Potatoes grow best in a rich fertile soil, with plenty of organic matter incorporated and ideally, soil pH should be around 6.5 or lower. Never add lime before planting potatoes, as this can encourage scab. In spring, dig homemade compost into the top 30cm of soil. Use around one barrow load to 5 square metres of ground. If compost is unavailable, well-rotted farmyard manure (check it is aminopyralid-free), a general organic fertiliser (plus leafmould for water retention), or a proprietary brand of bagged manure can be used. Alternatively you can plant potatoes after you have dug in a green manure, such as grazing rye, vetch or tares. Potatoes should form part of a crop rotation plan and should not be planted in the same ground with less than a four year gap from the previous crop. For more information, please refer to Garden Organic’s factsheet GG19 Crop rotation. Potatoes can also be grown by using the no-dig method. For more information on how to do this, see their factsheet GG2 No-dig gardening. https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/factsheets/growing-potatoes
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