Bountiful potato crops always eluded me in previous gardens, but I decided to try again this year in a raised bed. I ordered Carola variety seed potatoes from the Seed Savers Exchange and planted them in April. The vines grew fast. Potato vines are supposed to be buried as they grow, so that only a few inches stick out of the soil at a time. They are expected to produce potatoes on all the buried parts. So about two weeks ago, the plants got tall enough to start the burying process (called “hilling”). I was unprepared, surprised they grew so quickly. I was finally able to source materials, so today I built two 8″ high cedar extensions to contain the extra soil, installed them, and filled them with garden soil and compost. Already, they are so tall that I had to bury 16 inches of the plants! Hopefully I am not too late. I can almost taste these potatoes.