Let another 4 inches grow,
then hill up another 2 inches. Continue doing this until the vines
begin blooming. At that point there should be a mound of loose,
fluffy soil about 12 to 16 inches high gradually filling with tubers
lushly covered with blooming vines.
_Irrigation:_ Not necessary. In fact, if large water droplets
compact the loose soil you scraped up, that may interfere with
maximum tuber enlargement. However, after the vines are a foot long
or so, foliar feeding every week or 10 days will increase the yield.
_Varieties:_ The water-wise gardener's main potato problem is
too-early maturity, and then premature sprouting in storage. Early
varieties like Yukon Gold--even popular midseason ones like Yellow
Finn--don't keep well unless they're planted late enough to brown
off in late September. That's no problem if they're irrigated. But
planted in late April, earlier varieties will shrivel by August.
Potatoes only keep well when very cool, dark, and moist--conditions
almost impossible to create on the homestead during summer. The best
August compromise is to leave mature potatoes undug, but soil
temperatures are in the 70s during August, and by early October,
when potatoes should be lifted and put into storage, they'll already
be sprouting. Sprouting in October is acceptable for the remainders
of my St. Pat's Day sowing that I am keeping over for seed next
spring. It is not ok for my main winter storage crop.
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