Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-06-16
The Management of SaOeet Potatoes

The sweet potato likes friable,
sandy loan The soil should be fertile.
tut need not be abundantly filled with
crganic matter. II should be well drain
ed. but the sub-soiI should be firm. Po-
tatoes produced in very deep. sandy
soils are apt 70 so 70 length rather than
thickness.
In preparing land for setting Of
sweet potato plants IL is we'll TO give
q good blowing with a twO-horse turner,
as we say break IL broadcast" Fol-
low the blowing with double discing:
that is disc the land botn ways. if 1t is
level on terraces. OF course. this can
not be done. In light soils only one
discing may be required. Follow the
disc harrow with a spring-tooth, acme
or Spike-tooth harrow. provided plants
ere going 10 be set on the level. as is
sometimes done II. however. planting
is 10 be done on bed. after the disc
ing. the rows may be laid on four feet
apart with an ordinary One-hOrse pillow.
Then a furrow may be run on either
side. bedding on TO the row. in which
the fertilizer has been applied After
this. a One-hOrse acme or spike-tooth
harrow is used 10 drag the bed down 10
broad surface. not more than an inch
or two above the general surface OF the
field.
There are a great many varieties OF
sweet potatoes. but at the present time
the following are among the most pop
uIar in this state:
Nancy HaII-Tubers elliptical. with
light yellow skin and deep yellow
flesh. a good keeper and a wonderful
producer The vine is short and stubby
and bunchy. with large. thick. round
leaves. with a purple pip at the end OF
~ssaR- Ea vx-EWk rr1sWN
red veins.
Porto Rico-Produces a shapely pota-
TO. IS a good yielder. with pink skin.
flesh Of a golden color. vines are long
and dense. regular leaf
Trfumph-Tubers oval. inclined 10
long. skin Of a dirty white, with creamy
white flesh The vines are thrifty, with
red veins on under side or rorked leaves.
vines are punched
Setting in the field should not be
done until after all danger of frost is
past. Early planting is. however. rec
commended. For late paintings. cut
tfngS may be taken from the early set
vines. These cuttings readily take root
and avoid the necessity Of bedding large
quantities OF seed Sweet potatoes may
be set in some sections of Georgia as
la;s as the last part of June OF first of
July and a fair yield be obtained.
As a rule. the rows are four feet
apart The plants are eighteen inches
in the row Where the ground is in good
condition the plants may be forced into
Il with a forked stick. and the soil
pressed TO them with the foot. If 1t is
dry IL becomes necessary to have hole
opened with a hoe and a little water
poured into this before the potato
plant is set These are both expensive
WAYS Of setting potatoes but the aver
s~nZ cal
to set his small areas by hand. Where
larger areas are TO be set the work
should well be done with a transplant
ing machine
Fresh barnyard manure is not recon-
mended for use just before planting.
Some authorities however consider a
mixture OF well rotted stable manure
with a hundred pounds of acid phos-
phate added to each two-hOTse load a
good material to use and recommend a
broadcast application OF from eight to
ten two-horse loads OF this material per
acre with the addition of from fifty to
sevsnty-hve pounds of mUriate of pot
ash
Compost, made OF leaves. manure and
some sand. Is also considered good ma
tesiaI to apply TO sweet potato ground.
< provided il is mixed with acid phosphate
and potash.
too much nitrogen will give a great
yield OF vines al the expense of the po-
tatoes. Authorities arc now of the
opinion that il is the lack of balance
in the fertilizer that causes the trouble
ratkler than 20 much nitrogen. IL other
materials are applied in the proper pro-
portion TO the nitrogen, good yield
may be expected. even with large appli-
cations Of high-grade fertilizer. The
average application OF fertilizer for
sweet potatoes in Georgia will run from
ESQ 10 500 pounds per acre. Applications
of LOCO pounds of a properly balanced
fertilizer should give excellent results.
. As a rule. applications greater than this
/ do not pay for the extra fertilizer
: A sweet potato fertilizer should run
I ? to per cent nitrogen. to Z per cent
f. phosphoFic acid and TO IL per cent
potash. The following mixture used at
: the rate OF from 800 to 1900 pounds
Z may be considered a fairly good potato
fertilizer.
: Eight hundred pounds cottonseed
meal. 500 pounds acid phosphate. is per
cent: 900 pounds muriate Of potash or
sulphate Of potash
This material would be very expensive
at this time on account OF the extreme
Is high price OF muriate Of potash. and
under these conditions we would sug
zest the use Of from 100 TO so pounds
OF cottonseed meal and 900 TO 400
pounds acid phosphate per acre
Where applications OF from 200 to 500
pounds are made. we suggest that they
be made in the row Larger applica-