The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1910-04-22
SWEET POTATO VINE
Best Results Derived from Loan
Which Is Rich.
Land. as Rule, Does Not Require Spe-
ciai Preparation, But Should Be
Plowed in Fall and irrigated
During Winter.

While the sweet potato does better
in sandy loan than in an adobe soil.
the best results may be had from
loan which is rich and conserves
moisture well. Potatoes grown in
good rich loan yield heavily and are.
as rule. of good marketable size,
smooth surface and clean in most re-
spects; while potatoes grown in our
heavy adobe soils are irregular in
shape, have very rough surface and
are not uniform ir size.
AS rule the land on which pota-
toes are to be grown does not require
any special preparation. 1t ought.
however, to be plowed in the fall and,
IL possible, irrigated during the win
ter before the final ridging is done.
Just before the plants are to be trans
planted the land should be thrown up
in ridges about 31a to feet apart.
Sweet potatoes are propagated by
means of what are called slips" A
slip is sprout which develops from
the invisible buds or eyes on the sur
face of the sweet potato. The tuber
is capable of producing large num-
Der of slips. While the common meth
cd of propagating sweet potatoes is
by means of these slips. they can also
be propagated from cuttings.
If it is desired, though this is not
necessary, one may irrigate the ridges
before transplanting. This practice,
however, is not general. Most grow
ers transplant the plants in the dry
earth and irrigate Immediately after
transplanting. With the latter method
one should be careful not to allow the
plants which have been transplanted
to remain too long before they are
irrigated. Another plan is to have the
men transplant little ahead of a
small stream of water. Irrigate the
plants as soon as possible after they
are transplanted. About a week after
the transplanting is done another irri-
| cation should be given. If the ridges
are irrigated before the plants are
transplanted it should be done a few
days ahead not to delay the operation
The irrigation of the plants in rows
which have been previously irrigated
must be done as for plants which are
planted in the dry ridges. AS far as
the matter of irrigation Is concerned
there is no difference in the two
methods. Some potato growers turn
| in a stream of water and transplant In
the water while it is running. This
method is somewhat tedious and slow
Some growers transplant on both sides
of the ridges. others on top Of tht
ridge. but the best method is to trans
plant on one side only.
The distance at which to transplant
varies somewhat. Where the potatoe!
grow too large the size may be re
duced by reducing the distance of the
plants in the row.
From the time the potato is trans
planted it does not require any cult
walton until it has gained a growth
of probably 10 to IL inches. Unde
favorable conditions two or three hoe
ings are enough for the year.
The sweet potato is one of the mos
drought resisting plants in the semi
arid regions 1t will produce crol
with less water than any other vege
table. The fact that the 'weet potat
is quite drought resisting does no
mean that the grower should not us
as much water as is necessary to pre-
duce a good crop. From 6 to /
irrigations have produced good yields
1t has also been observed that if tn
sweet potatoes are kept well irrigate
and the surface soil moist a large
crop is produced and the tubers ar
nearer the surface of the ground tina
when the surface soil is allowed I
dry out too much. If the surface so
dries out too much the roots of tn
sweet potatoes tend to follow tn
moisture and go down deep into tn
soil. In such cases there is a deve
opment of the root seemingly at tn
t expense of the crop and the tubel
{ are down quite deep in the soil b
, sides. 1t is believed that if more fir
quent but lighter irrgations wei
given instead of heavy irrigations
, long intervals better results could
obtained.