Susan You don't have to hill them with soil. You can hill them with anything, like compost, straw, even black plastic that covers the potatoes that develop above the soil, anything that keeps the sun from them. The potatoes are separate from the true roots. The roots grow down into the soil, and potatoes develop above-ground from "stolons" that grow from the lower stem. That's why the plants must be hilled with dirt or compost. You're covering the potatoes developing above-ground. There are several ways that potatoes are grown: You can grow potatoes in the ground, in stacks of straw or mulch, in black plastic bags, in garbage cans or to stacks of tires. Potatoes can be a fun and easy crop to grow. Field growing: This is the conventional way most potatoes are grown. Generally, the seed potatoes are planted about 12 inches apart in rows that are spaced 2 to 3 feet apart. The seed pieces' are planted about 1 inch deep, then covered with additional soil as the sprouts develop. Straw: For centuries, Scandinavians have grown potatoes in stacks of straw or other mulching material. Potatoes are planted above ground in the straw, and as the vines begin to grow, additional straw` or mulch is mounded up around the base of the plants. This results in a yield of very clean potatoes. New potatoes can be harvested easily even before the potato vines mature completely. Under plastic or in plastic garbage bags: Garden soil or a commercial potting soil can be used to grow the potatoes in the bags, Fold over the top half of the bag, fill with soil, and plant a certified seed potato that has been cut in half. The plastic bag can be set above ground wherever it's convenient. Punch holes in the bottom of the bag for drainage. You also can plant potatoes under black plastic. Cut open a piece of the black plastic, and plant a potato piece. The potato tubers will develop as they would in the open ground. However, the tubers that develop close to the surface of the soil are shaded by the black plastic and should not develop the green inedible portions that often are found on other tubers. The black plastic also will aid in controlling weeds. Garbage cans or containers: Old garbage cans, or wooden or fiberboard-type containers are suitable for growing potatoes, if they have adequate drainage. You can conserve space by growing them in this manner. A word of caution, though: The plants tend to dry out more rapidly when grown in containers, so additional watering will be needed. Otherwise, you're likely to end up with misshapen tubers. Potatoes can be grown in tires. There are two different methods of growing potatoes in tires. One way is to stack three or four tires, fill them with soil and plant two to three seed pieces about 1 or 2 inches deep in the top tire. The black of the tire absorbs and radiates heat, and there usually is a heavy yield. Another method is to put a tire on the ground, fill it with soil and plant the potatoes within the tire. Plant two seed potatoes, whole or halved, about 2 inches deep. Once the potatoes have developed 3 or 4 inches of foliage growth, a second tire can be put on top of the first, Fill in with more soil, always leaving at least 2 inches of leaf growth above the soil level. Continue to fill as the plants grow. Once you've filled in the center of the second tire, continue the stack to a height of three or four tires. Keep in mind you must always leave about 2 inches of foliage showing. Last year, we grew potatoes in eight stacks of tires, using eight different potato varieties. Each tire stack averaged 11 pounds of potatoes: Some readers have reported yields of up to 38 pounds per stack. Others have reported poor results, averaging as few as one or two potatoes per stack. Over-watering or the use of too much high nitrogen fertilizer could be the reason for poor yields. The reason you can grow potatoes successfully in this manner is that potatoes develop on stems above the roots. Of course, it's for this reason that mounding or mulching potatoes is recommended so highly. Some of the potatoes that we grew in tire stacks were not harvested until January of this year. So the tire stacks also provided an ideal place to store them throughout fall and winter.

It sounds like I'm doing the right thing with this stuff! I think it's hay. jbest123 is absolutely right. We're "small" farm country around here. Lots of the equipment is what their grandfathers used back in the day. Our hills? lol Well, let's just say that I had relatives visit from Kansas and called to say that they weren't driving any further without an escort because they thought there car was going to fall off the mountains! We thought it was hilarious until we saw that they were genuinely terrified! lol I thought it was normal to have 2 barns on the farm and a few feeders, so the cows with the short legs on the right side would have a place to feed and the ones with the short legs on the left could use the other. :) They do occasionally walk backward but it's not pretty.

Where I grew up on the farm, straw was what was left over after the wheat or oat harvest, baled and used for bedding in the barn. Hay was timothy or whatever green stuff we grew in the fields for the cows to eat. Straw is commonly used for mulch, also for Halloween decorations, mazes, etc. They sell hay in the big round bales for feeding the cattle. You see them in the fields covered up with plastic in long rows. Hay and straw are two totally different things, second cutting or not, hay is hay, green, nitrogen; and straw is straw, yellow and carbon. And you can still get wheat coming up in your garden if you use fresh straw as there are still seeds in it. If I get straw to decorate with for Halloween in the fall I always let it set over the winter and compost a bit before I use it as mulch in the garden in the spring. I never use hay, can't get it in small bales any more anyway.

lavender_lass: Your plan for using spoiled hay should work as long as you patrol for slugs & water weekly if no rain. I've used it numerous times & despite warnings about seeds sprouting I've not had much trouble with either. Straw seems to last longer, but both work. Depending on how much hay you have you might need some layers of cardboard or thick newspaper to stop the onslaught of the weeds/grass. What sprouts in the hay isn't going to be much of a problem even if only tended once a week. Either stack more hay on the sprouts or give a quick tug or hoe action & you're done. I usually run out of hay before my project is complete, so having a huge supply is a bonus! I gather the free sweepings from the feed store, so usually a mixture of straw, alfalfa & grass hay. A big bonus of this method is that next year you'll have an an easy to plant bed with fluffy soil under that hay. I found that out by accident and now know it's called sheet composting. Sure saves me time & energy from having to weed the garden. When our kids were younger they'd ask why the other gardens they'd see had 2' high weeds & my reply would be, "Needs mulch!" I wouldn't garden without it anymore. Some basic tips that have helped us with these crops. potatoes-- leave at least 2-4" green showing to keep them growing. Some varieties will produce a larger harvest with more mulch being added, but Yukon Golds don't. Still the hay mulch keeps it moist so you water less & potatoes continuously grow. pumpkins-- put a board, brick, flat rock, or even right side up Frisbee under the pumpkins to keep them drier & away from the slugs who love to hide underneath. Anything that doesn't collect water or stay damp should work. After harvest, be sure to chop up remains with a hoe or mower, then smother with more hay so you have at least a 6" layer that will be a snap to plant in the spring. Corrine