"Bob Peterson" wrote in message
"Fran" wrote in message


growing even a few
potatoes
(snip) it is impossible to buy a
decent potato in any supermarket and finding a good spud is a very hard
task if one doesn't have a garden.

Another good reason to plant potatos is that they are a good way to
condition the soil. They have a lot of foiliage, and after they start to
grow nothing grow under them and the underground growth opens up the soil.
We always planted potatoes where we had weed problems the year before
because they were so good at crowding out the weeds. And home grown
potatoes ar emuch better than store bought for some reason. At least so i
recall.

They are indeed very good soil conditioners and weed controllers and even
more so the way I have now taken to growing them.

I drop the seed spuds on the ground about a ft apart and 2 ft between rows
and then cover them with a ft or more of old hay/straw/weeds.manure and then
water. I top up the bedding material with more hay/weeds etc as it beds
down to make sure the spuds don't get green.

At harvest I shove a hand into the decomposing mass and wriggle out what I
need for eating over the next few days and the rest I leave till I need to
get rid of them to make use of the newly made potato compost.