Our soil is so incredibly poor it always amazes me when we manage to get a decent crop of anything out of it. Our land is clay. Thick squelchy clay when it's wet, cracked and rock solid when it's dry. It's so full of rocks and stones that raised beds were our only option in the veg patch. We do however plant potatoes directly in the ground and somehow they manage to find their way.
We're pulling out big ones this year. Bigger than last year, though that may be the variety. I managed to persuade the boys to help me dig some up for dinner and they were so impressed with the size of the ones they were finding they didn't want to stop. They're tasty as well. Soft and fluffy in the middle but crisp up nicely on the outside for roasties or chips.
Last year I tried to calculate how many we would need to keep us going throughout the year. We should be planting at least 5 times the amount that we currently do. We need to do a bit of crop rotating next year and I think for potatoes we should move into the field next door and have a go at rotovating a plot big enough for our yearly potato needs.
Have you tried growing potatoes? Do you plant in the ground or in pots? What are your favourite varieties? Let us know!