Red Gold, an early variety with lightly netted orange-red skin and delicate yellow flesh, produce high yields of smooth, uniform, medium sized spuds under most conditions. They are also scab and virus resistant. This makes the Red Gold a perfect choice for a Donation Garden wanting to produce quantity, as well as quality. It cooks up flaky and delicious!

Last but not least was the Yellow Finn. Like the Red Gold, it too produces high yields. The round, slightly flattened, sometimes pear shaped potato has a smooth, thin, yellow skin and yellow flesh. It harvests at about three inches in diameter, and like the Bintje, was also a favorite variety grown at the Eden Organic garden last year.

The first two planting methods Wilson demonstrated included mounding and layering in trenches, with the use of both soil and straw. According to Wilson, “these two methods are best suited to early varieties, which produce all their potatoes at one time. The trenches will allow them to be harvested simultaneously.”

The other two methods involved the potatoes being caged, with one having the potatoes layered in soil above the ground, the other layered in straw above the ground.

Wilson was enthusiastic about these methods, as they may yield a greater harvest for the Donation Garden - an important consideration.

“These cage methods will allow the potatoes to grow in layers. The harvest will be made from the bottom up, as the potatoes mature. Each time the potato vine grows to about six inches, we’ll add a new layer of soil or straw on top of the vine. We’re hopeful this will allow the plant to produce continuous layers of potatoes.”

During the reign of King Louis XVI, which ended in 1791 (just two years before his date with the guillotine), he and his court eagerly promoted the potato, which was then considered the "new crop" of France. Why, Queen Marie Antoinette even wore a headdress of potato flowers at a fancy dress ball.

Perhaps the potato is not so humble after all - especially when you consider how many people will benefit from the Donation Garden harvest this summer.

This being the prime potato planting season, Lake Highlands Community Garden Donation Garden Coordinator Nancy Wilson has offered up her tips for planting your own potatoes:

• Cut whole potatoes into pieces - for larger potatoes, cut larger pieces, smaller potatoes, smaller pieces. Be sure to include an "eye" on each piece.

• Dust cut pieces with dusting sulfur (available at garden centers) to help prevent rotting and to let the skin form a "crust". Do this at least 24 hours before planting.

• Add soft rock phosphate (10 lbs/100' or 1lb/10') and organic matter throughout trenches.

• Plant pieces 12 to 18 inches apart, and about 8" deep initially.

• As sprouts appear and grow, begin to "hill up" with compost, light soil or even leaves to cover all but the tops of the sprouts. This will help increase yield. If growing on a small scale, the use of wire cages will keep mounded hills more compact.

• Plant one pound of cut-up potatoes with eyes per 10 feet for an approximate 10 pound yield.

Importantly, Ms. Wilson adds, “most potato varieties take about three months to fully mature, but you can always dig up new potatoes earlier, after the plants have flowered and small potatoes form."

"But use caution because the sprouts, stems and green portions of newly dug up potatoes can be toxic - so don’t eat them! Let the potatoes cure first.”

Next up at the Lake Highlands Community Garden: A Tomato Planting Demonstration, hosted by gardeners Heather Rinaldi and Pam Walsh in March.

For more information about Saturday volunteer opportunities at the Donation Garden, seminars, or the newly established Butterfly Garden, contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit http://www.lhgarden.org.

Happy planting!