An agricultural breakthrough - potato growing without potato digging!

Potato growing is easy! You can practically grab a spoonful of dirt, drop in a potato eye, spit on it, and before you can say, “one potato, two potato three potato four--” you’ve got a potato plant. But the difficulty is in harvesting potatoes, digging them up. It’s backbreaking work, and you have to dig up all the potatoes from that season’s crop. What you can’t use or give away, you store and hope that they keep.

Here’s how to grow potatoes dig-free, and also clear the ground of weeds and garden pests. First, 'chit' seed the potatoes. This means planting them in egg trays. Keep them cool in a light place, to grow strong sturdy shoots. These tubers can stay safely in their trays until planting.

Planting is easy too. If the soil is weedy, mow it to ground level. Place the tiny growing potato plants on the soil surface in rows 8 inches apart. No soil conditioner needed. Cover each row with a few inches of hay or straw. Leave a bare path between them so that you don't tread on your baby potatoes before they break through.

For hunger pangs: take as many potatoes at mealtime or as needed

As the potatoes emerge and push the mulch up-- give them a hand! Continue to add mulch and now cover the whole area, including the paths. When the mulch is 6 inches thick and the plants growing strongly, cover with a thick layer of grass clippings. This blocks out the sunlight that turns potatoes green and helps hold the mulch down. Add more as needed.

To harvest, pull back the mulch and just pick what you need for the night's meal! Replace the mulch. What could be easier?

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