The ground doesn't freeze here. If it did, I'd not be too sad to let the potatoes go, just to get an insect killing cold that hasn't happened in a long time. But the chances of that kind of an extended freeze is close to zero. Not since the 19th century, anyway. I suspect we may one day be considered Zone 9, instead of the present Zone 8.
I have a Deere 140 garden tractor, tiller, blade, cultivator, scoop and pulverizer, so loosening and blading over dirt isn't a problem. Well drained soil, so rot will never be a problem.
I was wondering about early fall planting. The ground will still be very warm then, and I've read about the ideal soil temperature range to start being 50F-70F. That's why I wondered if some varieties were better warm climate potatoes.
The first year will be tests of whatever varieties I choose to try. The next year can be a much larger planting, and I will have to work on storage. I have two acres, total, to work with, not counting greenhouses and chicken run. Some of that will be used for commercial scrub growing, but I'm aiming at growing a substantial part of our diet by the time I retire in four or five years. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are obvious crops, and two seasons each year would be ideal. Zucchini is doing so well this year that they get enormous before being seen, but are still tender. And field pea type beans are up well in the greenhouse, which is sun protection in the summer.
Texas A&M says planting in my area for about early February for harvest in late May. I would also try the fall, because A&M takes a long time to adapt to changes, and winter has changed or is in a long warm cycle here, and because they tend to concentrate on commercial planting and adapt that to home gardening.