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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> >When do you all plant potatoes related to your last frost? And do you put 
> them in hills or trenches? I'm thinking of planting early, but mulching 
> them 
> so the frost won't hurt them.

Unless you have a serious ground freeze, frost will only hurt the tops.  The 
most profitable strategy, then, is to time it so that the tops emerge just 
after the last frosts.  Even at that, potatoes can endure a very light frost. 
 It 
has to be below 30 or sometimes below about 28 to do them any harm.

If frost does bite off the tops, the potatoes will still grow.  They will be 
later and you will get a very great number of little potatoes rather than a 
few big ones, but the yield will be about the same.  The potato only uses its 
store of starch until the first leaves hit sunlight, then it stops completely 
and depends on photosynthesis.  With an average seed piece of one ounce, you 
have the reserves for the tops to be burned three or four times before it 
would 
not have enough starch to recover.

The most profitable scheme is to plant them in threnches AND hills.  Plant 
them in shallow trenches 4" deep or so and cover them to ground level.  As 
they 
grow, hill the dirt around them until the hill stands 10" high or bigger.  
When the potato blooms, it's useless to hill it any farther.  The potato will 
not 
set tubers deeper than you planted the seed piece and it will not set any new 
stolons once it begins to bloom (or before that).

As far as planting dates, you can't go far wrong with Yukon Gold.  They are 
so extremely early that you can plant them in August and still get potatoes 
(no, I'm not kidding).  They don't store so very well and are subject to 
'hollow 
heart', but none the less are one of the best homestead potatoes there is.

No need to 'chit' certified seed potatoes.  The potatoes know what they are 
about.  You need to sprout store bought eating potatoes to make sure you''ve 
worn away the chemical sprouting inhibitor, but this is moot with 
unadulterated 
seed potatoes.

Plant plenty of potatoes!  This is going to be a dicey year and no one is 
going to starve with a bin of potatoes in the cellar.

James