diff --git a/doc/source/configuration.rst b/doc/source/configuration.rst
index 631606ce1..572c204c6 100644
--- a/doc/source/configuration.rst
+++ b/doc/source/configuration.rst
@@ -106,9 +106,11 @@ providers or images are used to create them).  Example::
       providers:
         - name: provider1
 
-The `name`, `image`, and `min-ready` keys are required.  The
-`providers` list is also required if any nodes should actually be
-created (e.g., the label is not currently disabled).
+The `name` and `image` keys are required.  The `providers` list is
+also required if any nodes should actually be created (e.g., the
+label is not currently disabled). The `min-ready` key is optional
+and defaults to 2. If the value is -1 the label is considered
+disabled.
 
 The `subnodes` key is used to configure multi-node support.  If a
 `subnodes` key is supplied to an image, it indicates that the specified
diff --git a/nodepool/nodepool.py b/nodepool/nodepool.py
index 31a038e5c..507dc4d84 100644
--- a/nodepool/nodepool.py
+++ b/nodepool/nodepool.py
@@ -975,7 +975,7 @@ class NodePool(threading.Thread):
             l.name = label['name']
             newconfig.labels[l.name] = l
             l.image = label['image']
-            l.min_ready = label['min-ready']
+            l.min_ready = label.get('min-ready', 2)
             l.subnodes = label.get('subnodes', 0)
             l.ready_script = label.get('ready-script')
             l.providers = {}
@@ -1386,7 +1386,8 @@ class NodePool(threading.Thread):
         # outside of its schedule.
         self.log.debug("Checking missing images.")
         for label in self.config.labels.values():
-            if not label.min_ready:
+            if label.min_ready < 0:
+                # Label is configured to be disabled, skip creating the image.
                 continue
             for provider_name in label.providers:
                 found = False