Hilling potatoes: why it is important

The main reason to hill potatoes is to increase yield.

Potatoes form along the underground stem of the plant and not from the roots. So hilling effectively lengthen the underground portion of the stem thus increasing yield. You can either add additional soil to the bed and then mound it around the plants, or you can scoop up soil from the rows and press it against the stems. Later in the season, it’s easy to reach in and check the potatoes for size before you harvest them.

After the plants reach about 20 to 30cm tall, soil needs to be hilled around the plants for the potato tubers to grow in. These “hills” or ridges are where the potatoes will form, and it is important to keep them covered and away from sunlight.

If the potato tubers come in contact with sunlight they can become green and not fit to eat. In fact, green potatoes can carry toxins and could become poisonous.

To prevent this, potatoes should be hilled at least 3 to 4 times during their growth cycle. The more you can hill the potato plants, the more potatoes they will produce.

When growing potatoes in a raised bed, hill the potatoes twice, possibly three times, during their growth. Here is how to hill potatoes grown in a raised bed.

Hilling potatoes

Once the potato plants reach a height of 20 to 30cm tall it is time to hill up soil around the potatoes. If potatoes are grown in the ground, in rows, you simply use a hoe or shovel to hill the surrounding soil up around the plants. If you have them in a raised bed you will have to add soil.

Use a combination of good top soil and a little compost, added with vermiculite. You can also use a quality, organic potting soil. The vermiculite has water absorbing properties which helps keep the soil from drying out quickly.

Hilling soil around the potato plants is pretty straight forward – simply add soil around the potato plants until just the top sets of leaves are sticking above the soil.

Continue adding the soil around each plant until the raised bed is filled and just the top leaves are sticking above the new soil.

Cover the potato plants with soil, except for the very top leaves. Water the raised bed well, making sure the new soil is soaked thoroughly. Continue to keep the potato plants well-watered for the next couple weeks.

After a couple weeks the potatoes should be ready to hill again. The potato plants typically grow fairly quickly, so keep an eye on them.

After a couple weeks, the potato plants should grow another 20 to 30cm tall. At this time they are ready to be hilled again.

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