I had never grown potatoes before last year, but was inspired about how easily my colleagues had grew them in raised beds and straw bales. They're such fun to harvest -- magic to be discovering them underground. (If I needed to grow enough potatoes for us to eat all year, I wouldn't be so thrilled, however.) Digging beds for new potato patches was not too hard. My plan was to raise the clayey beds slightly, add plenty of compost, and other amendments, and mulch heavily with straw.
I ordered 'seeds' from Wood Prairie Farm, an organic potato grower in Maine. These are basically potatoes ready to sprout, cut up, and plant. And if you're going to grow them, why not try purple, blue, red, fingerling, and gold varieties! And, the kicker is that home-grown potatoes are much more delicious than store-bought, although maybe it's just the idea. They certainly seem crisper and fresher.
