Jason and I picked up a 150 pound order of seed potatoes toward the end of last week. Willits local, Michael Stewart, bought these seeds for us because he has a particular interest in discovering the actual yields that can be expected in this area. Michael mentioned that he is willing to buy potatoes for other interested farm sites, and I think there will be at least two additional sites growing similar varieties of potatoes in the Little Lake Valley. For our part, we will plant 1800 Sq Ft with 5 different varieties of spuds. We feel comfortable planting potatoes after the last hard frost date which is typically April 15th.

There is a good deal of work to do as we prepare the beds for potatoes. The bed preparation techniques for this section will not be as rigorous as the methods employed for the other spring and summer annuals. Potatoes will be sown about 18 inches apart in three rows down the length of the 5Ft wide by 66Ft long beds. The process is as follows:

- Remove the top layer of sod with the Glaser Hoe.

- Rake loose sod away from the bed and transport it in a wheelbarrow to the compost area

- Broadfork the length of the bed to loosen the soil about 10 inches deep and form rows

- Use a spade to dig out the furrows and pile soil that will be used to cover the potatoes as they grow

Potatoes have been selected because they are a food crop that yields a large amount of calories in a relatively small area. High-calorie foods include potatoes, grains, Jerusalem artichokes, and parsnips, and corn. Potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, and parsnips are considered high-calorie, area-efficient crops; while corn and grains are no doubt high calorie crops but take considerably more room to grow for the same caloric yield.

Vegetable crops are high in vitamins and diverse in flavor; however, they are low in energy (calories). When growing energy crops as a human food, potatoes and grains have more energy and can potentially be stored longer than fresh vegetables. Keeping this consideration in mind may influence the amount of area that one dedicates to the cultivation of vegetables vs. high-calorie foods.

Potato Section Ready to Be Prepared (1800 Sq Feet)

Six Beds For Potatoes (A bed is 5x66Ft)

The Potato Seeds in a Cellar

The Other Portion of the Seed Potatoes