An old gardener's way with potatoes was to dig a trench asap and put stuff in that would normally go in the compost bin. Some people use shredded newspaper too but others worry about toxic inks.I've never tried this though. The idea is moisture retention. What I have done is to put some slug pellets in the holes when planting in an attempt to discourage keel slugs but its hard to know how much difference it makes without running a comparison trial.

Thanks, Stera. We were thinking of leaf mould. Is it true you shouldn't feed the potatoes at this point?

Monty Don says compost so we will do that.

I don't put any compost in the trenches or holes when planting potatoes. What works for me is to dig a trench over depth and line it with my first grass cuttings and then a layer of soil. Then plant my tubers and as Stera suggests, I sprinkle some slug pellets around them in the hope that it deters the keeled slugs. I find the addition of the clippings produces a little warmth and makes the soil acidic to prevent scab. I then give a feed once they begin sprouting with some superphosphate or organic potato fertiliser.

Thanks, Jimmy I will tell Barbara. She has a sore back after our last digging episode. There is a tree next door which sends lots of roots into the veg patch. We have to dig deep to get rid of at least some of them.

Oh dear, Linda I replied to your question and forgot to press Add Comment. I never fed mine as we got plenty for the two of use without, but it you want to, you could use a high phosphate one. I think its a bit late to use bone meal but someone else will know better than me.