Not really
So everyone will tell you, growing Potatoes breaks up the ground but I think its the act of growing Potatoes that breaks up the ground...not the Potatoes themselves, consider this...
You dig the ground over to get the seed Potatoes in the ground in the first place, you earth up a couple of times (more ground breaking), then finally you dig them up and dig over looking for strays...THATS how Potatoes break up the ground, YOU break the darned ground planting growing and harvesting them.
(Yes, I spent the morning digging up our Int Kids ! ;D )
Steve...:)
DRAT, I thought i was the only one who knew that
Leeks break up the ground
right lol ::) ::)
potatoes break up the ground
and
Yoko broke up the Beatles
Naw the garden fork breaks up the ground, the ground breaks your back
I have planted potatoes in small holes, when I wasn't well enough to dig the ground over properly, and I can confirm the potatoes didn't break the ground up. ;D When it was time to harvest them, it was hard work, and many potatoes got damaged in the process!
I have a feeling nettles on the other hand do break up the ground - I always thought so, and have heard others say they'd observed the same on this forum. The ground of a former nettle bed is very crumbly and fine.
(and full of small pieces of nettle root which re-grow >:()