Bumble bee nest.

I hope someone can help me on here please.
Ive had bumble bees nesting on my allotment once before and it wasn't a problem as they went down under the shed, but this year they are nesting in the ground where my early potatoes are growing  As you can imagine I'm having a problem earthing the potatoes up, as I don't want to run the wrath of angry bumble bees!!
Would it be ok for me to top them with loads of straw to about 10 inches and just leave them to it, or is there anything else I can do, other than forget the potatoes this year.
Thanks for any suggestions.

Thanks for the reply, I'm not upset about them being there and there's no way would I try to get rid of them, but just a little apprehensive about earthing them up as we are not sure where the nest is. We can see where they are going in, but then the ground seems to raise up a bit in straight line then stops, so not sure if the nest is where it ends or is it somewhere else. It's smack bang in the middle of 2 rows, and after reading up about them it could be months before they go!!

My partner said the same thing but me being a woman can't do with an untidy allotment  but thanks for the advice...I'm gonna send the other half in and I will watch from behind the shed!!!

Glad that's not my plot wouldn't go back on the plot until they had gone lol  hate bees and wasps, when I was young playing in my back garden there was a wasps nest in a  tree  one day I was in the garden playing and they all came out and chased me up the garden path just as we closed the kitchen door they smashed against it, now every time I see one I run a mile lol

Bumble bees are unlikely to sting and even more unlikely to attack.

Some bees are solitary and do not have a communal nest. They burrow into the earth and push out a mound of earth about the size of a worm cast. Have you seen several bees going into and out of the same hole?

Just work round them the best you can and let them get on with their lives.

Thanks again for the comments about this, and yes Salmo we've counted 11 bees flying round the hole all at the same time. My partner had taken soil from another part of the allotment to earth up the potatoes, but he had partly covered the entrance, so I just got the rake and gently pulled it away. The bees are happily going back and forth to the nest. I did video it, but not sure how to put it on here as I'm new to this site.
We are just going to let them get on with it, even though it will probably mean we dont get as many potatoes.

we had a nest of ground nesting bees (bumbles) in our garden a few years ago, they only stay there for one season, then can be moved, they are the most docile of bees, I had to move ours (as opposed to getting it destroyed) as we found it while laying the patio. the nest was about the size (or maybe a bit smaller) of a spade, so I carefully dug round well outside it and lifted it with a spade and relocated it off the patio area (after consultation with my friend the large plotter engineer who was also a bee expert - removing unwanted bee nests in his spare time) although while I was working I was surrounded by bees, and they came and settled on me to investigate, I talked calmly to them explaining what I was doing (I dont know if they understood and it helped them, but it certainly helped me) and successfully moved the nest without being stung. I certainly would not move them without first consulting an expert, I showed him pictures of both the bees and the nest and asked his advice before attempting it (he was also the one that advised explaining to them what you are doing - nowadays if we have one indoors I ask it nicely to go - and they generally do).
Grendel

I had up to 400 masonry bees in tubes. When they hatched out you could get really close up to watch. They didn't feel threatened so weren't bothered. In the main bees won't sting without reason. They die if they do. My dad used to rescue bumblebees out of his greenhouse with his bare hands. Love em