Planting New potatoes In The Veg Plot Time With A Bamboo Mulch Idea.

 We usually plant our chitted new potatoes on St Patrick's day but we never got a round to it and I dug two trenches whilst good old wifey planted the potatoes.  They are Duke of York and we purchased them from the place where buying beer is  verboten before 12.30 on a bank holiday or a Sunday.  They'd run out of compost yesterday

Duke of York newly planted and chitted seed potatoes.

Then I covered them up with soil and decided to experiment and cover the area up with some bamboo we cut down the other day.

The wife reckons it will work like straw and protect the emerging shoots from frost.  I think it will keep the weeds down and will degenerate and feed the soil and crop. Plus the potato stalks will easily push up or push through the bamboo mulch.

I often use old lawnmower and hedge clippings to mulch vegetables.  It's a way of feeding the soil without first composting it.  I have seen videos and read articles on line about using bamboo for a mulch.  A lot of them recommend putting them through the wood chopper first.  I think this would be time consuming and also being a natural or organic gardener and a bit of a tight wad.  I don't want to add to my carbon footprint or my eccentricity (electricy or "leccy") bill.

Have you ever used bamboo for a mulch or planted your 'outside'spudatoes yet? We should have enough with two rows and if you remember we still have our "inside" potatoes in 'Portugal' my polytunnel.

It's  glorious weather for the next few days down on the Irish Riviera.😊