How to Grow Potatoes the Lazy Way (You'll Never Need to Dig Again!)

[@CollegeRodent]

The easiest way to plant potatoes is to harvest 90% of the potatoes and leave 10% in the ground. Let them overwinter. They will sprout in late spring and start growing like crazy. Just remember to dump lots of organic matter, such as fallen pine needles and tree leaves, quail manure, etc etc, onto the top of the soil during winter and spring.

[@oneoflokis]

THAT sounds like an interesting method too! 🙂

[@douglasgosney9172]

Rubbish

[@CollegeRodent]

@@douglasgosney9172 You mean garbage and trash? 🤣

[@AdAstraLabs]

Leaving behind potatoes increases chance of blight.

[@CollegeRodent]

@@AdAstraLabs Nope. Potatoes covered under well drained soil are better than potatoes in your garage. They last much longer and will sprout at the right time every year. Even if they occasionally sprout too early, they will survive eventually cause they have better roots. The potatoes in your garage will dry up and get moldy very easily.

[@7munkee]

Dont forget to dry your potatoes out in the sun for a few hours before storing to increase storage life. Dont wash them before storing either as the dry dirt also helps long term storage.

[@vickilawrence7207]

Thanks for that info! I'm a 1st time potato grower. Had no idea about that!

[@Mari443Garrett1]

But the potatoes they sell in the grocery stores are washed so it washing them might not be that bad.

[@benayakeenanhutagalung9798]

Can you give me the scientific explanation of how dry dirt help with long term storage?

[@vs-cr9lv]

apparently it will shorten their life span if you wash them initially

[@offgrid-j5c]

@@benayakeenanhutagalung9798 ,, Without linking the science, I will tell you that the potato, as well as most plants, have a ultra thin membrane covering the sub terrain portions,,,(I forget the name of it) it protects the root from infections and damage. Washing will remove it and the potato won't last as long in storage. In my cold cellar they last from late sept to late june if not washed,,,, they are soft and sprouted by early april if washed,,, so around a month and a half difference right at the time when they are getting low.

[@dancelessonsorlando7231]

Ruth Stout has a similar way of planting potatoes. She doesn't push the spouted potatoes into the soil, but they lay on top and then she covers them with hay. I tried this method for my first planting and it works well. Harvesting the potatoes was super easy. Pull away the hay, and the potatoes are waiting for me without any digging. In the U.S. it is difficult to find hay that has not be sprayed with chemicals. I switched to putting pine straw on top, and the potato plants starting growing in three weeks. YAY! I love potatoes!

[@garthwunsch]

In four years no one has reponded to your use of pine straw... repeated use of that as a mulch will likely ruin your garden. Pine needles emit an exudate which is a growth inhibitor. You won’t even find baby pine trees growing beneath the momma pine!!! I nearly killed my raspberry bed with pine straw. took years to recover.

[@fionabologna1768]

@@garthwunsch oh my stars! I had no idea. I used pine straw on my potatoes years ago. Didn't get a good harvest at all. And that raised bed has been a problem ever since, even with serious mulching. My neighbor said not to use the pine, but never said why. Thank you for the info! 🙂

[@HGCUPCAKES]

In the US check with pet stores etc as bunny owners buy hay for their bunnies

[@nasseemmuttur778]

@@garthwunsch, I have noticed that also. I let it accumulate under my pine trees, no weed problem.

[@garthwunsch]

@@HGCUPCAKES this hay can still be infected with aminopyralids, and it will survive in the poop too. Awful stuff. Test your hay quality by wetting it down well and planting/transplanting some bean seeds into it. It they germinate and grow normally, you’re good to go. If the leaves are puckered, the hay goes to the landfill site… it’s poisoned.

[@patrickforbes6745]

I used a similar method in my garden. I put down 18 inches of hay, then the seed potatoes and then 6 inches more hay. By mid summer I was able to reach in the hay and gather dinner. The plants then produced more. At the end of the growing season I tilled the now decomposed hay into the rest of the garden. Always had more than enough potatoes for 5 families.

[@gailcroslin1647]

This is how my father-in-law always planted his potatoes. He got huge crops every year with easy harvesting.

[@foopadr9076]

Maybe because he "missed" some potatoes for next years crop?

[@dahutful]

welcome to the Ruth Stout Method. She would pull back the previous layer of hay (she never removed any), toss the tubers down, and heap the hay back on top . A dressing of fresh hay was layered on, some water, and that’s it. She was quite old and couldn’t get down on the ground; her only tool was a rake David South Carolina

[@richardbellsr2345]

I found a good way to keep the hay from blowing away, I live in a high wind area, blows everyday, huge gust up to 60 and even as high as 100 mph in wind storms, I take a five gallon bucket and fill it with water and grab a hand full of hay big enough to stuff the bucket inside the water, soak the hay and pull it out and throw it on the ground! It compresses the hay as it drys and makes it heavy! All my growth still pushes through! I also use hay to keep the ground wet with seeds you don't plant very deep where the ground dries out before the seeds can germinate, hay really helps with germinating seeds in shallow planting!

[@timmotz2827]

If the sides of your raised bed are taller or if you build it up with fencing of some kind, you can continue to add layers of straw or other mulch as the potato plants grow up. The plants will continue to grow up and put out additional roots and those roots will form additional potatoes. I once ended up with a potato tower about 3 ft tall that was filled with potatoes.

[@truthseeker6384]

Tim Motz--Valuable info. Thanks for sharing this tip!

[@maximedwards3451]

Tim Motz Exactly true. They grow upwards with the plant.

[@EclecticHillbilly]

We always did the same thing with old tires, just keep stacking them up. When you get ready to gather your taters, just pull off one tire at a time and there they are.

[@garthwunsch]

This only works for indeterminate varieties.

[@wrapupnaturalee8351]

Great video Huw :) It may have been a good idea to talk about the ones that have green on them and how they are toxic and should not be used/eaten because of it. Also, the reason they become green ... not enough compost to keep them in complete darkness and keeping the sunlight from getting to them, hence a chemical reaction occurring.

[@sharonstanley5054]

I did this one year. Time to harvest, I took my pitchfork into the hay and lifted it up. There among the potatoes was A HUGE NEST OF BUMBLEBEES! I began to pray for deliverance, I can tell you. It was a hot day. I very carefully and slowly lowered the hay canopy. A couple of bumblebees flew around me, but no attack. I won't do that again. Best wishes to all.

[@Faomidigitalmarketing]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TRichmond1964]

I've never grown a potato! but his accent has a way of making me want to become a real organic gardener!:

[@anthonydowling3356]

It could be worse .You could have an Irish accent like mine :-)

[@HuwRichards]

Considering I'm part Irish I'd be more than happy to have the accent

[@ms.farmgirl]

@@HuwRichards - - I am not an accent specialist, but you sound like you are from the northwest portion of wales, or maybe the Netherlands to me. My all time favourite accents are either Swansea area of Wales or Northern Ireland.

[@lowesonia8551]

Oh Huw, you are such a lovely person . Follow all your good tips . Your parents must be proud of your success

[@HuwRichards]

+LOWE sonia Thank you so much for your kind words :)

[@sowjanyareddy819]

Martenp Dekker the

[@laceandbits]

@Marten Dekker A few had a small area of green. Just peel that bit more thickly until the green is gone, then they are perfectly safe to eat.

[@Donsternyc]

We used a variation of this growing method. Lay a think layer of leaves from the previous autumn that we stored in a bin. Lay the seed potatoes on the leaves and cover with a thick layer of straw. When the potatoes were ready for harvesting, simply remove the straw and the almost clean potatoes were picked by hand--no tools necessary and no damaged potatoes.

[@joangordon-mowatt2229]

wow

[@pascalbaylon256]

Wow! Completely without soil? I’ll try this method since I have plenty of autumn leaves in the fall here in Canada. Thanks!

[@marycielo7790]

Really noted that you love planting.All your videos are full of your knowledge. Thanks for sharing this material with us, it's like gold.

[@brendancull8316]

I'm not much of a gardener, but here's an idea for your tatties. Half my life ago, when I was about your age, the father of the girl I was living with at the time used to fill a bin bag with soil, put small slits in the side, and plant his tatties in them. When he harvested them he would just slit the bag and pick them out, no need for digging them up, then rake the soil over the bed of soil, easy, I thought what a good idea.

[@tone1446]

Last season I went even further. I placed my potato straight on the lawn and covered with - my grass clippings (scooped up laid over). Next time I cut grass I filled up. And I just kept keeping them covered. I got a wonderful harvest ❤️

[@michaelcorbidge7914]

Grass clippings being essentially chopped hay . I'm starting to think that wood mulch doesn't work like hay works . Different microbes are associated with each and looks like summer warmth isn't a wise choice either if using wood mulch .

[@apersonontheinternet8006]

I compost all of my clippings and might have to try this.

[@tone1446]

@@apersonontheinternet8006yes why make it hard when not needed... Nature provides 🙏

[@unclecordite9208]

Dad tried this when I was a kid in the 1970‘s in Surrey British Columbia. Plants grew thick and lush, but when the tops died down and we pulled back the hay mulch, he discovered that field mice had moved in under the mulch over the summer, and eaten every last potato, and not a single spud was to be found. Dad was just fit to be tied, while I did my best not to laugh at the grand experiment :-)

[@rockjockchick]

Oh no!!! Farming is a bigger challenge than I’d ever realized!

[@veganvocalist4782]

😂 awwww the mice’s turned it into a mouse take away 🐁😄

[@ratildahoyden9864]

Having a taller raised bed might help with the mice. I construct mine from roofing sheet metal, so the beds are about 70 cm tall. The wire mesh, plus the highest grade landscapers fabric do not let any animals to get in the bed from underneath.

[@ohwhatelse]

@@ratildahoyden9864 ... Just too bad that filling raised beds is so darn much work- unless you have heavy eqpmt. But so many of us don't.

[@ratildahoyden9864]

@@ohwhatelse I don't have any equipment, I live in a suburban house with a lot less than 1/4 of an acre. The trick is to fill the raised beds with other staff than soil first - wood brush, old stumps (you can get them at your town's recycling center, if you don't have any), fallen branches, cardboard from your Amazon boxes (just take the plastic off), compost, even old wood furniture (if it's not lacquered or painted), and then add the soil just on top. The soil is very conveniently sold in bags of manageable weight in your nearby Garden Centers, and the price for it is the same as the price of loose soil sold by a truckload.

[@andrewhague1521]

Some of them looked a little green, how well does the mulch exclude light and what's the yield like in comparison to the conventional earth covering? Maybe a compromise is to plant them a bit deeper in the normal way, but use the hay as an alternative to earthing up so that you can get more potatoes in the ground as the spacing between rows doesn't have to be so great.

[@sweetpie7919]

That's what I thought too. I thought I'd maybe imagined the hint of green so I'm glad you mentioned it. I wouldn't want mine to look like that but digging them up is a pain. And I tend to damage more than a few with the shovel or fork.

[@selinainsel6198]

Me to , went to comments to see if anyone else thought the same

[@shieh.4743]

I thought the same thing.

[@playnejayne5550]

A great method we used last year. I cannot dig and this was perfect. Not wishing to buy mulch, I looked around and saw oak leaves everywhere. They worked perfectly. These back yard potatoes did better than the conventionally-grown ones in the front.

[@jparent10]

This is a method my father was using 50 years ago in Vermont. It works very well.

[@rockjockchick]

Thank you! It does inspire me!! I’ve never seen them grown so labor free! I’ll definitely continue following you as well. And you are very handsome! :)

[@virginiacopeland108]

We plant our potatoes in nothing but 1 foot of leaf and grass mulch and have a phenomenal harvest at all times. We also leave them in the soil at all times. Clark

[@vanessa4571]

So if I’m reading correctly, you only harvest what you will use and leave the rest? How long can it be left in the ground before they go bad?

[@timwilliams9196]

I bought organic potatoes from store an they had seeded so I put in ground an now grow 3 toc 4in now

[@timwilliams9196]

Put in soft soil

[@DocScience2]

Please explain what you mean by "We also leave them in the soil at all times.". Many of us want to know the precise details ! !! !!!

[@scottbaruth6386]

I use only thick grass mulch while growing, and only dig them as I need them. As long as they stay under the mulch, most of them hold just fine. Some near the surface will rot, some will get eaten into. But we eat potatoes all summer. After frost I dig the rest and hold them in my garage for seed potatoes. My attached garage gets cold but does not freeze. In the spring, trim the sprouts (don't snap them off), cut them down to two eyes or so, and plant

[@ferniek5000]

Huw, Just started following your videos...Well done. great information, quality and depth...We did a similar thing last year but we piled our potatoes with leaves...We did it in a bed we planned on growing in with squashes this year and it worked nicely, gave our leaves a time and place to compost where they could serve double duty growing potatoes for us, and left us with rich nice soil for this year, plus...Free!

[@prasanthiganti3254]

I came across a book he wrote and instantly thought.... wow. Such a young handsome involved in the most important work in the world. Blew me off. I live in America and he is an example for youth today

[@bridgetwilliams2926]

We did something like this last year. Although we used our grass clippings and potatoe peels. We got an amazing return. We planting even more this year. :)

[@jodi578]

Just found your channel and subscribed :) This made me excited for the upcoming growing season. I noticed some below mentioned some green on the potatoes - we have tried and loved this method before and the secret is, to keep adding additional amounts of straw during the growing process because some straw will ultimately break down or blow around uncovering the potatoes. Adding more straw at the start and less as the growing season went along was easy and did not use much additional straw - it was just a matter of keeping your eye on the bed. Looking forward to checking out your other videos.

[@that_auntceleste5848]

Ha I'm a relatively new subscriber but somehow The Algorithm knew to give me this exact 4-year-old video. Excellent as always!

[@DAPTXDC4869]

I yanked weeds from my backyard "lawn" (Has a lot of stuff growing in it- henbit, dandelions, wild garlic- all edible so I'm not worried about weeding if they take root in bed), and used that as mulch to cover lettuce and spinach. Gone days without watering, the plants still grow insanely faster and greener than with lots of water and no mulch. Took weeks in this warm Georgia winter to get them to have leaves even 1 cm across, now in 2 days they're several times as big. Nitrogen-fixing sorrel, and edible henbit and wild garlic are growing alongside the spinach and lettuce now, and everything is growing much better. Mulch is amazing stuff- you don't even have to buy it. Companion planting is sweet as well.

[@apersonontheinternet8006]

Companion planting is wonderful!

[@kateanimates1268]

I bought some potatoes. Forgot about them in the pantry. A couple weeks later they were growing. Planted one and now I have a massive potato plant.

[@downbntout]

Nicely done with the rain-noise sample, made me smile

[@stevenl.cranford5992]

One published concern with using straw or hay is; did the farmer use weed killer on his fields? If so, it is said the herbicide can be carried over in the harvest hay which in turn placed the weed killer in your garden, killing your plants. So be careful using "store bought" hay/straw. Try to source your bale from farmers who do not use herbicides in their fields.

[@HuwRichards]

Steven L. Cranford Very true, we're lucky to use our own hay which is 100% natural but hopefully people can source it from organic sources otherwise, and if an investment is needed then it's worth it to an extent :)

[@curtish7878]

Donald Trump body armor

[@heidimarchant5438]

Steven L. Cranford the cattle ranches I've worked on grow hay for the sole purpose of feeding the cows and always grow extra. We never use chemicals of any kind, just plenty of water and 3 different types of seeds. We didn't mind giving away a couple of bales for a good purpose such as a garden.

[@lindahathaway3519]

Huh? What does that mean? Really want to know without bias.

[@mandycollins7960]

@@HuwRichards p

[@JimBobJJonesJr]

I'm surprised this method isn't common knowledge by now. I don't know how long people have been doing it this way, but it was the most common method used in my neck of the woods in the U.S. back in the 1960s and is still very common today. Some farmers even did entire fields of potatoes this way.

[@jackass302]

QE ornotQE and as we gain the knowledge the selfish baby boomers say I could have showed you that. but were silent when being asked the questions.

[@JimBobJJonesJr]

I can only speak for myself, but I've done a lot of teaching. It used to be a parent, or a neighbor, that passed this kind of stuff along to the younger generation, but no one's interested in it anymore. I grew up in the country where every family had a garden, a milk cow, and chickens, or traded with a neighbor that did. Now, everyone shops at Walmart for produce, milk, and meat, and knowledge like this is apparently being forgotten.

[@jackass302]

There are people interested and a lot of young gardeners baby boomers caused a disconnect saying no ones interested probably means you are part of the disconnect

[@JimBobJJonesJr]

I misspoke. I should have said that too many Baby Boomers, who grew up in rural areas, and knew this stuff, weren't interested, myself included. I came back to it after a few years, but most never went back. So, there was no one to teach the next generation. Luckily, we have the internet for those interested, and many are finally coming back to a better, healthy, wholesome way of life.

[@lindahathaway3519]

When you look at Baby Boomers, you are looking at the first generation of ignorance raised by "The Greatest Generation" the policy setters and voters of post WWII USA who brought about and voted this ignorance.They, in turn, had been influenced by the WWI generation. The socialist/One World Government has been busy in the USA since the late 1800's/ early 1900's. This agenda has been actively destroying this great nation. The Baby Boomers were only 'most ignorant generation first generation'. And we where unaware of the destructive results of where our votes where directing the nation. What is your generation going to do to correct this mistake? It permeates our society from planting spuds to running a republican government.

[@1ekaba]

I've had zero success with growing potatoes. I will try it your way and hope that it works, as I'm still relatively a new gardener. Thanks for the video!

[@cthulhufhtagn7520]

So are you a potato pro now

[@off-gridsimplyhappyrodriguez]

@@cthulhufhtagn7520 I follow someone on Instagram with your name well the first anyway. Lol is it you🤔

[@cthulhufhtagn7520]

@@off-gridsimplyhappyrodriguez Cthulhu is a ridiculously popular character numb nuts

[@off-gridsimplyhappyrodriguez]

@@cthulhufhtagn7520 your followers say otherwise

[@off-gridsimplyhappyrodriguez]

@@cthulhufhtagn7520 I was joking (unt

I've just planted my first potatoes in woodchips (year old). People were talking about mice threat but so far I noticed only blackbird threat (digging through my beds looking for worms). The woodchips layer is some 15cm thick so I hope it will provide good cover and potatoes will be able to get through it. I've also noticed that even without giving it any water the woodchips bed is moist inside.

[@minifoil6613]

On 3:08 some potators are green from the sun. I used leaves for the same method and I do not deep potatos into soil. I just place potators on soil and cover them with oak leaves and other garden waste. Chesapeake, VA, USA

[@trublgrl]

Love the organized and succinct way you present this information, good job to the script writer and presenter.

[@rrbb36]

Also known as: the “Ruth Stout Method”. Farmers have been “repeating” Huw’s (Ruth’s) experiment decades before Huw was even born. 😂👍👍👍

[@CapedCrusader77]

I was waiting for.him to.credit.her but he didn't. 😔

[@daninthelionsden]

@@CapedCrusader77 he might have never actually heard of her tbf to him.

[@tro4404]

Yep, this works. This is how I grow my potatoes and we get big harvests of big potatoes. I don't use the frames though, just put it on the ground. Afterwards we mow the straw and add it as a soil amendment. Really helps the garden. Don't have to water too frequently either. If you have never had a home grown potato, they are excellent, similar to the quality of a homegrown tomato.

[@shellystanley9746]

Thank you for sharing the profits of your hard work and the results of your experiment.

[@paulabeattie8565]

This is the method Ruth Stout was a proponent of, she wrote a few books on it in the 60's (not just potatoes). A very good read, she had a cracking good sense of humour!

[@rare1walking]

And...she liked to garden in the nude. Her husband would know when she was done gardening for the day when the car traffic stopped slowing down out front.

[@chefdingo]

I saw a lot of small potatoes that were green, and green potatoes aren't edible. Potatoes need to be planted much deeper to protect the new tubers from light.

[@kathygirlygirl4109]

Nice, looks so easy and I think I will give it a go. Thank you!

[@lennoxthegreat7641]

I did it the same way, though I used oak leaves. Potatoes love the acid in the leaves.

[@lefkisavvidou1935]

Do you think its possible to do it with pine needles?

[@lennoxthegreat7641]

@@lefkisavvidou1935 I think so, but the oak leaves, I'm thinking, hold more water in. The biggest potatoes I raised this way were raised during a draught.

[@ofirshorshy8281]

thank you, I just harvested my first early potatoes and grown your method, so happy and excited

[@tonyedge2457]

Thanks so much .. I'm working on clearing the back of my property for growing potatoes,squash,beans,etc.. so this will be the method I will try first...thanks again and good gardening!

[@littlegreenachers9997]

this video has definitely inspired me to go grow some potatoes thank you so much for sharing such great information

[@briankelly85]

i love a good baked potato. it is the food of my people.

[@tjmooremusic]

I guess I should start making some planting boxes eh? been wanting to do something like this for awhile I am inspired. thank you.

[@maryevins7310]

Great video. Like the way you turn on and off the rain. 👍

[@lordlegada5199]

A man with a mind and a method is really cool, I love you for that.

[@MeepMeep88]

So potatoes aren't grown on couches? Interesting.

[@Ed19601]

That's a lie. Have seen many in my life. It is just about creating the right environment and providing the proper nutrients. Bring in a TV, chips and beer and you'll get taters on that couch the size of elephants

[@carriertaiyo2694]

Da Bum Tiss

[@charlesprice925]

If potatoes don't grow on couches that means that lazy sack of potatoes I work with must be a lazy sack of something else. ?

[@sparkleprizm199]

Candi Soda lol

[@ice-man8650]

Shit...!

[@NickyDana]

For sake of efficiency one can actually plant portions of the potatoe (1/4's) and it should be buried under soil or mulch like shown...works just as well with less cost into it...thank you great vid!

[@NickyDana]

works in almost any moisture rich soils!0

[@ninininibooboo]

Each piece must include one eye.

[@Saucyakld]

Nick Dana Thank you for the hint. So do you start with seed potatoes, or can you make your own from reaped souds?

[@ronvernon1]

Nick Dana old McDonaldld

[@LindaCasey]

I grow in shopping bags inside buckets now. One year I experimented with store bought spuds, layering the soil from top to bottom with only the chits and peels. I actually got (small) potatoes!

[@angelmanalili7352]

This is great! It's my first time seeing your channel and I'm grateful I found it! :D

[@caterinacostanzo6897]

I have done something similar using lawn clippings. I simply emptied the bag right into the garden . Also have put the clippings as mulch between rows of different vegetables.

[@louisevaughan2165]

My Grandmother & Great Grandmother used old tires stacked on top of each other along the back fence of their yard . They lived in town & had to paint the outside of them to keep city code enforcement off of their backs. Living in town & having a sm yard they were very resourceful. They had a compost pile that was yard clippings & leaves & they used that in the tire stack to grow their potatoes . I remember them doing this when I was in my early20s & that was over 40 yrs ago.

[@amdenis]

Excellent video-- thanks for sharing! One question, some of those potatoes look a bit green, which from my experience means that there was too much sunlight hitting them, and making them potentially poisonous. I was taught to bury them deep enough (e.g. about 6") and then cover with hay or mulch, so that light doesn't get to them. Is that the case, or is it just the type of potato?

[@mikespeers8281]

Too much light getting in. The green is chlorophyll and a good indicator that the potato has high levels of glycoalkaloids which have no colour. Even if you get rid of the greening by peeling, they still contain the toxins which can cause upset stomachs as already mentioned. Not for me, I'll stick to another lazy method - tub growing in compost - easy to feed - fewer pests - cleaner spuds - higher yields - good storage simply by cutting off the haulms once ready. Start first early spuds this way in a greenhouse in February, earthing them up with more compost as they grow and then move them outside when the weather gets warmer. You will be sampling the most delicious golden nuggets in early June = yummy.

[@ArdaiThomasPoker]

yes, that's the first thing I thought when I saw those green potatoes - they're already bad, they needed more mulch. unfortunately people that have no idea what they're doing are trying to make it on youtube

[@roseannenorman7129]

So, you put a good potato in the compost? Would the other potatoes that grow from the green potato be ok?

[@MrBilld75]

Stellar explanation. Only one thing you missed that makes this simpler for people to look up if they are interested in learning more: "Solanine poisoning", that's the toxic alkaloid you're talking about. The alkaloid itself is colourless, the green is chlorophyll, right, but the two are synonymous with each other on potatoes (and that's what was so stellar about your perfect explanation).

[@michaelcorbidge7914]

You ain't supposed to eat raw green potatoes. Green potatoes cooked boiled fried are perfectly fine. Our native king parrots happily eat even raw green potatoes but i don't think even goats will eat raw green potatoes.

[@MrBilld75]

@@michaelcorbidge7914No they aren't fine. That does not remove the Solanine (Glycoalkaloid) poison. If the greening is mild and only skin deep, sure, I've eaten them without issue, just peel it off and you're "typically" fine, to a point. But not deep green or bad, no, that is untrue and science is more legit than your "opinion" and it has poisoned people. It is more of an issue however for the Solanine sensitive, as some people are. For people who are, any green on a potato is a bad thing. A person who is not however, can tolerate about 5 grams of the stuff in a day and not get sick. Green potatoes have put people in hospital and the gas from it killed an entire family in Russia, after each one went into the basement to fetch the other and never came back. They had stored potatoes down there and they rotted. The Solanine gas killed all but her the daughter, because when her mother went down there last, she left the door open which allowed the gas to dissipate and the 8 year old was the only one who survived. Some of the most famous poisons are alkaloids. Potatoes are part of the nightshade family Solanaceae and the most famous poison of those, is deadly nightshade or Belladonna. Solanine poisoning is primarily displayed by gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, cardiac dysrhythmia, nightmares, headache, dizziness, itching, eczema, thyroid problems, and inflammation and pain in the joints. The most common of these being joint pain even without the potatoes being green. Those who are sensitive to Solanine, can have joint pain just from eating potatoes. This is all easily confirmable well known science, not an opinion.

[@justalurkr]

"efficient" not "lazy" :-)

[@影山平ら]

You mean Russian not lazy

[@acrock21]

@@影山平ら HEEEEY COUSIN!!!! Want to go bowling?

[@cheyenneroll]

I have found that if I use hay, the seeds of the grass will sprout - I have switched to straw. I can get volunteer oats, but they are easy to pull and the stock love the oat bouquet !

[@Emily-pm5gr]

finally!! been searching for a good Ruth Stout potato planting explanation. Thanks!!!!

[@raybon7939]

Potatoes are high in minerals vitamins everything. And very cheap. Can be used for breakfast lunch dinner. Takes up alot of room in your stomaich. A potatoes can take up 1/3 of your, lunch. Plus tomatoes 1/3. Leaving with a few slices of Turkey. And except for the slices of turkey. You have basically a free lunch. And half your break fast. Half your break fast next day. Not to mention potatoes is well accepted by your liver.

[@maximedwards3451]

ray bon never?.

[@etherspin]

thank you Huw. I have a ground level wood plank bed just like the one you show and it has cooch grass through it (Im in Australia) which I cannot remove due to disability and the position and strain needed to do so... im going to try this combination of the Spuds plus mulch and see if it inhibits the grasses that are present and gets the bed back towards feasible

[@Pwecko]

You've got a better chance of success if you put a couple of layers of cardboard down first. Cut holes to plant the potatoes, then put the mulch on top. Couch grass will easily get through hay/straw alone. I would add a bit more mulch after a few weeks, as well, just to make sure no light gets to the potatoes as the initial layer rots. Nobody wants green potatoes.

[@rainbo5250]

Oh my gosh are you ADORABLE! I have a new found interest in growing a garden! I hope you have more videos, ....I love the type you can grow on a patio.

[@Gee4747]

🤗 am not even a gardener but love your enthusiasm

[@brianbouch69]

This is fantastic. I am going to try this as soon as winter ends here. Thank you

[@f.demascio1857]

nice vid. I prefer to keep layering my mulch over the sprouts that come up. Increases yeild, reduces the number of geeen 'taters.

[@maudestephens7086]

For real?

[@3_too_won]

I noticed a lot of green potatoes at the start just when he pulled the straw away it,s a good way to poison yourself.🤣

[@hildaayoo6853]

This the most handsome young man I have seen who loves farming. Keep it up and more question I'll be asking about farming. Thank you

[@humblewarrior6585]

You havent seen me yet ;-)

[@hildaayoo6853]

@@humblewarrior6585 hahaha

[@hildaayoo6853]

Okay

[@cgoodwin2875]

Many thanks for taking the time to post these videos, they are really encouraging when there are so many demands on time. I am wondering how often you have to rotate with this technique or if the hay puts enough nutrient back to replant in the same place?

[@ChristopherMichaelMusic]

I tried this last year with huge success! Thanks!

[@cyramclennan2580]

Thank you for your videos and sharing your knowledge. I live in Port Angeles Washington and it is a very rainy area. gardening has been a bit of a challenge but I just keep trying every year! Your videos give me much inspiration and ideas. Thank you! I actually used your pea trellis idea using bamboo sticks and it looks beautiful!

[@leilanik3333]

Should use straw not Hay. Hay has millions of grass seed in it. You will end up weeding that bed for the rest of your life.

[@MrVikingdane]

Alexa Burnette true story !

[@TheGchiu]

Alexa Burnette actually the grass seeds don't germinate deep inside the hay because of the overlying mulch. there's more nutrient in hay vs straw, and Ruth Stout used pretty much only hay for decades.

[@leilanik3333]

pen mightygun That's because your composting them. it gets hot and kills the seeds. if you don't use a thick layer the seeds will sprout. if not the first year than later. grass is the most invasive plant alive. it will spread it's seeds. I have done hay bale garden's and after the season I put them in my composted. the seeds sprout and grow of I don't turn it often. look it up there have been studies done on grass seed. it will sprout in the vacume of space. you think your garden is safe?

[@TheGchiu]

Another example, see what happens if you seed a lawn, and then cover it with mulch. You're not going to see a lawn ever.

[@leilanik3333]

Graham Chiu​ Graham Chiu​ I have been gardening for years as I'm sure you have to. there is always a top layer of hay mulch, correct? that top layer will sprout. So will the outer edges.Unless you continue to put layer on layer over it. I have used it and it has happened to me. I am still battleing the grass. Maybe it has to do with the growing zones? Environement? What kind of hay is used as there are many different kinds. Some have alot of weed seeds in them. So don't tell me it doesn't happen just because it's never happened to you. That is very closed minded.

[@isabeauskorski9961]

Teach me your trick to stop it raining! LOL Here in Florida, it’s pouring so much right now.

[@folklohrfamily7310]

Snap your fingers again!!! PLEASE!!! We need the rain! Lol! Thank you so much for this video! This is so helpful!!!

[@HuwRichards]

Hahaha I wish I could send it all to you! I'm so glad you found it helpful!! :)

[@jeanettereynolds3151]

We dont want any more rain here in scotland sick of it

[@veganvocalist4782]

@@jeanettereynolds3151 😂☔️💦💧 yes it’s been raining here in Cornwall too for almost a year none stop . Last few weeks we actually had some sun yaaaaay 😃

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

Snaps fingers and the rain stops n starts 👍🏻😂😂😂😂😂😂 Who thought Huw would make growing spuds 🥔 fun. Brilliant

[@smarquee2469]

Thank you for showing the beginning to end, very appreciative, can’t wait to try . Have a great day

[@VOTE4TAJ]

I dig them little deeper and cover with wood chips. Next year I will try to use your method.

[@HuwRichards]

Using woodchips sounds interesting, I might have to try that!

[@likeshareandsubscribe2866]

i want to do this and the just use a leaf blower for the reveal. would be hilarious to simply blow away the straw and expose the potatoes

[@TheTrue2lyf]

Haha another lazy way to harvest potatoes...

[@laceandbits]

Except by the time the potatoes are ready to harvest, the hay is no longer dry and blow-away-able, it's half composted down to a mulch.

[@plutosunshine8867]

bank robber in jail talking to his wife.....cant tell u where the money is but dont go digging in the backyard...next day cops dig up the hole backyard...wife calls so he says ok plant the potatoes

[@farfromirrational948]

plutosunshine well that was an extremely brief version of a great joke ive known from years

[@cheesse9yearsand]

Far from Irrational right the one about an old men planting a farm with his son each year but his son was in jail and was to old to do it him self so in a letter he say don't dig up the land that were he hidden the bodies next day cops come next and dig up all of back yard next letter that all I can do from here pop

[@retiredgardener9794]

plutosunshine f

[@Saucyakld]

plutosunshine Hahaha, great idea, can't stop laughing!

[@peggycase8940]

Funny!

[@johnsmart964]

This is an excellent broadcast, thank you so much for the trouble you go to. It is very much appreciated.

[@squange20]

I will give this method a go. We planted the seed potatoes in pots like some people, and while they started off well given the watering and feeding, they didn’t grow very high, and the leaves soon went brown. On checking the pots, the potatoes were still very small, but still edible. Not sure what went wrong. The weather was fine, apart from a few stormy days.

[@stevejarrettnc]

I wonder if this guy has any idea about how handsome he is. The girls at work were swooning over him to the point that I had to look.

[@spiritualmatters7835]

For the first few seconds I thought this was a joke video...He looks so much like Tom Cruise....:+)

[@rickb9118]

Steve Jarrett I was thinking the same thing. Handsome lad.

[@7777777Milz]

The minute he began talking, I wanted to introduce him to my niece. He seems a sweet lad!

[@whitephoenixfire88]

In all my years as an MG in the midwest on pacnw, I've never come across as many cute gardeners as there seem to be in the UK. 😂

[@lindahathaway3519]

I thought how wonderful that a handsome young man would be so involved in the most important stuff... rather than the cursed blessing of being handsome.

[@maryphillips864]

That is so easy Huw. I grow veg in raised beds so will definitely try this method next year. Thanks for sharing.

[@HuwRichards]

Thank you so much Mary I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@titusmkandawire5661]

Now that's some great potato growing info and some really fantastic ENGLISH accent! Thanks Huw!

[@annrenee3265]

That's a mild Welsh accent!

[@yeps2468]

"Especially after you've put in the Hard Work" after the lazy way of growing potatos :) thank you! This great!

[@luckypenny312]

I used hay and its growing everywhere! Don’t recommend it. But clean straw is perfect!

[@mgrdigimarketing3035]

Use Lucerne hay maybe? Lucerne is adult alfalfa sprouts I think, so win win if it grows?

[@garthwunsch]

One needs to buy ‘first cut’ hay… harvested before hay and weeds have gone to seed.

[@BobJones-rs3wy]

That is the sexiest farmer I've ever seen. I could listen to him talk about potatoes all night.

[@whatever9770]

Ditto

[@sharonx1840]

I have always found my potatoes to go off in sacks maybe just unlucky but the las Cpl of years I found a better way. Put your unwashed potatoes In newspaper ie 1 potatoe per sheet of newspaper. by the end of winter they were still just as fresh ;-)

[@Marialla.]

I've heard of doing the same thing with apples. It makes sense! Even if one goes off, the paper keeps them from touching. Therefore any rot would spread much slower, and you have more chance of catching it first.

[@catherinegardner7876]

Planted this way for the first time. Bumper crop!! Thank you

[@CountryLaneHomestead]

I have done this. Even though it is winter in South Africa, I have plants shooting already. I wanted to test it out before our spring, and was pleasantly surprised :)

[@ellydavis2066]

when you were first digging up the potatoes I noticed some were a little green. Should you just leaves those in, will the green go away?

[@paulvee1950]

The greenish potatoes are meant to be poisonous and should be left alone

[@GladiatorReid]

Bin

[@laceandbits]

They went green because the hay layer where they were wasn't quite thick enough and some light got through. The green bit can contain solanine may cause headaches and nausea, but usually the green is only in a very thin layer at the skin level and so long as this is all cut away, the rest of the potato is fine to eat. If you keep harvested potatoes in the light, they will also go green, but on the other hand if you keep your slightly green homegrown potatoes in the dark, they won't get any worse. They should be put into the group of 'eat first' potatoes along with any damaged ones, just so you remember to cut the green away. After my mum died, dad never seemed to notice the green bits when he was peeling potatoes and he lived until he was 94 so they're not 'that' poisonous, in small quantities. You certainly don't need to bin the whole potato just because a small patch on one side is green.

[@ellydavis2066]

@@laceandbits Thanks for the reply Jacquie. :)

[@happenfilms]

Great video Huw!

[@HuwRichards]

Thank you very much Jordan, I look forward to your next one!

[@mmjsacnfox1]

,

[@cindywagner4623]

I’m going to plant a small potato patch and see if I can harvest more than my husband. He does it the hard way.

[@danielpalomares3023]

I'm gonna try this, this spring. Sounds like a good way to save money.

[@PerfectPicture2012]

Refreshing a young guy talking about growing food! Thank you for a great video!

[@vh2337]

How do you turn off the rain noise??? That's amazing!

[@deegir3354]

opening video I see green / solanin on the potatoes being dug up - they were somehow exposed to too much light.

[@bigdawgz4530]

Yup...saw that right away, too. They should have either had a heavier application of mulch to begin with, had a second, additional, layer added after the first started compacting & decomposing or had a layer of dirt tossed over top of the mulching...basically, anything that would have kept the potatoes from being exposed to the light.

[@thirtythreeflavors]

2:24 I can't believe you've done this. RIP vine.

[@shaunesterhuizen1033]

Dude well done on editing the rain sound in when you clicked your finger.. thank you for the brilliant advice

[@OceanSwimmer]

Huw, this is brilliant! My mom gets upset that I save sticks because they are so useful. Once I have my own garden....things will be different! Thank you. Cheers from the States.

[@chrissede2270]

If you like green potatoes then grow them this way. I would suggest a different method.

[@genises100]

This is called the Ruth Stout method of gardening!

[@tomhancock541]

1940s

[@ovalmelon]

Ji;hhhhbbbbb99999999oooo