Here is a simple no work way to grow organic potatoes without ever digging or using poisonous pesticides, herbicides, or man made chemical fertilizers. This method can be used for the small garden or a large truck patch to grow enough potatoes for your family for the entire year as I do.
It is only common sense that healthy soil will produce larger potatoes and higher yield then dead soil. So if this is the first year planting or if your soil has been depleted and poisoned with chemical fertilizers then realize that yields will improve as you bring your soil back to health. This may take 2 or 3 years.
If this is the first year of planting then start by spreading 2 inches of loose hay on the area to plant. Till this in theroly. This will loosen the soil while giving it some organic material to feed the soil and bring it to life. After a few years of this method your soil will become so soft that tilling will become unneccesary. I prefer hay over manure. Hay is easier to spread and does not have the pathogens as does manure. If you choose to use manure make sure it has been aged for at least 6 months. Fresh manure will have pathogens that could contaminate your potatoes. These Pathogens will die over the course of 6 months. Horse manure is best. I use some manure on my garden but only because a neighboring farmer delivers it for free.
Now push your starter potatoes 2/3 into the newly tilled soil. Make sure the top 1/3 is out of the ground. I put the potatoes 12 inches apart in the row. I put 3 rows 12 inches apart then a 24 inch separation before the next 3 rows. This makes a nice walking path to harvest the potatoes but still a very compact bed of potatoes for a high yield in a small space.
Now that the starter potatoes are in the ground put 2 inches of loose hay over the entire bed and give it a good watering so that the water soaks down through the hay. In about 2 weeks you should see your new potato plants sprouting through the hay. When the potato plants are about 3 inches high, put on another 6 to 8 inches of hay around them. Do not cover the potato sprouts but get this fresh layer of hay up close to the plants.
Wa la. Now you just wait until harvest time. No work means no weeding. The thick layer of hay will keep the weed from coming up through. This blanket of hay will also keep the moisture in so you should not need to irrigate unless you live in the desert. Some of you are now probably saying that hay has lots of weed seeds and that you are seeding your garden with weeds. But if you follow the no work garden method you will find that the weeds can not germinate through the heavy layer of hay.
You should be able to start harvesting some small potatoes in 6 weeks after planting. Here is were the real beauty of this method lies. To harvest the potatoes take the largest shovel you have and throw it away! No work means no digging. Simply lift some hay; the potatoes will be sitting on top of the ground, or just under the ground partly exposed. Take one or two from a couple of plants and put the hay back in place. The rest of the potatoes on those plants will continue to grow and mature. Nothing beats boiled new potatoes with some salt, pepper and butter. Enjoy knowing that you are not poisoning your family with the garbage from our food industry.
If some potato bugs appear I simply take a 2 gallon bucket and swat the top of the plant so the bug are swatted into the bucket. Just tap lightly so that you do not damage the plant. It only takes a soft swat for the bugs to go into the bucket. I usually only have a few. Any bugs I do catch in my garden become a tasty treat for my pond fish. I also stopped eating the poisoned fish that you get from china in the grocery store and now raise my own organically.
When the top of the plants look as if they are starting to die or if all your potatoes are the size of a soft ball it is time to harvest the lot. Good luck with the most tasty potatoes you will ever have.