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Show j HERE'S A LOT OF ADVICE FOR j AMATEUR POTATO RAISERS j (From the Kansas Cit Star ) Somo facts tho city gardener will do well to remember: Rows should run north and south, and, if possible, across rather than up and down slope. Perennial plants should be kept together to-gether at one end or side of tho garden. gar-den. The rows should be as long and as continuous as possible to effect ease and simplicity of cultivation. Plant the tallest crops at the north end of the garden. So arrange the crops as to keep all tho ground busy all season. Do not let two crops of similar nature na-ture follow one another on tho same ground. Keep the plants requiring the same distance between the rows together, gradually increasing the distance as you cross th.e garden. Arrange to raise quick growing crops between the rows of more slowly slow-ly maturing ones. In tho small garden sow a little seed often rather than a large amount at one time. Try to get one planting in just about when the previous sowing is appearing ap-pearing above the ground. The price of potatoes has soared so high practically all vacant lot gardeners garden-ers Intend to grow them. But garden-era garden-era arc going to be disappointed in results re-sults unless they follow directions carefully, says Ernest K. DeVigne, school gardener. The success of the potato crop depends de-pends on a number of things. The first and most Important is the selection and cutting of seed potatoes Potatoes that are quartered are likely to produce pro-duce a smaller crop than when cut in half. Larger Eyes at One tna. Tho reason is that the larger eyes are at one end of the potato. When quartered two pieces have the large eyes that make healthy plants and tho other pieces will grow small potatoes pota-toes or none at all. The following directions, sayB Mr. DeVigne, will insure a good potato crop if weather conditions aro normal: A rich, sandy loam, well drained and well supplied with vegetable matter, is the best soil. Stiffer land may be improved as a potato soil by green manuring ma-nuring and drainage, and lighter soil can be made sufficiently rich by uie addition of green manure and fertilizers. fertiliz-ers. Preparation of the land Bhould be deep and thorough. Planting without ridging generally affords tho larger yields, but a stiff soil and the desire for an extra early crop sometimes necessitates planting on ridges. The best time for planting Is the last of March or first of April, when weather conditions permit. On mellow, well drained soil deep planting plant-ing (three to five inches) is best, especially es-pecially wuen the season Is dry. For the early crop or on soil with a tendency to bake, the depth of planting plant-ing may be decreased. The use of the harrow before tho plants are all up and frequent shallow cultivation afterwards until the vines shade tho land is advisable. Choose Seed Popular Locally. Seed potatoes should generally be selected from varieties grown in the locality where they are to be planted. The yield from planting the seed or bud end is greater than from the stem or butt end of the tuber. Tho eyes on the seed end are the first to germinate, germi-nate, and make an earlier as well as larger crop. Be ca'roful not to let seed potatoes sprout beforo planting, as the growth will bo delayed if sprouts are knocked off. Tho best way to cut the potato Is in half the long way. This requires more potatoes for the same area to be planted, but the increased yield will more than pay for tho few extra seed potatoes needed. Taking the average of many experiments experi-ments it has been found that for even one hundred bushels of not salable crops grown from single eyes there were 114 bushels from 1-oye pieces, 131 bushels from quarters and 139 bushels from halves, but only 129 bushels from planting the whole potatoes. po-tatoes. These results favor the use of halves as seed potatoes. |