Raised beds

TRADITIONAL Best for High yields

Traditional trench growing, handed down from gardener to gardener for generations, requires plenty of space and a sturdy back.

Dig a trench about 20cm deep then sit tubers along the bottom, 30cm apart for first earlies or 45cm for second earlies and maincrops. Backfill with soil. Once sprouts appear, earth them up, pulling soil over the stems with a hoe to encourage more tubers.

This method required the most work by far. It isn’t feasible in small gardens, and it doesn’t do the soil much good as you’re constantly disturbing it. But the rewards were high: we harvested more potatoes from this method than any other.

Pro Hefty harvests

Con Hard work

Yield High (about 1.5kg per plant)

NO DIG Best for Difficult soil

Leave your spade in the shed and mulch instead. You’ll boost your soil’s ecosystem and help plants plug into nutrients. No-dig methods also make gardening on heavy clay much easier.

Mulch the bed with 10-15cm of garden compost, well-rotted manure or municipal green waste, then bury seed potatoes in the mulch at the same distances as for traditional growing. As plants grow, add more mulch to stop potatoes turning green and poisonous.

This method made harvesting a doddle: you just grasp the plant and pull. We struggled to source enough organic matter, though, and found lots of green potatoes (even after re-mulching).

Pro Minimal effort

Con Too many green potatoes Yield Good (about 1kg per plant)