Turning a Lawn into Potatoes!

fighterman

I have been doing work on a holiday house owned by my family recently. It has been suggested to me that I turn the overgrown back lawn (about 50 square metres) into a potato patch.

What steps would be involved?

Gambas

Dig it all and take out all the tap root weeds (like docks) - don't try cutting them up and digging them back in. Then dig it again. You've a couple of weeks but the maincrop should be going in shortly.

Alternatively, you could just cover it with a layer of manure and polythene over that to starve everything below of light and leave it until next winter to dig. It'll be easier to dig then.

fighterman

Thanks, how deep do I need to dig? Best way to dig it, use a rotovator?

Gambas

fighterman wrote: »

Thanks, how deep do I need to dig? Best way to dig it, use a rotovator?

Hand held rotavators that you hire (or at least ones I've hired) are only suitable for cultivated ground - they won't make an impression on fresh ground like you have. Tractor and a plow/rotavator would do the trick if you could arrange one. Otherwise you just have to dig 12-18 inches down with a spade, break up the sod and bury the green bits at the bottom. Then dig the whole lot again and break it up some more. Oh, and dig in some compost at this point too.

Potatoes are very forgiving, so you won't need to really work the soil with a fork into a nice fine tilth like you have to do with finer seed.

fighterman

Gambas wrote: »

Otherwise you just have to dig 12-18 inches down with a spade, break up the sod and bury the green bits at the bottom. Then dig the whole lot again and break it up some more. Oh, and dig in some compost at this point too.

Thanks, can you clarify a few points?

How do you mean 'bury the green bits at the bottom'?

And what gap in time should I leave between initial dig and second dig?

Ever2010

You could try the traditional way of planting potatoes in Lazy beds - http://sallygardens.typepad.com/sallygardens/2007/03/lazy_beds_deser.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BLy_W8la7s

fighterman

Interesting! Thank you!

redser7

Spuds break up the ground themselves so they are often a good first crop in new ground. So you might get away with roughly digging the ground over. Then plant each spud about 6 inches deep. Save yourself some work and dig each hole with a bulb planter, chuck some compost and general fertiliser in the bottom, then the spud, and cover it over.

Gambas

fighterman wrote: »

Thanks, can you clarify a few points?

How do you mean 'bury the green bits at the bottom'?

And what gap in time should I leave between initial dig and second dig?

The way I tend to do it is to dig out the sod and then flip it over and put this upsidedown at the bottom of the trench/hole - about 12-18" down. Two reasons for that - firstly the greenery and dense roots near the surface will decompose at depth and provide nutrients for the potatoes and secondly it makes it much harder for the grass/weeds to regrow from that depth if upsidedown.

I've never used lazybeds - but have seen it done and working. If you aren't planning on turning the ground into a permanent veg garden, but just planning on using the ground this year, it is a good approach.

Macy0161

Gambas wrote: »

Alternatively, you could just cover it with a layer of manure and polythene over that to starve everything below of light and leave it until next winter to dig. It'll be easier to dig then.

You could do this and then plant through the plastic - either with a bulb planter as mentioned, or plant them and then cover and cut the plastic to allow the potato plant through.

Is the long term aim to have it as veg/ potato patch or a way of clearing the overgrown lawn?