How to Plant Potatoes for a Bigger Harvest: Bed Prep, Deep Planting & Natural Pest Control

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As we step into my favorite time of year, we take a quick gander into the working pantry that was filled with last year’s harvest. Shelves of preserved foods, fermented foods… and oh wait—one milk crate left of massive sprouts coming from the leftover potatoes that didn’t make it into a jar of preservation.

Shame on us.

But the way I figure, we can plop them into the ground haphazardly and let them grow.

Every year we strive to be left with enough seed potatoes in the spring to fill the beds for another round of harvest. But the leftovers always end up shriveled and sad, with three-foot sprouts searching for soil.

In this conversation, though, we aren’t talking about the woes.

What we are going to cover is how we plant our potatoes, how we strive to keep the critters away, and the bed preparation we provide for a faithful harvest. Read to the end of this chat to achieve a full-spectrum walkabout into the bed of the potato.

Preparing the Garden Bed for Potatoes

If you haven’t gathered already from our previous posts, bed preparation is crucial to the success of not only bountiful harvests, but healthy crops that are able to withstand the threats of nature.

We don’t have to stress over and fear those threats if we are armed with the knowledge of how to work in harmony with them. Because this gardening thing is all about developing a symbiotic relationship with nature.

So let’s get that potato bed armed with the forces available at our very own fingertips.

Even though we broadforked our beds as the first step in our early spring endeavors, you guessed it—we are going to broadfork every time before we plant during our bed-prepping stage.

Broadforking is especially beneficial for tubers like potatoes and other root crops. But whatever it is that you are planning to harvest at the magical hour, broadforking is always beneficial—especially if you are a no-till grower.

After broadforking, we add our choice of amendments.

Good compost is sprinkled on the bed to about 2–4 inches deep. The more, the merrier.

The compost is smoothed out with the back of a hard rake, and then the beds are ready to add other amendments such as:

• Blood meal
• Bone meal
• Plant-tone
• Greensand (if you can find it)
• Azomite (rock dust)
• Wood ash

And whatever else you prefer to use.

Once the amendments are added, we simply rake them into the top two inches of soil and give the bed a final shaping.

I like to string off the existing beds for reference to get nice straight lines. Now, I’m not a fan of straight lines in nature—but if my beds are straight, it makes the garden look a little more attractive.

How We Plant Potatoes Deep for Stronger Growth

Planting potatoes deeply gets them nice and snug into the planting hole and helps reduce the amount of hilling needed later on. Although some hilling may still be required.

I like to go to a depth of about 7–8 inches.

This used to be treacherous work with a shovel. Years ago, I tried using a small auger attached to a drill, and I will never go back to using a shovel again.

I simply mark the depth I want on the auger attachment with some blue painter’s tape, and then it’s off to the back-breaking task of digging 100+ deep holes for the taters with the auger.

When planting, I prefer to throw the whole potato in rather than cutting them into pieces. Both methods work just fine, so pick your poison—as long as the potato eyes are pointed up.

Cover them with the rich compost you prepared and wait for the signs of growth and potato development.

Growth will happen first. Development begins when those beautiful potato flowers start to bloom.

Why Mulching Potatoes with Straw Works So Well

After dropping the potato into the hole and covering it with compost, I like to heavily mulch the entire bed.

You can use whatever mulch you prefer, but I like using straw.

Straw is easy to work with and provides a nice thick blanket on the bed. It is also very easy to remove during harvest by simply using a hard rake.

If I didn’t have a supplier that avoids spraying during the growth and harvest of their straw, I would probably resort to using wood chips instead.

I also like to hill the potatoes with straw by pulling the foliage back and packing straw lightly around the base of the plants. I’m careful not to compress the straw too much so air can still circulate.

The main purpose of hilling is simple:

It keeps the potatoes covered and reduces sunlight exposure, which prevents them from turning green and inedible.

You may notice that some potatoes form near the surface of the bed. Keeping them covered encourages further growth and protects them from sunlight.

Mulching also helps:

• Prevent weeds
• Retain soil moisture
• Improve soil health

Ready to Plan Your Best Garden Yet?

Stop guessing and start growing with intention. The Backyard Homestead Planner helps you map your beds, plan crops, track soil prep, and stay organized all season long.

Download the Backyard Homestead Planner

Natural Pest Control for Potatoes Using Companion Plants

Keeping critters and pest pressure at bay is a journey of its own.

The best way we’ve found is the natural way using companion planting.

If you are someone who considers what you put into your body and your family’s bodies, consider growing your food without pesticides and herbicides. Your overall health will reflect it.

One technique that has worked very well for me over the past few years is planting marigolds around the borders of the beds.

Lining the beds entirely with marigolds seems to put up a shield that guards your crops from some pest pressure.

Will it block 100% of insects and pests?

No, it won’t.

But it does a pretty darn good job.

Another crop I experimented with was mustard greens. Although the mustard greens got eaten up pretty good—and I found a lot of beetles on them—my potatoes experienced far less damage.

I haven’t used mustard since seeing the protection marigolds provide, but it did seem to help. This year I may just plant some mustard between the marigolds to see what happens.

Companion Plants That May Help Protect Potato Beds

Some other plants to experiment with include:

• Alliums (chives, leeks, onions)
• Horseradish
• Nasturtium
• Beans and peas
• Sage

Remember that just because you’ve done your part to battle pests with companion plants doesn’t guarantee a bed that is 100 percent protected.

But you will notice a positive difference.

There aren’t any guarantees in gardening. That’s one of the miracles of nature—it keeps us on our toes while helping us build a better relationship and understanding of growing crops in harmony with nature.

Growing Potatoes Naturally: Learning What Works in Your Garden

That’s the nutshell holding some of the techniques we stand by to grow a respectable potato crop.

There will still be growing seasons that leave us feeling frustrated and let down. But in the process of never giving up, we will all develop techniques that are unique to our own environments.

Sometimes the most successful methods are learned right in our own backyards.

The things we read in blogs and on the internet are simply guidelines and starting points. They help us grow successful gardens that provide our families with the nutrient-dense foods that cultivate our health from the inside out.

Ready to Plan Your Best Garden Yet?

Stop guessing and start growing with intention. The Backyard Homestead Planner helps you map your beds, plan crops, track soil prep, and stay organized all season long.

Download the Backyard Homestead Planner

As always friends, get some of that good bacteria under your nails from the nurturing soil—and keep growing.

Jason & Krystal 🌿