The Nevada County picayune., 1918-05-09
SWEET POTATOES
 ARE IN DEMAND
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS BROUGHT INTO SOUTH EVERY YEAR
 FROM THEIR SALE.
= J. s. Knox. Extnns.oa Division.

Millions of dollars are brought into i the South every year f.om t!.a sale of 1 the sweet potato. The United States Army has recently added this yegeta- 1 ble to its ration and this means that 1 the crop will be in demand more than ever before. The South is a sweet po- tato section and none of the states are better suited to the growing of sweet potatoes than Is our own state. We must have an abundance of this vege- table next fall
 Sweet Potato Pays Well.
 The sweet potato will produce. on very common soil, from 100 to 125 1 bushels per acre and at present prices of g per bushel there are few, lf l any, of our crops that will equal it. l However. while the sweet potato grows and produces fairly we'll on a i great variety of soils, il seems at it's best on the well-drained sandy loan soils of medium fertility Sweet po- 1 tatoes intended for storage should not be planted on poorly drained soil because they are much harder to keep over winter than are those that l have been produced on the better drained soils. Clay soils produce good potatoes, but at digging time the soil adheres to the potatoes and is the cause of great deal of bruises | and unnecessary lahor in removing | dirt from the tubers It is not advs. able to grow potatoes on the same soil two years in succession, and if stubble of COW peas or clover or GOV or crop of rye or oats can be turned under, so much the better
 It Pays To Use Fertilizer.
 As rule our farmers use too little fertilizer on the sweet potato soil. From 400 to 500 pounds per acre of a fertilizer made by mixing equal parts by weight of cotton seed meal and acid phosphate should increase tho yield of the potatoes from 20 to 25 per cent. If supply of hard wood ashes can be had, 1t would also be we'll co apply few loads of this to each acre the ashes contain lime and potash and the latter is considered one of the chief essentials for this crop. Or der your seed potatoes right away CT place your order with some one who will grow the plants for you. because the indications are that seed sweet potatoes are going to be scarce again this year In sections of Louisiana and | Texas the sweet potato weevils almost destroyed the crop last year and at the present time they are threatening Arkansas. Sweet potato growers from l the weevil infested states are now searching for suitable seed for bed ding this spring and they have all ready purchased great many from our storage men. Be sure to cull out all potatoes showing black rot before bedding them.
 Bed Sweet Potatoes Properly.
 To bed the potatoes select some weil-drained sunny location and dig a pit about eight to ten inches deep. Put about six inches of good, rich, we'll pulveri1sd soil in the bottom of this. then place the potatoes on this just close enough 30 that they do not touch about 1S inch space Is enough. Al ter the potatoes are thus placed covcr over with about one inch of sand oI soil that will not pack readily and keep moist. Where bottom heat is de sired il is necessary to dig the pit about six inches deeper than men, tioned above and put a six Inch layer bed Always water the bod thorough ly before removing the plants.
 Use Labor Saving Msokiass5.
 The scarcity and high pfics of la- bor at the present time Aaarss n nee essary to use labor savsas nashinery wherever possible. The maa who ii- tends to plant ten or twenty acres will in the loax run find N profitable to buy sweet potato planter. These can bs purchased at prices ranging from $50 to >1o. and with it ono can 1 plant three or four acres with . force that would not ordinarily plant more than one aore tho old way Mako rows Abont f-3 to . feet apart and set the plants about IS to 1s inches in ths row. N Is claimed by some 1 that cioser planting will lessen tho sise Of the potatoes. % If your crop has been over sise try closer planting and vios versa. bo net try to gst the plants oa high r1A9es. Ordinarily fron 3 to s inches 10 high enough and the plants ars cultivated more easily.
 .,. cu,tisstisn Should osSis 1ar,y.
 As soon as the plants have become rest abiiAh cd the cultivati should be- sin. Avoid the use of pio~s which run too deep near the roots of the plants. Upon examining the roots of plants where one man had been cuiti- vatins wtth'a heel sweep it was found that several roots that would have made pot afoes had been cut off. Use the harrow freely and as often AS is necessary to keep the top soil loosc and free from weeds.