Hilling Potatoes

 In the foreground Dutch cream and pink eyes are ready to be buried up to their necks in soil for the first time to increase the area that produces potatoes. This works because plant germ cells change from stem to swollen stolons (sounds better than potato producing limbs) when conditions change from sunlight and airy to dark and moist.
 So when you plant out your spuds bury them two 6 inches deep at the bottom of a deep trough and progressively back fill against the plant until you are forming a hill were before you had a trough.Stop hilling once flowers emerge and wait until leaves yellow as the plant  transports its remaining nutrients from  its leaves to its tubers. if you wish to harvest baby potatoes just dive your hand in and pull off individual spuds.

My new class room at the kingston Community Garden

12 -16 Gormley drive, Kingston

20 garden beds soon to be built, will serve as my garden class venue for the foreseeable future.

some of the first crops are emerging