The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-03-05
GROWING THE SWEET
POTATO BECOMES AN
INCREASING INDUSTRY
(By II. l.. Warren. in Farm and
Ranch)

drying sheds are scattered over the
country, and also they have risen in
price with other farm products. |
really believe there is more money in
them at "A dollar a bushel than in
cotton at So cents, as You can he
perfectly sure that when we get 3j
cents for cotton it will have cost
us nearly that to produce it. Pota-
toes may be produced and gathered
and marketed from poor soil for a
cost of less than fifty cents "a bushel
while on the more costly lands tine
cost Of a bushel will be little high.
err as the most expensive lands win
not produce a great deal more po.
iatoes than common sand. have
raised so bushels to the acre on land
that cost $2.2j an acre. Cribs is not
land advertisements and / am sure
you can not get land at this price
now. The same year did this
my brotherinIaw on Il black land
farm produced about thirty bushels
10 the acre or course. great deal
depends upon the preparation ana
cultivation of the soil, but what we
want to impress Is that potatoes are
a standard crop anywhere. ana we
have yet to see the soil that would
rot produce a profitable crop of po.
tatOcs if it would show profit on
any other farm crop. An average
soil is best, however. aud will make
from 100 to 300 bushels To the acre.
wish | could tell you how easy
II is for me to raise big crops OF
sweet potatoes. But the best / can
do is To give you my plan, and then
let you decide whether il is easy or
not. Right now is the best time to
select and bed out your potatoes to
make sliph. 1t is not a good plan to
depend upon others to grow your
slips for you. If YOU are 70 farmer
who has been growing sweet potatoes
indifferently, now is the best time
in the world to get ont Of the habit,
and resolve to make bigger and bet.
ter crops. If you have been dong
this the probability IS that You have
been using Strings for seed. and
if YOU have it is likely that yom
crop has been running more ana
more to strings. Potatoes run out
slowly. but in time You vii! get
nothing but strings if you plant
strings all the time. Beds are made
as soon as the ground warns up.
make mine in the garden. / make
an excavation about seven inches
deep, five feet wide and twelve feet
long. 1t will take about three bush.
els of potatoes to bed this out. and
it will make slips to set nearly two
acres in good seasons. In this eX-
cavation. | put down about three
inches Of manure. Then ! mix
little manure or commercial fertilizer
with the soil taken out and put II
lack. This makes "A bed about four
inches high, and leaves a little soil
to throw over the potatoes. In put
ing them down do not allow them to
touch. but leave nalf an inch to an
inch between them all. When down.
cover them with an inch to one and
Onc-half inches of good soil. The
bed will come on IN due time with
ont watering, unless it gets cXce5-
sively dry. which is uncommon in
spring If you start watering them
at any time. keep il up then until
il rains again. If any grass or
weeds should start upon the bed
rake it off we'll II is a good plan
to rake it well twice a week. any
way. up to the time the slips get
about two inches high.
In the meantime. | have my ground
prepared for the expected setting
time. The land has been broken IN
the fan if possible, and allowed to
soak up all the winter rains. II
lot, it is bedded as carly in the
spring as | can get TO it. / pre-
fer to breaking in early spring, as il
lessons work. After the land is bed
ded, it is rebedded as often as noe
essary to keep Gown weed growth,
and by the time the slips are ready
for the field, | have clean neat beds
in which all weed growth has been
destroyed. and this greatly reduces
later work The bed viii not yield
ahough slips the first time to set my
entire patch SO he'd and rcbed
the ground that is left to still keep
down weeds, and, as this further
reduces weeds ana pulvcri2cs the
soil. am able to lay by the whole
crop at abou; The same time.
Netting Is tedious task to some
%le who do not understand the
rough treatment the slips will under.
go and yet live. For my part, | wet
the beds, pull the sfps care fully,
give them over to a boy L. }rop,
who drops them on the beds about
three feet apart the rows being
three and one-half to four fee, vide.
Then | so behind with a stick aboIt
three feet long and with blunt end,
and push the roots Of the slip into
the soil, and firm the soil with my
foot. | can set about an acre n day
by myself in this way and never
stoop. OF course. to he successful.
this has to be done when the soil Is
rather moist. More careful setting
has to be dcne in drier weather, .
and | have set out late crops where
al evenings, but the work pad well.
# at the last you find that YOU do
not have enough slips to finish the
patch. make some cutting Of vines
about ten inches long, and set these .
out the same as slips. | set out two
or three acres this way each year
and they always make about as well .
are set out later | have t. work
them n little later to make up.
Cultivation Of sweet potatoes Is
not at all different. You can select
a vineless variety if YOU like, though .
they are seldom of as fine a flavor
as thp old running varieties Use