When I was young we used to grow all our vegetables at home and my grandfather used to have some very good tricks. His birthday was in mid summer and we always planted a row of potatoes on that day so that we could enjoy new potatoes on christmas day (as well as roast potatoes of course.)
Last year I attempted to do this in a patio container but sadly when it got to the week before christmas I discovered that the container was completely frozen solid so I wouldn’t be able to harvest the crop.
This year I have planted two small rows in the poly tunnel down at the plot. Hopefully the poly tunnel will keep the ground warm enough to stop it from freezing. This weekend I covered over the potatoes to make the furrows as they are growing well in the autumn weather.