earthing up potatoes - drying out issue

I've read that earthing up potatoes is necessary for good yields, that is tuber formations.
However,
sometimes when I earth up my potatoes (growing in 30 gallon fabric pots) the shoots droop and the leaves turn brown.
The shoot then dies.

Any advice on earthing up potatoes please feel free to add to this topic.

Thanks

my son did this with fabric smart pots.
but he kept them very wet.

Hank Evans wrote:I've read that earthing up potatoes is necessary for good yields, that is tuber formations.
However,
sometimes when I earth up my potatoes (growing in 30 gallon fabric pots) the shoots droop and the leaves turn brown.
The shoot then dies.
Any advice on earthing up potatoes please feel free to add to this topic.
Thanks

A raw potato is 79% water, and the recommendation for storage is cold and wet [like refrigerator cold and almost 90% humidity], so it stands to reason that depending on the amount of water in the fabric bag, it is likely to be too dry for a good yield. Depending on the soil you put in, why not experiment with homer buckets, or perhaps a bit larger container?
But why not plant in raised beds? the yield is better. Voles and critters can be deterred by wire mesh, if that is an issue.
We have voles but they do not seem to bother our raised beds. They have a body that is great for burrowing but not so good for climbing. A tall raised bed can deter them. Also, you might want to drop your cat's poop in that bed [although you may want to be careful with that system: cat feces can make some folks sick.

My first thought is to listen to your plants. They don't like what you're doing. Never mind what the internet says.

I grow potatoes in the ground. But I have tried limited experiments with above-ground growing, and my impression is that the plants develop differently.

In the ground, I think the primary purpose of hilling is twofold: to protect the tubers from exposure to sunlight, and to provide light, fluffy, fertile soil for the plant to expand into.

I can't speak with authority on above-ground planting. But I can't see a reason to hill potatoes in a pot/barrel. The best strategy seems to be planting in a half-full pot and gradually adding soil to keep everything covered.

And watch their colour -- they are heavy feeders. A few drops of compost tea with every watering, or compost on the surface, but not too much or you'll push the soil basic/alkaline and you might get scabby skins.

It also depends on the variety -- some potatoes tend to push new tubers upward on the main stalk, requiring aggressive hilling to keep the tubers out of the light. Other varieties tend to grow sideways.

Pardon the scattered notes; it's been a long day.

Anyway, the bottom line: Listen to your plants!

I don't hill potatoes with dirt I just mulch heavily when the plants are 6 inches tall. My biggest challenge with growing potatoes is giving them the required moisture. Both grow bags and hilling would make this issue harder for me to deal with. I would just mulch and make sure they are watered enough.

Hi Hank,

Welcome to Permies.

I have limited experience growing potatoes, but I'm told there are determinate and indeterminate varieties. Determinate stay shorter and hilling won't increase the yield. Indeterminate will keep growing taller and taller, producing tubers higher up the stem if it's covered as it grows. Maybe you were adding soil to determinate varieties?

I don't hill up my grow bag potatoes.  I did the first time and found the same problems you had.  On the other hand one that I simply shoved wrist deep into a bag among other plants gave me my best harvest.  Last year I did the same thing for all my potatoes.  Filled the bags, shoved the potato section into the dirt wrist deep and left them to grow.  I got great growth and happy plants.  Also remember those bags dry out more then inground plantings so make sure they get plenty of water during the tuber forming time.

Nikki Roche wrote: Maybe you were adding soil to determinate varieties?

Hmm! Hadn't thought of that, but it has merit. What variety is the OP trying to grow?