The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1917-06-21
SECOND CROP IRISH POTATOES

There should be an acre Of Irish po-
tatoes planted in July on every small
farm in Tennessee and Arkansas.
Large farms should plant one acre in
Irish potatoes for each 80 acres in
cultivation. The crop will be needed at
home to take the place of flour and
meal Good seed and a moist, fine soil
at planting time are essential to the
production of profitable yields.
Seed.-There is no seed in cold stor-
age. Most of the planting will have
to be made from seed saved from the
spring planted crop. Small potatoes
planted whole take "a bushels an acre.
When seed is cut, IL to la bushels will
plant an acre. Most growers will get
enough higher yields from whole seed
to make it advisable to use it.
Saving Seed From First Crop.--Dig
the first crop when the vines become
golden and before they begin to die.
Dig late in the day or on a cloudy day.
Pick up the potatoes as fast as dug so
that direct sunlight will not strike
them. Select potatoes the size Of a
hens egg or smaller for seed. Put the
seed potatoes the first night where
they will become well cooled. The next
morning spread them out in layer
six inches deep on a cool, dry surface,
where they will not be exposed to di-
rect sunlight and where the ventilation
is good. If they can be stored where
a breeze will blow over them it will
help. A well ventilated cellar, dry
place under a house, a well ventilated
loft or gangway are good places. The
potatoes should be barely covered with
clean, dry soil, free from grass or
trash, or lightly with straw or similar
material. Where potatoes are spread
on the ground they must be thorough
ly protected with bitches, as no water
should run over them. Keep the po-
tatoes dry the first two weeks of cur
ing. Keep the covering moist the last
two weeks to hasten sprouting.
1t requires about 80 days of this
treatment to cure potatoes for plant
ing. In many towns are small cold
storage plants and fresh dug potatoes
may be put in cold storage 30 days to
cure them for planting.
Preparing the Ground.--Begin to
prepare the ground in June. Disk or
cultivate the land until the top three
inches are fine. Plow deep and harrow
at once. Work the ground every week
until planting time. There should not
be even small clods and the soil should
be in good condition of moisture or it
is a waste to plant.
Planting.-Plant ON cloudy day so
that neither the furrow nor the seed
will become dry. Thoroughly disk or
cultivate the land before planting it.
Make each row by opening furrow
six inches deep. Drop the seed in
moist soil and cover Immediately to b
depth Of three inches. Make the rows
three feet apart and drop seed six to
10 inches apart in the row.
Where fertilizer is needed, apply
400 pounds per acre of mixture Of
one-third acid phosphate, two-thirds
cottonseed meal. In the latitude Of
Memphis and Little Rock, planting
may be made the middle Of July and IN
Central Mississippi, the middle Of
August.
Cultivation. Cultivate once week
from the time the potatoes are planted
gradually filing the furrow in which
the seed was planted. Leave the field
level at the last cultivation. H. NJ.
Ccttren, Awiculturist Of Memphis
Chamber Of Commerce Farm Bureau.