
Kevin, you rock
Sally says
Kevin: I only hilled once this year – wet, wet weather followed. Can I still hill the plant now that it is starting to flower? I'm growing them inside tomato cages that have black plastic around them. I hope I'm not too late to hill again.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Sally – you're not too late. Go ahead and hill the plants until you've reached the top of the cage.
And by the way, that cage-with-black-plastic idea seems like an effective way to grow potatoes. Kudos to you for such creativity!
Terry says
I have hilled my potato plants with straw, but when it gets rainy mushrooms start growing in the straw. Are these bad? should I pull them out? When the sun comes out it seems to kill the mushrooms.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Terry – It's not uncommon for mushrooms to grow on damp, shaded straw. Just knock them over when they appear.
Courtney Talbot says
Hi! I planted my potatos in late June. I hilled once and then just rehilled the other day bc there was like 16″ on green sprouts. Today, I plan on buying soil to continue hilling. Is this bad? Am I too late? It looks like they are starting to fall over. Very green though.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Welcome, Courtney. If your vines have not flowered yet, by all means continue to hill. After flowering, plants do not benefit from the hilling-treatment. And don't worry – it is the potato-vine's habit to grow extraordinarily long!
See you soon again, I hope.
Courtney Talbot says
Thanks Kevin!
When is it time to dig for the potatos?
I am so excited!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Courtney – now is the time to harvest your potatoes. But if you've had a lot of rain recently — as I have — wait until the soil dries before digging. Have fun, and let me know how your harvest goes.
And…be sure to sign up for my email newsletter…if you haven't already!
zehra says
can you eat the mushrooms that grow outta straw? sorry it's off topic.
Linda says
I tried using the ‘straw’ method on my potatoes two years ago. I had them planted around the inside perimeter and used chicken coop wire to ‘hold the straw in the space around the inside row to the fence. I didn’t notice much improvement – but I did gain a lot of snakes in the garden.
Two years later, I am REALLY regretting I ever did this. The amount of weeds introduced into my garden has been unbelievable. “Straw” overtook the garden last year and killed nearly everything else I had been growing as I was unable to keep up with the weeds. This year, I am covering my rows with garden cloth, but the soil is so laced with roots from the straw weeds that grew I am not sure how well it will work. Just my 2 cents (and a friend I spoke to last week had the same exact problem in her garden after introducing the straw).
Brian J. says
June 19–Is it too late to plant potatoes for this season?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Brian J. – I don’t know where you live, but here in zone 5-b, June 19 is certainly not too late to plant potatoes.
Nichole says
How is the best way to store potatoes when you do not have an unused cold room or an easily accessible dry basement?
Chelsea says
Kevin,
I have grow potatoes before, but I just harvested a bunch that have many eyes. When I have done this in the past they don’t have eyes until I store them to replant , and after months in cold storage they develop eyes and I replant in spring. So I guess my question is why and can I eat them?
Lillian Otto says
Oops! I thought one was to wait until AFTER potatoes flower to hill them. Is it too late to hill after flowering? I have only straw.
Lil
Raymond says
Come on Kevin. You may have some potato knowledge but that comment about the flower color is killing me. Different varieties of potatoes can have different color flowers. I’ve got 5 varieties right now and not a one has a blue tinted flower I’ve got whites and pinks.
Ben says
Love that photo with the wine glass. I can tell that you’re livin’ the dream!