Is it too late to add mulch or dirt to potato plants?

Question

We have put in our first garden this year.  Our potato plants are huge.  The plants are about two feet tall and spread out over three feet.  Being first time gardeners, we did not know we needed to add more dirt or mulch to cover the plants after they came up.  I'm afraid we have a short growing area, because we put the seed piece about 4 inches under ground in a 8 to 10 inch mound.  We thought the mound was high enough, but didn't realize all the tubers would be ABOVE the seed piece.  Now, I know we should have added layers of dirt to allow them to grow better.  Is it too late, now that the plants are so big?  If we cover the plants now, would it damage the plants themselves?  

Also, what all can you use to cover the mounds deeper?  Does it have to be soil?  Or can you use mulch or straw?  What is best?

rjs · Accepted Answer

what you describe sounds to large to disturb anymore...

normally i hill with soil at 6 inches, then mulch after that to keep down weeds...

? · Answer

Yes you can use straw or whatever.

benefit of using undirty things like straw is they say it makes less dirt on ur potato. Also easier to reach in and harvest at will or Just they fall out easier if u harvest all at once.

to partially harvest u can use fencing that u can reach through like if u made a tomato cage that u were reaching through. For that method, straw would let you use bigger holes than soil would since straw wouldn't fall out of big holes as easy as soil would.

As far as should you go ahead and cover them up now at this late date, well, IF it is true that you would get no harvest anyway then nothing to lose. Best thing is you got more than one plant to experiment with, because truth is, it's worth trying whatever you think of, because Fact is, just because texts or people say it can't be done, well, it often CAN be done. i have seen this time and time again.

about whether it is true. now, i do not know yet but maybe the plants send runners to the side and so potatoes can form on those runners. it is the way my friend described how his seemed to go in one instance. I suspect that even if it is true that runners sometimes form then the tower is still likely to be superior yield tho since it is recommended so often. 

re covering tissue on plants in general, yes it can mean rot will set in and so it seems ok to suggest that you cut off the leaves before you cover it..like how they recommend u trim leaves off a flower stem before you submerge it in a vase. Then maybe go ahead and let the stem wounds (where you cut) air heal for a day before you cover it.

texts about how to do potato towers:
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oGkiO_jx1KFWgBpnVXNyoA?p=potato+tower+-frugalupstate.blogspot&y=Search&fr=b1ie7&fr2=sb-top&sao=1

if u use these potaoes for next year as seed then remember to select the best so ur strain doesn't degenerate and also u get the ones that have been the most successful in ur climate; same as all seed breeding/saving.

just general grow links but including links to two-way discussion forums:
http://www.dmoz.org/home/garden

link to local agricultural extension offices. can have local bug info, recommendations re cultivar selection considering locally relevant facts like prevalent disease(s), soil or whatever info they manage to put up it seems (some local orgs got better coordination than others):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_extension_service#External_links

in case ur area is weak on it's texts or just because, that first link on that page is to the best all around extension office for the US so if u were surfing then hit it after hitting ur own.

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Is it too late to add mulch or dirt to potato plants?

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