Some neighbors did an experiment one year where they got a 3lb bag of potatoes, cut them all in half then tossed half of them into a garbage bin full of dirt and ate the other half, placed said bin of dirt and potatoes at thw side of the house and periodically watered it. They ended up with more potatoes than they knew what to do with and declared “never again”

Edit: just realized I half described that story already. I’ll just add they had moved to the area from Idaho not long before trying this