Middlebusters - am I missing something?

[RobJ]

Rob,
I have seen these used to dig potatoes in the garden. (tater plow)

Come to think of it I think I tried this on my potatoes last year. It was a mess. I was probably missing a step but basically wanted the plow to flip out the potatoes. I usually only plant 2 rows, about 60-80' each. So digging by hand isn't tough. I even plant by hand, not hard in this soft fluffy soil, push them in, dust the hole.

Nice thing about taters, nothing will bother the plant(cows). Last year I had my best garden, pulled some corn, peas. 2 weeks later cows broke in and ate everything but the taters. I shored up the fence this year and added a 5th wire.

 

[RobJ]

RobJ -

You might find it useful to pick up a moldboard plow, it does a better job than a middlebuster. It turns the furrows over completely, burying trash and weed seeds, rather than just ripping up the ground. Nothing wrong with using what you've got though when you have a job to do.

I use a middlebuster for making potato trenches and for plowing them up in the fall. You can also make small hills, as your photos showed, and plant on the ridges. I do that with garlic.

This is what I use to make the rows. I replaced the middle half plows with another small sweeper, works a lot better now. In years past I used my neighbors rower. Worked perfect but was is to big for me.

 

[Eastinlet]

Robj -

Not sure why it didn't work for you, but I'll try and describe how we do it for a couple thousand feet of row.

For planting I set the middlebuster to make about a 6" deep trench into which goes the prescribed amount of fertilizer by soil test. Then drag it with a chain to put a few inches dirt on the fertilizer, without which it can burn the roots. Plant seedpieces in the furrow and cover. When plants are up about 8" I hill them, then in the fall when the vines have died back we dig them up with the middlebuster.

To dig them, set the plow so it runs just below the depth of the seedpieces, and the taters roll out of the ground. It pays to have straight rows, BTW. I like to lengthen the toplink to get the most lift possible out of the plow. Still need to rake the loose dirt with a potato hook since some potatoes are covered. We don't spear near as many tubers this way and it is a lot less work than digging with a fork. Hope this is helpful.

 

[RobJ]

Thanks, I'll have to try this. What does "I hill them" mean?

Rob

 

[Eastinlet]

RobJ -

That's a little different than I am doing it. The cultivator would be handy since it kills weeds in the row middles if that is a problem at planting time.

I'm using a plain old middlebuster or lister, making one row at a time.

Here's a pic of a dug row of Dark Red Norlands. As you can imagine there are twice as many covered with dirt, but lightly dragging a potato hook around uncovers them. Two people with hooks will keep four people busy lifting potatoes.

 

[Eastinlet]

Hilling means mounding earth onto the plants from both sides creating a ridge.

The potato plant can make more tubers this way, and it shelters the tubers from disease and high temperatures. You really want to do it if you want more potatoes, though a lot of guys just plant them flat.

 

[RobJ]

Man that is real cool. I don't get as many that big. A lot of what we call (we our family that is) are popcorn potatos. About as big as a half dollar or smaller. Still just as good.

Thanks for the pics!

Rob

 

[Eastinlet]

I like the little ones myself, especially in pot roasts and soups.

There are a few tricks to growing good potatoes. I've never been to Texas nor do I understand your climate, so keep in mind what I offer is general advice.

The biggest factors are fertilizer and water. Potatoes are a very heavy feeder, far more than corn and you have to have the nutrients (preferably based on soil test). I'm applying 10-20-20 at the rate of 150 pounds of actual N per acre.

Potatoes need about an inch of water a week from bloom until after the potatoes have bulked. They can be planted very early to take advantage of seasonal rainfall patterns. It sure would be nice to irrigate as needed...

As I mentioned, hilling helps a lot with yield and also keeps the tubers from greening in the sun.

It pays to buy certified seed of a cultivar that grows well in your area and fits the season length. There's a lot of difference in performance between varieties. Late season potatoes outyield early ones of course. Space the seedpieces based on desired tuber size, i.e. if yours are running small you could try spacing the seed wider, even up to 14" or so to reduce inter-plant competition.

 

[Neil L]

East,
Last potatoes I have harvested (helped), my grandfather and "Nell" rolled out.
Help me out, when you say hilling do you cover soil up on the plant and how much, 1/3rd 1/2 or more of the height?
Neil

 

[Eastinlet]

neil -

Couple of things to consider when hilling.

First is when to hill, and that is best done at 8-12" in plant height. The buried stem will sprout tubers, and all tubers form between the buried seedpiece and the surface of the ground. If you let the plants get away from you like I did last year, it is a royal pain to hill in a tangle of vines.

Height of the hill is basically as broad and high as you can make it. On 36" row centers you will be grabbing dirt almost to the center of the row middle. With 10" plants you want them covered right to the tips if you can do it. Don't worry, they'll grow back out from under the dirt.

Hilling twice say 2 weeks apart works well if you have the time or spit for it. If you do this, you can hill first when they are say 6" and then hill again at 12" or so.

If you look at the linked photo I posted above you can see hills down the rows of dead vines. It was a poor job on my part and of course the hills settle over the summer so they aren't as dramatic as they are fresh.

The trick is to mechanize the hilling using disks or cultivators rather than a hoe. the big farmers up this way use Lilliston rolling cultivators which throw the dirt from row centers onto the hill and can do many rows at once. The old horsedrawn hillers used cultivator teeth to loosen ground for two opposing angled disks which scooped dirt to the hill. I'm working toward mechanizing, that hoeing just isn't as fun as it used to be.