8 POTATO GROWER | IDAHO ANNUAL 2020
homemade. That first
harvest, trucks were simply
unloaded onto the ground,
and the Tominaga and
Lake families would pack
potatoes into crates and
sacks by hand.
"We learned how to do
it through trial and error,
for the most part," says
Jerry. "The mistakes we
made early on were killers,
because it might mean
we didn't have a crop that
year."
"Fertility, equipment,
water management,
storage—it's all completely
different from growing your
more traditional potato
varieties," says Rod. "You
might as well be handling
oranges; that's how
different it is."
"This always had the
potential to be a pretty
lucrative business," says
Robert, "but it's also
extremely risky because
fingerling potatoes can't be
