The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1912-04-19
TO GROW POTATOES.

George FL. Rogers, of Onwiler'
has been very successful with po-
tatoes, and has been supplying the
Boise barracks with some Of his
product. He tells how to grow
them in the following interesting
article, taken from late issue of
the Intermountain Farmer:
The editor of the Inter NJ fountain
Farmer has requested me to give
my experience in raising potatoes.
In trying to write an article ON
potato culture, | do not expect to
give anything new or start any new
theories, but just describe my ex.
perience in growing potatoes. /
used to think when / lived in a
country where there was rain
enough to raise crops, that if there
was any crop / knew how to raise.
ii was potatoes. But / found when
| came here that / had everything
to learn over again. To succeed
in growing potatoes under irriga-
ton requires close attention, and
work must be done at the right
time or it will not pay.
In selecting the ground for pot
atoes, sandy loan soil is better
than a heavy clay. Do not take
some piece that is out of the way,
and that is not good for any other
crop, but select the best that you
have for you will have to put in
more money for seed and more
work than on any other crop, and
il done right, it should give better
returns. lie it is so that you can
turn under clover sod. it is best
of all and the cheapest way to en-
rich your soil so that it will grow
q big crop of potatoes. Ifyou have
that kind of land, it will pay to turn
the clover under for potatoes even
if it is yielding four or five tons of
hay per acre for the season. Should
the land need leVeling, turn the clo-
yer under shallow in the fall and
run harrow over it the same way
the pillow went, so as to smother out
the clover and blue grass.
Then in the spring pillow it deep,
just in the same direction that you
want your rows to run, so that you
will not have to try to run your
water over back burrows or across
dead burrows. The next thing is
to get your ground level SO that
the water will run down every row.
Do not have high place here and
q low one there, but be sure that
you have it level so that it will irri-
gate all right, otherwise do not
plant it to potatoes, for you cannot
raise good potatoes by digging
through knoll here and flooding
them somewhere else
/ would turn the clover sod IN
der deep early In the spring, har-
row it down and let it rot until you
get ready to plant, then disk it we'll
and give it another harrow. Mark
your ground off with small shovel
pillow, four or five inches deep. If
the shovel pillow is small, it will
open up a furrow and the potatoes
will be dropped straighter than il
it is wide one. The rows should
be about 80 or 81 inches apart
from center to center SO that when
you irrigate it will not take too
long for the water to soak into
them. Do not open many burrows
at time, as it is easier to retain
the moisture than to return after it
it has dried out.
If the land has not grown pota-
toes for three or four years it will
not be necessary to dip them. | |
cut my seed 50 as to have at least
two eyes on piece and have them
as large as possible without using
too large potato, These give
the plant a good start if the
ground gets a little dry. IfE
you have potato that grows rath-
er large, plant it close, about ten
inches apart, nor over twelve at
the outside, for a medium sized |