I am in zone 6 PA-Del Border. I put my spuds, which I bought in Lancaster, in the ground on 3/15. I burried them cut side down, 8" deep and I do not hill. Yeah it takes some time for them to pop up but it is no work. I had great production last year and expect even better this year. Crazy warm spells. They are all up and doing great. I planted a bunch of snap peas on the same date and they too are sailing along. I planted some lettuce earlier under a simple mini hoop house and we are eating lettuce every night. Both Last years strawberry runner plants and the 100 new ones I planted are coming on strong too. I see white flowers everywhere. March starts the growing season so plan ahead. For me the longer the growing season the better.

Your description is EXACTLY what they should look like at this stage. You only get the longer, smooth, pale sprouts if its too DARK where you sprout them, and you leave them too long.

I will repeat here what I said in another forum, but with additions, so I hope it's OK to do so. 1. The optimum depth for planting a seed potato is 4-6". Deeper planting results in lower yields. (That was from memory, mine not being so good any more...I have since found 3" is the acceptable depth) 2. When the plant reaches a height of 6", you hill it. This isn't so much for providing more room for the tubers to form, but rather for keeping them from turning green. 3. Most of the potatoes grow near the seed, not higher on the buried stem. OK...so what happens when you keep adding board and soil and board and soil and board and soil? Are you providing more space for the tubers to grow (remember, they are going to form down there around the seed potato), or are you stressing out a plant that WANTS to form tubers, but has to expand all of its energy pushing up through all that soil to form those leaves that it has to have to provide the energy to form the tubers? So...in my opinion, the bins are a good idea, but the high-rises are not. Why not try filling it with soil to the top of the first board, lay your seed potato on that, add one board and fill with soil to a depth of 3-6". Let your plants grow to 6" high. Add ONE more board and fill with soil. That's all. You don't need a high-rise. Alternately, try a second level of potato seeds when the first has reached 6" of growth and top them with 4-6" of soil (effectively hilling crop one while planting crop two). Go one more board and soil when all the growth reaches another 6-inches. sinfonian has corresponded with some who pooh-pooh what I've said, and insist they get high yields from the high-rises, so I guess it's each man/granny to his/her own! I'm also going to chime in here with some potato growing advise found in "Crockett's Victory Garden" by James Underwood Crockett (my personal garden bible, it has served me well for thirty years). Potatoes do well in a light, sandy soil that is slightly acid. You can plant the whole potato, but you get more for your money and a larger yield by cutting the potato into sections the size of an egg, making sure each section has 2-3 eyes. Leave these sections exposed to sunshine and air for 3-4 days to dry the cut surfaces. Plant the sections, cut side down, and cover with about 3" of soil. Crockett didn't wait for the growth to reach 6". He began adding soil as soon as, and each time the plant showed growth, until it had been "hilled". Granny Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Yes, Mid July if you want to let them cure well in the ground but early July they should be as big as they are going to get as long as the plants have completely browned down and you can dig then them up if the current soil conditions are good and heavy rain is expected.