I imagine with a 30 MPH wind that was a chore. Looks good and tight. The University of Illinois in their Fruit and Vegetable Growers newsletter a few weeks ago talked about the advantages of using plastic with your sweet potatoes - made it sound like a great way to do it. We have never used it with the SP's but thinking that may give it a try this year. What varieties are you planting?? We like Beauregard a lot and usually plant Vardaman with them but they tend not to be as nice. Absolutly hate Georgia Jets - they cracked so badly that they were un-marketable. I think we will cut the numbers we plant this year (usually around 500 hills) but the market last year was so soft for them we wound up donating a lot of them to the local food bank.

Here is a link that might be useful: U of I IPM Newsletter

I have not really taken advantage of the plastic yet. I don't like the idea that it adds nothing back to my soil like organic mulches. I collect around 2,000 bags of leaves every year and probably a couple hundred bags of grass as well as bagging all my own grass. I did try it on a small section of pumpkins last year and lost every one of them. All of my others thrived. I had a devil of a time keeping it in place. I pinned it down, shoveled dirt all around it, and finally added bricks. It still came up in places. It is fabulous for weeds, tho'. Jay, do you hill those beds up by hand or do you have a bed shaper? They look really nice.

Tom, I agree wholeheartedly on the Beauregards. I sold out early last year and will increase plantings this year. Two years ago, the deer ate every one of my sweet potatoes but did not touch a one last year. I'm also trying a light fleshed one called O'Henry.

Neat article. I am planting 200-250 plants. I am growing Beauregard, Vardaman, Bush Porto Rico, and Georgia Jet. I have had luck with Georgia Jet in years past.

I am ramping up production for our fall and winter market. We sold all we had last year in two weeks.

I hope I am successful!

Jay

the mulch is easier to lay in the wind if you have a bigger roll to work with. the weight of the roll can be used to pull the plastic tight over the bed after the first few feet are dug in.

I use a lot of plastic and FRC and it is always windy where I am! I find though that when you put that stuff down in the wind you know what is needed to hold it down. When you put stuff down in calm and then wind starts it tends to blow around.

Jay, Did you spray to kill the sod before you laid down your plastic? I have a real problem with quack. tonytiller

No I didn't. 2 years ago, when we first built our movable tunnels, we had a friend come in with a tractor mounted tiller and tilled everything up for us. Before he tilled, I used a push mower and scalped the grass off. We tilled this before it started growing.

I didn't have a problem with the grass regrowing then, and I hope I don't now. It worked so well, that is why I did it again.

Jay