A single seed potato can multiply into a dozen or more new potatoes underground, making it one of the most productive crops per square foot in the home vegetable garden.
Potatoes are grown from "seed potatoes" — small whole potatoes or cut pieces with at least one eye — rather than true seed, and hilling soil up around the growing stems as they emerge is essential for a good, sunburn-free harvest.
Potatoes want full sun and loose, well-draining, slightly acidic soil, planted a few weeks before the last frost. "Hilling" soil up around the base of the plants as they grow keeps developing tubers covered and prevents them from turning green in sunlight, which makes them bitter and mildly toxic.
Any potato tuber that turns green from sun exposure should be discarded rather than eaten, since the green color signals elevated levels of a naturally occurring toxic compound.
