Spuds, sweat & tears

Everyone knows that tomatoes from the garden are unmatched in flavor and freshness. But did you know the same is true for potatoes and many other crops?

Gardeners who have dug their own understand what an earthy delight these underground tubers are.

Another thing you'll find out about potato growers is that each does it differently, and each has a special trick for harvesting the most potatoes in the least space.

Begin with certified seed potatoes. Since potatoes can be susceptible to many different diseases, these offer the best start. They look just like the potatoes at the grocery store. The first place to look is your favorite local nursery or garden center. Most offer two or three varieties.

It's not the only way to do it, though. I had a neighbor who saved the peelings from grocery store potatoes, put them in a sealed plastic bag and, after they sprouted, planted them in his garden. Each year he had a bumper crop and was never bothered with diseases.

Potatoes can be planted at the end of April into mid-May and even later, depending on the variety.

Dig a trench about 1 foot deep and fill the bottom with a good mix of organic matter and soil. This bottom layer should be well drained and fertile.

Cut the seed potatoes into quarters, making sure that each has at least one eye. They can be planted 12 inches away from each other; just cover them about 1 inch deep with good soil.

Some growers recommend dusting the potatoes with a fungicide, but I've never had a problem with rotting and certainly wouldn't want fungicide on a food crop.

When the plants begin to grow, and get 6 to 12 inches tall, use a process called "hilling up." Add soil to cover the stems up to the top of the plant, leaving 1 inch of green leaves sticking out of the soil.

The potatoes will form just below the new higher soil surface. Repeat the process one or two more times during the growing season.

As mentioned before, there are variations on this technique. One popular technique recycles tires. Nothing looks worse than old tires in the garden, but you can call it art.

Potatoes, like tomatoes, love it hot and the tires absorb heat. Fill a tire with good soil and plant the seed potato pieces. Add a tire with each growth spurt until it's three or four tires high.

Another option is to dig the trench, prepare the soil, plant the seed and then hill using straw. The potatoes form in the straw and are clean and easy to harvest.

When the potato plants flower in the garden, they are forming tubers. They'll be ready to harvest in a month or so. Dig down gently with your hands and see how they are doing. If they look big and healthy, they can be pulled for dinner.

Use a garden fork to gently pull the potatoes out. Any that are injured in the process can be cooked up. The others will store in a cool, dry place for months.

The Colorado potato beetle is the main pest and is easily controlled by crushing the little yellow eggs on the undersides of the leaves. A safe, natural control is Bacillus thuringiensis, or BT, which infects the larvae and kills them. Handpicking off the adult beetles also will put a huge dent in the population. Go out in the morning when it's cool, and knock them off into a can of soapy water.

If it's a big, brown baked potato you long for, there are a few good ones to choose from. Butte and Yukon Gold both fill the bill. If you're looking for adventure, the sky's the limit.

Potato connoisseurs grow little fingerlings for their tender texture and intense flavor. Rose Finn Apple Seed is an heirloom that has a pinkish skin and yellow, dry flesh.

Spuds with bright purple flesh, such as All Blue, provide cooks with smiles as they turn them into delicious but strange-looking mashed potatoes. "Just try them," they say. Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall at that dinner party?

Potatoes are an easy and fun crop to grow. Once you taste the home-grown variety, you'll never want store-bought again.