Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Pat Meadows <pat@meadows.pair.com>]

On Thu, 22 Jun 2006 05:02:37 -0500 (CDT), you wrote:

>
>So, to rephrase my question: can I just pile new material on the existing 
>growth, or should I look to first nix the existing growth?

In the case of potatoes, you *do* pile soil or hay or leaves
on them as they grow, deliberately.  I've heard that you
bury the foliage, leaving only the top 2" or so uncovered.
That's what we're doing.  

So I don't see any reason why you couldn't pile compost on
them instead:  unless your compost pile gets so hot that it
kills them.  Most compost piles probably don't get that hot.

>My interest lies in whether, nutrient-wise, allowing the potatoes to grow is 
>better than not allowing them to grow.  And then there's my dilemma on what 
>to do with any new compost material that would otherwise be destined for the 
>pile...
>
I don't know about the nutrients, although I'm inclined to
doubt that it would make much difference to the compost.
(That's just a guess, I have no actual knowledge of it.)

Pat
-- 
Gardening in northern Pennsylvania.  

Eat local food, change the world for the better!