The days are getting warmer and the piles of snow are receding continuously.  Now is the time take some potatoes out of the cellar into the daylight, by placing them on a damp hessian sack they will start to sprout within one week.  As a precaution, you can keep them under cover, or cover them with suitable material during the night while the frost is still likely to strike the sprouting potatoes.

Preparing the garden soil for planting potatoes.

Prepare the garden by turning the soil, this is also usually done in the previous autumn.  Use a rake to even out any clumps of dirt, and remove sticks and large rocks.  Form/shape straight line furrows about 50 cm apart, and about 10 cm deep and 10 cm wide.  The length in proportion to the potato yield required.

There are also other options for growing potatoes in pots and containers.  See the following link.  Potato Growing at home.

Once the seed potatoes have sprouted (sprouts about 3 cm long) place them in the furrows by pushing them in at various depths (that way there is more space for them to grow).  Then build up a mound over the planted potatoes, from both sides of the furrow, a raised potato furrow, it drains well of excess water, and warms up quick during the sunny morning.  The planted potatoes need about 10-15 cm of soil over them, to keep them out of direct sunlight and to maintain moisture during the growth of roots and the shoots.

Water the newly planted potato furrows, and maintain the moisture level according to the weather and the soil structure.  After a while, the raised furrows tend to sink under the watering, therefore continue to build/raise dirt to the center from both sides of furrows.

Protecting the potatoes from green feeding animals.

If the garden is located in the Nordic wilderness, then a boundary fence is needed.  Wild animals will dig up the furrows and help themselves to the newly planted potatoes, sooner or later.

For pictures of New potatoes, see the following link.

New Potatoes.