Kids of all ages love the opportunity to dig for fresh ‘new’ potatoes. It’s the perfect healthy treasure hunt and there is nothing quite like the flavour of home grown potatoes boiled, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, crunchy sea salt and finely chopped parsley.

Potatoes are swollen stems and the stems need to be buried for them to crop successfully. As they grow up they need to be covered for them to develop the tubers. Using straw to cover the plants results in clean, easy to harvest potatoes that require minimal washing before cooking.

The top 5 tips to great tasting Potatoes

• Only use virus free seed potatoes, to ensure a clean healthy crop.
• Plant in a frost free area of the garden. If a heavy frost is expected cover new tender shoots with a thick layer of straw.
• As green shoots appear, cover over a 20-30cm layer of straw. If mounding with soil cover to a depth of 10-15cm.
• Potatoes require potassium to develop strong stems and tubers. Apply a complete organic fertiliser at planting and then every month until flowering.
• Harvest when foliage starts to die off or flowers appear on the plant.

Once the potatoes have been harvested use composted straw to mulch fruit trees or vegie beds.