it is indeed time to plant those starchy sources of fiber, iron, and potassium, the spuds. after a lot of research and experience, i prefer the trench and hill method, but others like using the grow bag, stacked tyres and straw, and even the no-dig solutions to producing home grown french fries, mashed potatoes, hash browns, and baked potatoes smothered in butter, sour cream, chives, chili, cheddar cheese, and other great toppings.
if you have not purchased your seed potatoes yet, club member Steve Byars has an answer: he is offering for free to other club members some of his 2020 crop of potatoes that have sprouted, and are ready to plant. Norland Red and Yukon Gold varieties, and they are a snap to plant: using my favorite trench method (but the basics are adaptable to your favorite method), carefully plant the sprouted spud into the trench about six inches deep, being sure to preserve all the sprouts you can (you WILL break a few, believe me), and cautiously backfill dirt onto the potatoe and it's associated sprouts. you can leave the sprouts poking out of the ground - once the potatoe contacts the dirt, miracles happen, and even a mild frost that zaps the exposed sprout will not affect all the underground action. i plant the seed potatoes about twelve inches apart, and in long, straight rows about three feet apart - drip or "weep" hose is excellent in this application, and is a real water (and therefore money) saver. when the trenched potatoe plants are about ten inches tall, i carefully rake soil from the trench excavation half way up the plants, and continue hilling until the plants are about twenty-four inches tall.
if you are interested in Steve's free seed spud offer, you can contact me and i'll hook you up! my e-mail address is j.p.mcgintyelk2@gmail.com.
thanks, jim.
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