Potato bed - early summer

Hmm. I dedicate one whole bed to potatoes and I use Peter Cundall's method of planting. I haven't done a search on the web for details but am sure you could find them. First he puts newspaper down, then the seed potatoes, then covers them in straw and sawdust and sprinkles manures and blood and bone over the top. If you've got his Gardening Video/DVD "Patch from Scratch" you can see the method there. I have found it has always worked a treat for me. Even though I probably don't need to start with the newspaper layer, I do anyway. I find it makes the potatoes really easy to harvest at the end of the season and I'm less likely to have potatoes sprouting from those beds for years later.

This year I've staggered my plantings, so about half the potato plants are up and running in this photo. I just hope the rest will have time to grow and multiply.

At the end of the bed closest to the camera is the permanent planting of strawberry plants. They are from Diggers and are the most beautiful strawberries in the world - trust me....really fragrant and tasty - way better than the usual store bought varieties. At the far end of the bed are the asparagus plants.

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