How to Hill Potatoes

[@su2471]

not gonna lie... I came for the beautiful man in the muscle shirt and stayed for the knowledge (and the muscles)!

[@blurry69]

and the bare feet!

[@edgewatercreek]

I came here for potatoes, but stayed for that gorgeous man. 😍

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi James! Thanks for the compliment! Glad you enjoyed the potatoes and me! lol Thanks for watching! Take care, -Mark

[@PV96]

Love how you are barefoot in the garden!! Cool dude!

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi, I love being barefoot. My feet get so hot otherwise. I appreciate you watching and of course, thank you for commenting too! You have a great day/evening! Take care, -Mark

[@Nictata]

Came here for the eye candy and gardening knowledge cheers!!!

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Anthony! I'm not sure how much eye candy I am! lol Glad you are gaining some gardening knowledge. Thanks for watching/commenting! Happy Gardening! -Mark

[@darianeverett8884]

I love that you did that barefoot, my kind of guy. Amazing videos and I really appreciate the format, please keep them coming!

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Darian! Glad you like them and thanks for the kind words. Spread the word if you would. I can use all the help I can get! -Mark

[@johngiltzow4764]

I love watching Mark

[@douglasx6915]

Wow! What an amazing garden. How this man does not have 500k subscribers is beyond me. I've been gardening for 30 years and I'm learning a ton!

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Douglas! Thank you! I wish I had 500K subscibers! lol Spread the word!!! Glad you are learning something too. Thanks for watching and commenting as well! -Mark

[@Apostolos-UK]

Oh God.....the valuable straw.....So so so valuable. I use it for weed suppression. I use it in the strawberry bed around strawberry plants as a bed for hanging fruits. I use it in the raspberry bed. I use it in potato containers for water retention. I use it in the onion & garlic bed. I use it everywhere!!!! It is SO SO SO valuable and not a lot of people know that. Amazing weed suppression & water retention tecnique

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Apostolos! Sounds as if you like straw! It really does make a good ground cover. Thank you for watching and I hope you continue too! I'd love to visit the UK in the next few years. I've heard that gardening is very big over there and I want to visit with some of your popular garden youtubers as well. Cheers! -Mark

[@chetreed2198]

Great video and your very easy on the eyes

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Chet! Thanks for the kind words. -Mark

[@iagosantos1909]

this man is husband goals

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi ! lol Goals..... Maybe if your goals were not set to high! Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed. Take care, -Mark

[@royhughes1331]

Spiders in the garden!! WOW!! I never thought about wanting them in my garden before!!!!!

[@rostamkocholo]

oh yeah, they are terrific predators. they are not like ladybugs which only feed on pests, but still consider them a friend. As Mark mentioned they like to hide in damp areas such as straw mulch.

[@121hearc]

glad to see im not the only one that works in the garden barefooted i live in the southeast and my potatoes will be ready in a few weeks

[@marksgardenlife5971]

lol My feet get so hot in shoes this time of year, so the barefooted feels great. What state do you live? Thank you for watching! Take care, -Mark

[@121hearc]

@@marksgardenlife5971 I'm in Georgia got purple majesty and Yukon gold planted

[@Jamouslizotte]

great video, love rocking the tang top with no shoes. earthing the potatoes while earthing your feet. bet it feels great

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Jamous! Glad you enjoyed it! lol It's either flip flops or bare feet for me the entire warm season here and it does feel good! Take care, -Mark

[@iHeartFerenc]

Congrats on your new subscribers - it's great the KZbin algorithm is promoting your videos!

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi! Thank you for the kind words. I noticed that about the algorithm. Not sure why, but it's nice that people are watching my videos and I've gotten so many nice comments like yours, so of course that makes me feel good as well. Thanks again! Take care. -Mark

[@wearehauntedbymarkwilliams3184]

Mark is my new best friend.

[@brettmclauglin8574]

Hi Mark, thanks for sharing yr gardening experience.I live in New Zealand 🇳🇿 and one of the reasons I mould my potatoes is to give them some protection from frost damage as well as sun protection of tubers later in the growth phase.

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Brett! I have someone else I talk to who lives in New Zealand too. You're very welcome too. Glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching. All my best, -Mark

[@charitysmith5245]

Good to see that I’m not the only one who hates shoes and likes to really get in the soil...when I come in from the garden, I’m downright dirty. I swear, dirt is full of natural antidepressants. Atleast it is for me. Dirty hands and green all around me is happiness.

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Charity! I totally agree! Thanks for watching! -Mark

[@ProctorsGamble]

Glad to see that you are well grounded also! I garden barefoot every chance I get. Yukon Gold are my favorite and give best return on labor and time because they are expensive to buy at retail market. Ordinary potatoes at $12 for 50 lbs just aren’t worth the time and effort.

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hey! Just a farm boy at heart! I love a simple life. lol It's a rare occasion that I wear shoes in the warm months. Flip flops or bare feet. Yukon Gold are my favorite as well and I like the fact they have not been sprayed with anything like commercially grown potatoes are. Thank you for watching my video! Take care, -Mark

[@SuperManning11]

This is fantastic! I’ve heard of hilling potatoes this way, but it really helps to actually see you covering the young plants completely. I live in the desert and it’s just too hot in summer for potatoes, so I’m going to try planting them now (early October) to see if I can get a winter crop going. Thanks for the video!

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Stephen! I've have great success in using this method, so I don't see why it wouldn't work with your situation as well. The video....you're very welcome! I guess you look forward to the cooler months a great deal! I know I would if living in your climate. As always, thanks so much for watching and commenting! Stephen, you have a great week! Best, -Mark

[@guynorth3277]

Hi Mark, I am in the same position with my potatoes, good timing! I've got a batch in a 5 gallon bucket too, just trying the technique. Look at you gardening in bare feet, I couldn't do that. I am surprised you covered the green.

[@ChipsGreenWorld]

Hi Mark 👍🏼 Loving the vlogs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi! So glad you are enjoying them! I want to get over to England in the next year and do some filming at some of the estates and with some of your popular youtube gardeners. Thanks for watching and commenting as well! Spread the word about my channel if you like it if you would. Thank you, -Mark

[@generalemail57]

Subscribed thank you Mark! Potatoes have become more like pests in my garden

[@rostamkocholo]

LOL, vaunter potatoes are always problem makers.

[@markwagner4909]

No shoes, my kind of guy

[@adevx1824]

Thanks Mark, thoroughly enjoy your videos and wish you continued success. One additional benefit of green mulches is that it's worm food... to return the favor the worms will aerate while providing free vermacompost in the process. Can't wait for next update!

[@eljayhmar]

Great video with some great techniques as always. Your channel deserves more subscribers and views than it already has. Keep up the good work 👍

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Eljay! Thanks for the kind words! I'm hoping that in time, people like yourself that like my channel, spread the word. I'm really surprised to be honest it has grown to what I do have because I only have been actually working at it for a few months. When I started, I figured I'd be lucky to get 100 subscribers, so I am really surprised and grateful to have over 1K! Eljay, thanks again! Take care, -Mark

[@eljayhmar]

@@marksgardenlife5971 from your contents, you totally deserve better perhaps share the link on other social media handle as well. Like twitter, Facebook etc.

[@marksgardenlife5971]

I will have to give that a try. Thanks for the suggestions! Very appreciated! Take care, -Mark

[@bvw3153]

New 7A Maryland subscriber. Great channel and looking forward to following your gardening adventures.

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi B VW Welcome aboard and thank you! If your close enough and are interested, you may want to come and check out the garden this summer. You can see garden pictures from last summer on my web site, Marksgardenlife.com Thank you for watching! -Mark

[@bvw3153]

@@marksgardenlife5971 The photos are amazing, and thank you for the offer! What time of summer is good to visit? Branden

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hey Branden! Late July, early August is peak.

[@cpnotill9264]

Good idea and I've never totally covered the potato plant before. Will give that a go so thanks for sharing your techniques. 👍🌱

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Your very welcome! Thanks for watching too! -Mark

[@terrigarraty5212]

Enjoyed the Hilling the Potatoes! Never knew that about spiders. Where's Holly? 😊

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Terri! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and learned something as well! Typically, when I'm filming in the garden, I leave Holly in the offices because she wants to do things like pull out what I'm planting or some other mischief. Kiera also just got out of the hospital after several days, so I had her up with me and Annie while filming the other day. You'll see them in the next post which is about planting onions and strawberries. Kiera likes to just sit and watch me and I guess she feels she's guarding me too and doing her job. Thanks for asking! Take care, -Mark

[@alexisheidel6449]

Coming at a perfect time! I'm growing potatoes for the first time and I'm just winging it 😆

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Alexis! I'm glad I could be of some help! Potatoes are really easy and I'm sure you will be glad you grew them when you start pulling and cooking those first ones. Hope your 1st crop is a bumper one! Thanks for watching! Take care, -Mark

[@richjash]

I've grown my share of vegetables but never Potatoes. I'm just fine with grabbing the 10lb bag at the market. Quite a bit of work, but I'm sure the 'finished product' is well worth it. Interested to see the progress of the crop. GREAT videos by the way! Informative and always on topic.

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi richjash! Knowing the commercial vegetable farming industry like I do, I really like knowing that what I'm producing has no chemicals applied at all including fertilizers. All natural. Glad you like my videos! I'm still green and have a lot to learn about making videos, so hopefully I'll get better with time. Thanks again! -Mark

[@rostamkocholo]

Welcome back!! Great informative video. I personally don’t grow potato due to limitation of space, but this video on top of the previous one is a great start for anyone who wanted to grow their own potatoes. I have heard the store bought ones didn’t even come close when it comes to taste.

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Amin! I find the same with store bought potatoes too. Plus mine have no chemicals used at all which of course, commercially grown ones do. Thanks for watching! Cheers! -Mark

[@rostamkocholo]

@@marksgardenlife5971 Mark, I know it is busy season for nurseries, but I hope you will get the chance for a garden update soon, would love to see what you are growing these days. :) Cheers!

[@stevenfisher4547]

That soil looks great!

[@duggio666]

Wow, I had no idea that mounding worked that way. I would have built my mound first, then planted the potato atop the mound. This video was especially helpful (for the next planting season). Thanks!

[@jcedo7403]

Informative session

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Jc! Glad you enjoyed and thank you for watching! Cheers! -Mark

[@suffolkguy]

Thanks again, Mark!

[@marksgardenlife5971]

My pleasure!

[@ShieldMaidenOnTwoWheels]

Love your veggie videos. Subbed and looking forward to future content :)

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Brittany! Thank you! I appreciate the kind words and encouragement! If you would, spread the word. Take care, -Mark

[@tomcurtis197]

Barefoot? Lol I'm envious!

[@yazz2jazz313]

Excellent!

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hey YJ! It does work well. Give it a try. -Mark

[@billm6610]

Great video! I tried to find a video of the bed set up but didn't see it. How do you water please? Is there drip in there anywhere? If not, do you water overhead. Also, ive used mushroom soil several times and it usually has a strong manure smell suggesting its not completely composted.....would that be right? If so, are you not worried about pathogens while working barefoot and gloveless? Thanks for your help Mark! Really looking forward to learning more from you!

[@johnjude2685]

Question ❓ Your location and zone ? I'm going try this, Grandpa Jude taught me to make the hill before planting and never heard of burying after seedlings but seems you have or was taught better. Thank you for the teaching Sir

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi John! I live in Maryland zone 6A-6B. Hilling......try both ways and compare. Your very welcome! Thanks for watching/commenting! Best, -Mark

[@victorcarreon7006]

How do you water the garden,do you have irrigation system?

[@DevaJones03]

#BareFootInTheGarden #Subscribed

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Thank you so much! -Mark

[@rostamkocholo]

Quick question mark, Do you have slug problem? and if so, do you think adding straw give slug population a habitat to live and munch on your garden? I have never grown potato so I am not sure if slugs have tendency to munch on it. I know there are certain type of slugs in Europe who like potato tuber.

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Amin, Great question! In my childhood garden, I did sometimes have a slug problem when using Straw. Oddly enough, I've noticed some varieties are more prone to attracting slugs than others. This garden was in a much shadier area, with woods nearby. My garden now, being exposed to so much air and sun, does not seem to be as conducive of a habitat for slugs. In fact, I don't remember seeing one slug in this garden at all last year. I'm hedging my bets that I'll be ok... Thanks for the input, -Mark

[@rholbrook0587]

I've never seen anyone digging like that barefooted! I must've turned into a real tenderfoot in my old age. Still a great strategy for me to try.

[@marksgardenlife5971]

Hi Bob! lol My feet are fairly large and thick and I hate wearing shoes in the warmer months, so I have gotten used to doing things barefooted. Bob, thanks for watching my video and I hope you enjoyed! Take care, -Mark

[@guynorth3277]

Ya, I made the same comment, I wear those clogs as I can easily slip them off to go in the house.

[@devinmcclain8340]

Oh mer Hurd this man is hot!! 🥵🥵🥵

[@tyeteams7928]

Wt.. Are you Irish? Potatoes... Really...

[@paulstrickler5684]

👏👏👏👏👏