Three ways to grow potatoes

Story by Phil Dudman

There’s more than one way to grow a good spud. Here’s three tried and true methods…

Mulch method

You only need a patch of ground and some mulch with this easy approach.

1. Loosen the soil in your chosen bed with a garden fork, then rake it level.
2. Place your seed potatoes in a row on the surface of the soil about 30cm apart.
3. Cover the row with a layer of straw 20–30cm deep. The potatoes will form freely in the straw. Top up with more straw as the plants grow.

Trench method

This is a ‘low till’ adaptation of the traditional planting technique.

1. Loosen the soil with a garden fork.
2. Use a trowel to dig a row of shallow holes about 30cm apart, then drop a seed potato into each hole.
3. Cover the row of potatoes with a generous layer of compost, 15–20cm deep. With this method, you’re basically creating an upside-down trench. The potatoes will form in the lovely loose compost on the surface.

Container method

You can grow a lovely crop in many types of containers on a sunny balcony, deck or patio.

1. Grab a pot, grow bag or old sack – anything that holds potting mix will do, as long as it’s about 40cm wide and deep, and drains well. Part-fill it (one third or so) with premium potting mix. For an organic boost, blend the mix 1:1 with compost.
2. Sprinkle a trowel full of organic fertiliser over the mix.
3. Place 2–3 seed potatoes on the surface of the mix.
4. Top up the container with more mix, then sprinkle another trowel of fertiliser over the surface.