Last year I grew potatoes in a fenced in area where the potato is planted and, as the plant grows, dirt is added. At harvest time I had about 2 to 3 feet of dirt in the planter. When I started to dig potatoes, I got lots on the bottom, but as I went up, the harvest was almost zero. I assumed I did something wrong and decided not to try it again. Several weeks later I happened to be in a wooded area about 50 feet from the planter and noticed dozens of potatoes all over the ground. I am assuming that squirrels took the potatoes into the woods, decided they did not like them and left them on the ground.

Was it squirrels who took the potatoes and how can I prevent this from happening again?

That's mysterious. Really no way to know if it was the squirrels or someone else who took them unless you set up a webcam. Were there tooth marks in any of the potatoes you found? I can't see a squirrel transporting dozens of potatoes that distance before they discovered they didn't want to eat them. More likely a larger animal. Watch for tracks in the soil and droppings?

Suggest you could spread chicken wire on top of the soil between the plants to prevent this happening in future. Just roll it up when you want to harvest, then lay it down again, weighted with bricks or rocks to keep it in place. You might still lose a few potatoes but if you make it difficult enough, whoever is doing this will eventually give up and go elsewhere.

Where we live we had squirrels all the time everywhere on our property, so I started buying bags of potatoes every couple of weeks and thrownig them over the back fence into the gulley. I've been doing this for a couple of months now. Within the first week it seemed like the squirrels were not coming around so much. Now I don't even hear them chirping down in the gulley. I would be interested if anybody else has had an experience like this? It's wierd that they would just stop coming around.

Busterbrown do you live behind Luckieeric?

I've grown potatoes probably ten times and the only harvests I got were down under the plants. Not up along th e stems as they say you can.
Haha pork pal may have the clue!