Thanks to our goats, there's always a couple of large piles of manure and urine infused straw. The perfect medium for growing potatoes using the "no till" method!
Another nice thing about using straw is that the potatoes are fairly clean looking when harvested.
This photo shows the seed potatoes before planting. (Seed potatoes are just regular potatoes that haven't been treated with any sprouting inhibitors) Whole potatoes are cut into smaller pieces containing at least two "eyes". They're left out a couple days to develop a skin over the exposed cut sides
Meanwhile, the planting site is prepped by putting down a deep base of the straw/manure . Depending on what's available, we also use other organic matter such as leaves, grass clippings and chicken litter. We try to have the potatoes planted by the first week in March.
Any stored potatoes left over from the previous year are also used as seed potatoes. See the long sprouts they've grown over the winer?
Young potato plants.
Seems like it takes forever for these to emerge.
Sometimes they get hit by a late frost...
...but they recover pretty quickly.
They grow so quickly, it's a challenge to keep them hilled.
