Hilling Potatoes
How do we hill potatoes? Hilling is done by piling dirt and compost up against the potato plant’s stems, increasing the amount of plant underground. Potato (and their relatives, the tomato) plants will grow new roots where their stems touch the soil.
Why do we hill potatoes? Increasing the amount of plant underground and the number of roots also increases the number of potatoes that grow on each plant. This means a higher yield from each plant and the garden as a whole.