Potato Bed

My potato bed looks small from the photo but is really large. I did an experiment last year by burying hay or straw bales under my raised bed. I grew potatoes in only three inches of soil. I now recommend using a lot more soil (at least a foot) above your bales.

This year I need no preparation in my bed. I simply bury the spud whole (1 inch) and then heap a pile of top soil over the spud by my hands (three inches). This year all the hay from last year has decomposed. All I need to do is simply plant the potato starts.

All this hype about conditioning bales with fertilizer seems hard work. Straw Bale gardeners have to condition every bale before use it (it may take weeks to condition). I also use conditioned bales--conditioned by earthworms and microbes. You'll be amazed how fast these little soil conditioners work. That is why my garden is called a "Garden habitat." There is work going on in my garden but not by using toxic fertilizers.

I am going to use early potatoes. When they begin to bloom is when you harvest young potatoes. I like tender small potatoes.