How to Hill Potatoes

Reviewed by Ben Barkan

Last Updated: April 8, 2024

Hilling is an agricultural technique that involves piling up soil around the base of a plant as it grows. This is especially important for potatoes, since being exposed to light too early can make them turn green. As they turn green, potatoes will actually secrete toxins that make them unsuited for eating. You’ll usually hill potatoes with dirt, but you can also cover potato plants with straw. If you're new to hilling up potatoes, don't worry. This article will walk you through how to hill potatoes step by step.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Hilling with Dirt

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The purpose of hilling is to cover potato tubers as they start to poke out of the ground. Several conditions can affect the growth of your potato plants, such as whether you’re planting during a wet or dry year. You may have to wait several weeks before it’s time to hill your potatoes.^{[1]
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You shouldn’t need to scrape too deep, as you only need enough dirt to make mounds a few inches high. Start in the middle point between two rows of potato plants, and hoe the dirt towards one row first. You want the dirt to fill up around the plant as you do this.

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Keep going down the row, scooping dirt. Do this until all potato plants have a good mound of dirt around them, then repeat for the other rows. You want to make sure you bring dirt from either side of each row.
- If you don’t own a hoe, you can use a rake to pile the dirt by your plants.^{[2]
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- If you’ve planted your potatoes in a raised bed, you’ll need to add dirt to the bed in order to hill your potatoes. You can combine topsoil and compost and add it to the bed, making small mounds on each side of your potato plants.^{[3]
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Using a hoe might not be quite enough to completely cover potato tubers peeking out of the ground. Use a good amount of pressure to pack the dirt until only the very top leaves of the plant are visible. Keep an eye out for any spots with exposed potatoes you may have missed with the hoe.^{[4]
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Topping your new soil with a thick layer of mulch will keep the soil cool and prevent weeds from sprouting. No specific type of mulch is needed here, but you’ll want to get enough to layer it thickly over the mounds of dirt around your plants.^{[5]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Using Straw for a Second Hilling

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After hilling your plants for the first time, the potato tubers will keep trying to grow their way to the top. You should wait until the potato plants should grow another 8-12 inches (20-31cm) before you consider hilling them again.
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Work small handfuls of straw around the plants. Using straw for the second hilling will make the potatoes much easier to harvest; you won’t have to dig through more than a foot of dirt to find your potatoes. Using small handfuls at a time, fill the area around the plants with a thick bed of straw. You want the straw to be packed as tightly as possible, completely covering any exposed potatoes.
- If your potatoes are planted in a raised bed, you can add straw until you’ve filled the whole bed.^{[6]
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Sprinkle soil on the straw. Really any soil will do, all you’re looking to do is fill up any holes left by your straw bed. Don’t worry about trying to pack the dirt into the straw. As you sprinkle it on, the dirt will fill any open spaces. This will help protect the potatoes from the sun even more.
- After adding dirt, water the straw bed thoroughly.^{[7]
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Do you need to fertilize potatoes?

Maggie Moran
Home & Garden Specialist
Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.

Maggie Moran

Home & Garden Specialist

Expert Answer

After the plant is in the ground for about 2 weeks, you can use fertilizer to help the plant grow.

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How often do you have to water potatoes?

Maggie Moran
Home & Garden Specialist
Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.

Maggie Moran

Home & Garden Specialist

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You offer the plant enough water so that the top layer of soil stays moist, but not overly wet.

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How high do you mound potatoes?

Maggie Moran
Home & Garden Specialist
Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.

Maggie Moran

Home & Garden Specialist

Expert Answer

Typically, you would mound up about halfway up the potato plant for best results.

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Tips

When you first dig your potato trenches, leave the soil in mounds between rows. That will give you the soil you need to hill the potato plants.

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