I think you are referring to the Irish "lazy bed" method which is an old, way of growing potatoes. The lazy bed method gave birth to a similar method I use called the " lasagna method" in my flower garden since I have heavy clay soil and this method reduces and or eliminates digging and ripping out grass for preparation. The whole idea is instead of killing yourself ripping out grass and weeds , you just smother them. Over the years I have managed to eliminate a large lawn and create a nice cottage garden doing this( see my photos section, what you see there was once a very boring lawn). The lazy bed method if done propery for your potatoe crop should work well for you. Tip... Just before you start, clip any growth you see( grass, weeds etc) as close down to the ground as possible and keep on building up your beds with your mulch mixture for potatoes a bit at a time as growth proceeds ( of course some weeding will be required) and if you have a drainage problem you can cut in narrow drainage trenches on either side of you beds....You'll get the hang of it as time goes on. I have never planted a potatoe in my whole life but I think the principal is the same even though the specifics might be a bit different with regards to what you want to grow. P.S not familiar with the term being from where I reside but I assume that " hard graft" in the context of gardening means - hard digging.

Can see it working with perennials but surely one of the points of potatoes in virgin ground is helping to break up the ground? And wouldn't you need an enormous amount of mulch for earthing up ? Planting under black plastic was recommended as labour saving years ago but it was a complete failure in my allotment - possible my fault but I think you have to do the digging sooner or later for veg, and the turf you take off makes good compost when stacked and rotted down. You might dig as much as you have strength for and try the other method with what's left and you could compare the results and let us know? Or hire a cultivator.

Thank you both for your replies.
I just barley rember this method being used successfully and wondered how successful or was it purely the lazy way?... It is true that potatoes make their new tubers above the seed so there the growth is on top of the ridge being assisted by the earthing-up...all comments are welcome and interesting. Thanks again