The Oskaloosa herald., 1917-03-29
HOW TO GROW POTATOES.
A Method of Reducing the Cost Of
Seed When Seed Potatoes Are
High Priced.

High Priced.
J Washington, d. c., March 20
Many persons prompted by the high
price of Irish potatoes have written
to the u, s. Department of Agricul-
ture asking how to grow them sue
cessinlly in their back yards or in
vacant lots in their neighborhoods.
Others, who in the past have raised
| potatoes as profitable way of util-
izing idle land or as crop which
Irepays them, in whole or in part, for
the cost and trouble OF keeping down
weeds and giving a more orderly APP
| pearance to their properties, point
OUT that good seed potatoes are
scarce and high in price, and ask
whether there is not some method of
reducing the cost for seed for their
plots or half acres.
The cost OF seeding, the garden
specialists of the Department point
out, can be greatly reduced if, in
stead of using whole potato for
planting, the gardener will cut out
from potatoes cone shaped pieces OF
flesh, each containing an eye of the
potato. In this way only from one
fourth to one-fifth of the flesh of the
potato will be needed to provide
seed and the remainder of the potato
can be cooked for table use. These
cones range from one-fifth to one
seventh of an ounce in weight,
whereas, under the usual methods,
the sets range from three-fourths to
two ounces in weight A gardener,
under ordinary conditions, will get
best results by placing Is to Is bush
els, or 800 to 1,0SO pounds of potatoes
to the acre. This method of pre-
pairing sets, therefore, should make
available for table use over 67J
pounds OF potato flesh which, under
ordinary conditions, would be plant
ed per acre. =
To plant a plot 80 by 100 feet, OF
approximately one ninth of an acre
at the same rate of seeding would
call for | 2S to 2 bushels of seed
planted in the ordinary way. The
method of using the cones and eyes
and cooking the remainder of the
flesh, therefore, becomes worth
whiie. economy even when a small
area is to be planted.
Under this plan it is not necessary
to prepare the seed all at one time
From day to day the cones for seed
ing can be jcut from the potatoes as
they are being prepared for the ia
Bile. The cuttings citizen should b.
spread out yon. a piene of paper in &
moderately cool room (about 80 de
grees FL and allowed to remain
there until they have cured, that
is, until the cut surface has become
dry. A day or two should suffice
for this, and potatoes then should
be put in a shallow box or tray and
placed where it is still cooler. Any
storage condition that will insure
them against frost on the one hand
and undue shriveling on the Other
should prove satisfactory.
These seeds can be started in
doors, provided it is possible to Sc
cure suitable soil and boxes. In
such cases it may be desirable to
plant the eye cuttings at once, and
allow them to start into growth in
doors with the idea of transplantina
them into the open ground when
danger of frost is past and the ground
is dry enough to be cultivated.
Small Sized Sets Require More Care
The smaller the size Of the set, OIL
seed piece, used the more thorough
must be the preparation of the soil
The more finely the soil Is pulver-
lied and the more uniform the mois-
ture conditions which can be pre-.
served in the soil, the better is til.
chance for the small seed piece to
establish itself. A small set in
rough, lumpy, or dried-out soil has
little chance to live, let alone make
a crop.
Generally speaking, the smaller the
size of the set, the closer it should
be planted in the row il maximum
Yields are to be secured Such sets
NAV be expected to give the best
yields IL not spaced more than 10 to
~ inches apart in the row.
How to Grow Potatoes.
Successful potato growing, the
garden specialists advise their cor
! respondents, hinges largely on the
following factors:
| l. Good land, well prepared.
| 2. Abundance OF available plant
food and moisture.
8. Selection of proper varieties
4. Good seed and good image.
5. Thorough protection of the
plants against insect and tungous
pests.
Preparing Soil For Potatoes,
The types of soil in which the po
tato plant thrives best are those des-
ignated as sandy or gravelly loan
soils. 1t may be grown with fair