I wish I was picking up potatoes like that! Our potatoes this year were/are terrible. Thank goodness I put together a one row lister to dig them too. My problem is it has been so dry, I am pulling up clods of dirt instead of soft loose dirt as in your picture. So far this year we have dug 9, 70 foot rows and have picked up probably 150 pounds. That is bad.

Jay

Jay, sorry to hear it. Your weather this year has been miserable and i'm amazed you have been able to pull off as much as you have.
The loose soil is mostly because I run the bcs down the paths a bunch of times just before hilling. The discs on the tractor shove the loose soil up, and so it stays like that.
In the past I just hilled what material was there and ended up flattening the plants with sheets of soil. Then when I dug, it was lots of clods and a lot less spuds.

I will need to cultivate more before I hill up next year, maybe that will help.

Here is one potato patch after I was done picking up potatoes.

Here is the one row lister plow I used.

I have a three point frame that the diamond toolbar attaches to by loosening and tightening 2 bolts. That is why there is no 3 point attachment. I have several toolbars with attachments hooked to them. To change toolbars, loosen two bolts, take out and then put the new one in and tighten back up. Very quick and easy. I had the point of the plow pointing down too much, that is why I probably pulled up some of the big clods!

It has been dry. After a late, wet spring we turned off hot and dry. Now we are in a 10-14 day pattern of dry and low 80's. Dry and cool is better than dry and HOT!

Jay

we've been digging potatoes in the mud with the tractor and getting the best potato crop we've had yet. i got a full bucket of adirondack blues out of 10'. we've had the wettest july on record around here.
i till between the rows with the tractor pulled tiller and then hill. i do this twice.