Sowing Spuds

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If all three factors are right, he says to "expect to harvest at least 10 times as many pounds as you plant. Even higher yields are not unusual."

Potato tubers begin forming when the flowers fade; after that, the crop can be harvested as needed.

For day-to-day new potatoes, merely work the soil under the plants with your hand or a fork until you encounter the small. tubers. Gently break off those you want and re-cover the rest.

To harvest potatoes for storage, wait until the plants have died back completely. In dry weather, if temperatures are below 80 degrees, let the crop cure by allowing the tubers to lay on the soil surface for a day or two. If temperatures consistently exceed 80 degrees, sunlight can cause the potatoes to turn green and rot; in this case, collect them immediately and place them in a dark, well-ventilated place to cure for 10 days at 60 to 65 degrees and 85 percent humidity.

After curing, tubers will keep for several months without sprouting if kept in complete darkness at 40 to 45 degrees and high humidity. For potato storage, heirloom gardener Weaver recommends buying a cheap, old-fashioned refrigerator and keeping it set at 40 degrees (a box of moist leaves or sawdust in an unheated garage or basement is another alternative if no refrigerator is to be had). In his potato fridge, Weaver keeps his eating potatoes and two or three egg cartons full of each variety of next year's seed potatoes. (For more ideas on storing potatoes and other crops, read Root Cellaring, available on MOTHER'S Bookshelf, Page 94, or go to "Books and Plans" at http://www.motherearthnews.com.

Surface-Sown, No-Dig Spuds

An offbeat technique popularized by Ruth Stout in her book Gardening Without Work is to plant potatoes without actually burying the seed. The tactic goes under several names: Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA), England's premier organic gardening group, calls it "no-dig potatoes;" the Illinois Extension Service calls it "straw potatoes;" Ronniger's Potato Farm in Idaho merely refers to it as "the mulch method" and notes the technique is particularly good if you have shallow, rocky or compacted soil.

The idea is based on the fact that tubers will grow from potato stems if they are shielded from light. As long as the seed potatoes have contact with soil somewhere, they will send down roots for the nourishment they need to keep producing.

To plant a "no-dig potato patch," simply lay the seed potatoes on the surface, spacing them at regular intervals. You can lightly press the seed into the soil surface if you want, but it's not necessary. Cover the seed potatoes with several inches of straw or other mulch. As the plants emerge, add more mulch. HDRA recommends a final layer of grass clippings rather than straw to totally seal out light. (The grass clippings also will release nitrogen and other nutrients.) When you are ready to harvest your crop, merely lift the mulch and harvest the potatoes; they will be much easier to find and cleaner than if you'd grown them in soil.

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