Hilling potatoes: timing, rules, when and how to hill

Hilling is the practice of cultivating agricultural crops by rolling soil up to the base of the plants. Loose mounds of earth are formed at the base of the plants. Hilling is done manually with a hoe, mattock, disc hiller, plow, or with horse- or tractor-drawn equipment, such as a walk-behind tractor or cultivator.

Why hill potatoes?

Hilling potatoes is an environmentally friendly alternative to herbicides. Potatoes require light and loose soil. Hilling encourages the development of lateral roots, which will then support the tubers. Covering the soil with soil prevents weed growth. New grass is much easier to pull out of loose soil. Loosening the soil allows oxygen and moisture to reach the plant roots.

Overgrown bushes often begin to fall apart, which is where soil piling comes in handy. The bushes are gathered and shaped into neat clusters, preventing the tubers from becoming exposed. The soil piling accumulates heat during the day and prevents the bushes from freezing at night.

Why do they roll potatoes?

• plants grow and develop more intensively;
• fewer nutrients are washed out of the soil;
• hilled potatoes yield 20-30% more;
• plants are more resistant to winds and droughts;
• it's easier to dig potatoes out of the soil;
• fewer green tubers grow;
• minimum of weeds;
• good access of air and water to the rhizome;
• photosynthesis occurs faster.

Is it always necessary to hill up potatoes?

Some believe that hilling is only suitable for the northern regions of the country and for moist soil. It's ineffective in steppe areas. In such areas, deep planting helps achieve results.

You don't need to hill up your vegetables at all; potato roots go deep into the soil and the plants can easily survive without being piled on top. However, stolons can also grow upward, in which case hilling is essential. A loose mound encourages additional tubers to form, increasing yield. Potatoes yield best in moist, loose soil. The soil should be loosened on the second day after rainfall.

There's a technique for growing root crops without hilling. To do this, the beds are covered with straw or black non-woven material, and the potatoes are planted directly into the green manure. When unhilling, the tops are spread out along the ground rather than lifted. Vegetable growers have proven that this planting method is no less effective than traditional hilling.

When and how many times should potatoes be hilled?

The planting date for tubers depends on the weather, the variety chosen, and the growing region. Each gardener decides the timing of hilling their potatoes. They look at the condition of their beds and decide when it's best to hoe the vegetables. In the central and northern regions, hilling is done immediately after planting the tubers. Hilling is done to protect the seedlings from night frosts. Hilling up potatoes over the summer 2-3 times.

Approximate time for hilling:

• You need to hill up potatoes for the first time when the bushes grow 15-20 cm in length;
• the second time the soil is sprinkled 15-20 days after the first time;
• The third hilling is done a month after the second procedure, usually two times is enough.

Hilling should be done in the evening or morning to avoid the sun's harsh rays. This makes the work easier, and the cooler temperatures prevent the plants from wilting.

Recommendations on how to properly hill potatoes

Potatoes like to breathe, so don't plant them too deeply. In light soil, plant at a depth of 8 cm; in dense soil, at a depth of 5 cm. Hilling and weeding are done at the same time, which is convenient. Remove large weeds that shade the plants. Small grass dies naturally after the soil is loosened. The earthen mound should be 10-30 cm high, depending on the height of the plants.

Adviсe:

1. After hilling, you cannot water the plants with a hose, otherwise the pile of soil may “float” and the work will be in vain.
2. In dry weather, before loosening, moisten the soil and then hill up the beds.
3. After a long rainy summer period, wait 2-3 days for the soil to dry out, then carry out hilling.
4. Potatoes are not hilled in rainy summers.
5. If you hill up potatoes during flowering, the plants may shed their buds.

How to hill potatoes: methods and tools

On a 2-300 square meter garden plot, potatoes are loosened with a hoe. If the planting area is larger, manual cultivation is too labor-intensive. Gardeners use a walk-behind tractor, a disc hiller, a cultivator, or a plow.

Manually hilling potatoes with a hoe

To prevent sunstroke and damage to plants, loosen the soil in the morning, after rain or watering. Potato hilling hoes come in triangular or trapezoidal shapes.

The traditional way

Hoeing remains the traditional method for cultivating small plots. To manually hill potatoes, you'll need a hoe, and choose a cool, post-rainy day.

Hoeing instructions:

• the soil between the rows is dug up with a hoe;
• the earth must be raked in one direction;
• the soil is raked to one side of the bushes, then on the other side the same work is done in the opposite direction;
• the result is a high and wide mound, with bush stems sticking out at the top of the mound;
• At the end of the ridges, a depression is made to collect rainwater.

Fan method

The fan-shaped method of planting is used when the bushes reach 20 cm in height. A shovel, not a hoe, is more suitable for this method. This method significantly increases yield.

Processing scheme:

• the stems are carefully spread apart and laid out on the ground in different directions;
• Use a shovel to collect soil and pour it into the middle of the bush;
• the soil is thrown on so that the tops with leaves remain on the surface;
• straw and dry grass are placed on the embankment;
• in a couple of days the branches will start to grow upwards;
• After 15 days the bush will stretch out and grow, forming new shoots.

Hilling according to Zamyatkin (similar to the previous one)

Zamyatkin, a vegetable grower from Siberia, proposed his own method for hilling potatoes. He claimed that traditional hoeing reduces yield. Inside the plant, there's a struggle for light and moisture.

Okuchka according to Zamyatkin:

• tubers are planted in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 30-40 cm;
• when the seedlings grow to 15-20 cm, the stems are moved apart in different directions;
• straw, grass, and leaves are placed in the center of the bush, with the tops of the plants remaining on top;
• the yield increases by 2 times;

Under cover, the soil retains moisture, the earth doesn't dry out, and the tubers don't turn green. The Colorado potato beetle doesn't eat the leaves, and the sun doesn't scorch the bushes.

Walk-behind tractor

When planting potatoes on a large scale, a rational and convenient method is needed: hilling with a walk-behind tractor. This is an expensive machine that requires fuel. However, for large plantings, it can be used to quickly cultivate the area. The walk-behind tractor has two cultivators in the front and one plow in the rear.

The machine is easy to use, and the process takes much less time than hilling potatoes with a hoe. If the spacing between rows is uneven, the rhizomes may be damaged.

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Disc hiller

You can make your own disc hiller. It consists of a handle, two discs, and a spine. The tilt of the structure is manually adjusted. The best option is when the discs are bolted on, which adjusts the width between the discs. The hiller can cultivate two beds at once on one side or one bed on both sides.

A manual hiller is used to cultivate the row spacing of various vegetable crops, not just potatoes. Manual hillers are mounted on a tractor or a walk-behind tractor.

Cultivator

There are manual (mechanical) and automatic cultivators. Manual cultivators are less expensive, but the physical strain involved is significantly greater than with an automatic cultivator. Cultivators come in light, medium, and heavy grades, weighing from 10 to 40 kg. The working depth varies between these machines, ranging from 25 to 80 cm. Cultivators are powered by electricity or gasoline.

In addition to hilling, cultivators crush clods of soil, dig furrows for planting, and are suitable for applying sand or fertilizer. Potatoes are also harvested using the machine.

Plow

Plow A plow is a hand-held tool used to hill potatoes and other vegetables. It can be pulled by a horse. Welding a wheel onto it makes cultivating the soil easier. The plow has a tine-shaped hiller. A homemade plow will be much cheaper than a store-bought one.

Advantages of the plow:

• compactness;
• ease of use;
• maneuverability;
• possibility of loosening by one person;
• low price.

Hilling potatoes can increase yields by at least 30%. This procedure has a beneficial effect on the development of potato plants. Providing oxygen to the tubers helps them gain weight, and the foliage becomes lush. Glucose accumulates in the foliage, which dissolves and is transferred to the roots. This promotes starch accumulation. Automatic soil loosening devices simplify and facilitate human work. Hilling and loosening potatoes help grow tasty and large tubers.