[gardengalrn]

Grub, ABC...here's what I do when I plant potatoes. Keep in mind that I've had both success and failures in various years:
1. Buy seed potatoes. I get mine from a local co-op. A large seed potato will give you 4-6 actual "seeds," depending on how you cut them.
2. If the weather Gods are working for you and not against, you will have a stretch of 2-3 days of dry weather before you intend on planting. Cut the seed potatoes so that each chunk has at least 1-2 eyes on it.
3. Place potatoes, cut side up, to dry for several days. Some people sprinkle the cured potatoes with a sulfer dust to ward off fungal problems but I never have (thus may explain some failures, LOL)
4. Pick a well drained and amended area and make yourself a wide row, mine are usually 2 feet across and fairly high.
5. Take a hoe and make a deep ditch down the center. As deep as you can make it without destroying the row and it caving in on itself.
6. Place the seed chunks in the trench, I space mine about a foot apart. Cover with maybe 3 or so inches of soil.
7. Once they have sprouted and have grown maybe 10-12 or so inches, "hill" your potatoes by taking the remaining soil from either side and pulling it up next to the plant, leaving only the top few inches.
8. Harvest when the plant dies back.

I guess I should have called it the 123s not the ABCs. Anyway, it is really important to get them in early. I have misjudged this before and planted when it was just too cold and wet, thus my crop rotted. One year I didn't cure properly and again, they rotted. I'm sure someone will address any blatant wrong information I've given. As for taste, I've changed my mind several times on this. Usually when I didn't have a good crop, I decided it wasn't worth it, LOL. Seriously, potatoes are a fun crop to harvest and new potatoes are delicious.