The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1921-04-28
ON GROWING "SUGARSPUDS"
SUGGESTIONS for Care Of Sweet Potato
Beds and Setting Of Plants
to the Field.

Clemson College, April 1S.-At this
season the sweet potato slips should
be coming up in the sweet potato bed.
Care should be taken that the bed IS
kept moist at all times in order TO eli
courage growth of the slips. Lsually
four inches of sand or sandy loan SOIL
is placed over the potatoes IN the
bed. This will force the slips TO come
I'D through four inches of soil or SAND
When the slips are three lncoes
above the surface of the grcunl they
will be large enough to set to me
field. Care should be taken to wet
the sweet potato bed thoroughly TWO
or three hours before the slips are
drawn; otherwise they may be broken
in drawing.
It will REQUIRE three bushels OF po-
tatoes to furnish sufficient slips 10
plant an acre. One acre transplant
ed early in the season, say during the
middle of May, will provide enough
vine cuttings to set five acres more.
After the vines have made growth
Of from ten to twelve inches they are
cut and transplanted in the same way
as slips These cuttings are usually
from eight to ten inches long, and set
their full length in the soil, leaving
two or three buds only above the sur
face, In order that a large number
of cuttings may be available early IN
the season, it is desirable to trans
plant the first acre of slips on COM
naratiyely rich soil, or to fertillze the
land heavily with commercial Ter
tilizer in order to stimulate vigorous
growth.
Use Vine Cuttings.
Potatoes grown from cuttings Will
be freer from disease than those
grown from slips Therefore, it is oe-
sirable to have as large a per cent o.
the crop as possible produced from
vine cuttings rather than from slips.
Three or four drawings may be made
from the potato bed, provided tne
slips are not allowed to grow too long
before removing them. The slips are
supported by the plant food contained
in the Dotato itself, and after the thlro
drawing is removed, will not sprout
freely.
In order that the slips or cuttings
NAV be transplanted to the field as
soon as they are large enough tne
ground where the potatoes are TO De
nlanted should be prepared in ao-
vance, so that advantage may Dc
taken of a good season; otherwise 1t
NAV be necessary to water the plants
as they are transplanted to the helo.
This, of course. is very expensive ana
should be avoided wherever possible
Distance FOR Setting.
The usual distance for setting the
plants is from fifteen to eighteen
inches apart in three-foot rows:
When set eighteen inches apart 1t Will
REQUIRE $3.50 plants to set an acre.
If set twelve inches apart, as is some
times recommended, it will require
1452O. Potatoes are seldom set as
close as twelve inches in the row.
and this is done only when the tend
ency is for the potatoes to gro" 100
large. By close setting larger num-
her of potatoes is produced, but very
few of the large or jumbo type are
4ound the idea being to produce as
large a percentage as posslple OF inc
No / potato, that is one that is not
more than 31h or less than 1% lncnes
in diameter.
PREPARING and Fertilizing the Land.
After the land for sweets has been
thoroughly plowed, the rows snoulo
he laid off three feet and a deep 1ur-
row opened with a shovel ploW. The
fertilizer should be applied IN tnls
drill at the rate of 600 to 800 pounds
ner acre. a ridge formed over this fur
row bv running two burrows with
half-shovel turn plow on each SIDE.
THE plants should then be set on this
he'd. A fertilizer analyzing percent
nhosphoric acid, percent nitrogen
and three percent potash is recon-
mended for the Piedmont region
whose the soils are clayey, or clayev-
liam In the central and scutnern
narts of the state, where the SOILS are
more or less sandy. a fertilizer analEz-
ing 8 percent phosohoric acid per
cent nitrogen, and percent potash IS
recommended. The greatest care
should be tarznn in the preparation OF
the land and the subsequent cultlVa-
ton in order that IS high 6 yield as
possible may be obtained. We should
endeavor to produce not less than LOU
bushels per acre. Two hundred 10
= s25 bushels are frequently harvested
where the fields are properly ploWeo'
fertilized, and cultivated.
Varieties Recommended.
The Porto Rico, Nancy Hail. ana
rriumph are the three varieties no"
being grown most extensively in the
South. The Porto Rico is the most
popular variety in this state. me
Triumph is an early variety ana IS
planted extensively when the pota'
{o H..