If you are like most gardeners, you are always on the lookout for ways to reduce your workload. While growing potatoes in straw is not the dreamed-of no-work method, it is a low-work method. You won't have to dig the soil to prepare for planting or dig into soil for the harvest. Potatoes grown in straw on top of the soil are smooth, nicely shaped and can make weeds in your potato patch a thing of the past.