The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1873-04-24
BRIEF DIRECTIONS FOR PLANTING
AND CULTIvATINC THE SWEET
POTATO.
BY AMOS KEMBLE.

FOIAlOs
BY AMOS KEMBLE
My excuse for coming before the public
at this time is to assist the many who have
failed in growing the sweet potato. to get
| right start in season. The majority of
failures have been occasioned in Iowa by
the wrong selections and preparation of
the SOIL
SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF SOIL.
The quality of the sweet potato greatly
depends upon the soil it is grown in Sc
lect on our common uplands, the highest,
dry clayey, or sandy texture land if you
wish to grow short, ight-colored, excel
lent potato, but you want long slim
stringy tuber, select your deepest, richest
ground, pillow it deep, pulverize the soil
we'll and hill or ridge high, and 1 will in
sure you plenty OF tops, long roots, and few
potatoes.
But You would succeed, in all cases, do
and then work and finely pulvcrize, and
throw into hills or ridges not over ten
inches high the best pulverizer l have
found, after the soil has been plowed and
narrowed, is, take few 2 by inch planks,
cut two pieces four and half feet long,
for runners and 7 pieces 2xS in. 3 #. long
and spike them on the bottom, tapping the
edges in the same manner as mailing on
weather boarding, also nail two strips
across the top and roller in front to hitch
to. Then hitch on your team, get on the
sled, iand drive, and you will say that
for one dollar, you have the best pulverizer
you ever saw, leaving the ground level,
loose and mellow. 1t will pay all the time
to use this implement on your corn land
after it is planted, passing over hills and
all. When you 60 to work the corn with
the harrow or cultivator you can see each
hill where the corn is up, and there are no
clods to roll on to it. Then take pillow
and throw two burrows together into ridges
three ana one half feet apart, and if you
wish to hill, just pillow two burrows at right
| angles, and then take the garden rake and
dress up the hills or ridges to about ten in
ches high and not too thick. One point in
making small hills or ridges in growing
sweet potatoes, is that the potatoe is trop.
ical plant and requires great heat to devel-
OPP it, and the suns rays can of course warm
small ridge sooner than large one, and
and in after culture it is bet ter philosophy
| to add little dirt to the hill each time you
hoe your crop, than to build large ridge
or hill on the start. that would take till the
middle of August to warm through, and at
every hoeing you pull down the dirt, is
work that don't pay. It the ridges are
made when the ground is dry and warm,
all the better.
PLANTING
Ifall things are got ready, planting may
commence at any time. But if you have
only few hundred to plant. the most fav-
orable time is just before a shower, or in
the evening when it is warm and pleasant,
but never plaintiff can be avoided without
usuIng water on each plan. as soon as
planted. When you are ready to plant
have your plants in bucket with some
water in it to keep the roots moist, and if
you have many to plant have a boy to drop
them. He can drop for two planters, and
thereby planting about one acre day
The planters want to crawl along the ridge
on their knees, and take up the plant in the
left hand and with the right make a hole
with the hand or trowel, large enough to
hold pint of water, into which set the
plant and then pour on the water, and
then draw in the loose dirt quickly about
the plant without pressure. BY this mode
the roots are tloated out into their natural
position and the soil settles around every
little fiber more than by any other process
of planting The water is just where it is
needed and by dropping little dry earth
over the top, the surface will not bake as
in the case where plants are watered on the
surface, or are puddled into the mud after
q rain. I never plant Immediately after a
rain. have been particular in my des-
cription of the above method of putting
out plants, because it is the one by which
gardeners succeed best in putting out
sweet potato plants. In strawberry, cab
bage, tomato, and all other plants that are
to be transplanted, select warm, pleasant
day, keeping the roots moist, and from the
wind and sun, and the tops dry as possible.
| Always set your sweet potato plants two
leaves or buds under the ground, that they
| may sprout again if cut down by frost or
worm. After the plants are established,
there is no danger of giving them too much
work or attention, and probably the best
plan for farmers is, to select the poorest,
warmest and dryest ground in their corn
field, preparing it according to the above
directions, making the hills the same dis
lance apart as in planting corn, putting
| two plants to the hill and the potatoes will
be worked every time the corn is plowed,
and if we'll hoed and the vines lifted at the
time they throw out roots along the joints
| you may expect crop of one or two
hundred bushels fine potatoes per acre. 1t
will take s, 444 plants for one acre, two
plants to the hill, Aka feet. $3.50 plants
31lx3I it,, 2 plants to hill. If in ridges it
will take ten or twelve thousand to the
acre.
| VARIETIES.
The yellow, or red Nansemond is the
best in our latitude for all practical
purpose, the early white Bahama called
by some the Southern Queen is the best
for early. but all sweet potatoes should be
dug before the frost Injuries the vines, and
if you should have frost before digging
be sure and have all hands in the patch
before sun up with hoes and cut the tops
of just at the top of the ground, and then
you may leave your potatoes stand tor
some days before digging, but if the vines
get frosted without removing them it
spoils the flower of the potato and its
keeping quality. 1t is not best to get out
your potato plants too early, but you may
hill or ridge about the time your corn is
coming up, and let the hills warm few
days before planting, and then if you
select good stout plants well set with
fbrous roots you can scarcely fail by fol-