EARLY POTATOES

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 98, 16 July 1927, Page 26

EARLY POTATOES

. The recent famine prices demanded for these household necessities have influenced many of us to turn our thoughts to the neglected backyard, from “whence cometh our help" in times of trouble such as this. In fact, provided space is available, there is no reason whatever why every home gardener should not produce his own potatoes. Of all vegetable crops this is not only the easiest to grow, but always a sure cropper—even poor land furnishing quite a commendable return. This vegetable is rightly regarded as the most popular and certainly the most valuable of all garden vegetables. The money expended cn the purchase of this commodity by the community is enormous, and with very little trouble on the part of every householder who is fortunate enough to possess a few square yards of workable ground, a tremendous saving could be effected. Obviously for the best returns good cultivation and soil preparation is essential. The land selected for this culture should be thoroughly prepared by deep trenching, and a liberal quantity of well-decomposed farmyard manure worked well below. Whenever possible, it is advantageous to plant whole tubers, particularly at this season of the year. For this purpose potatoes the size of a hen’s egg should be selected. Avoid mis-shapen specimens, or any deceased tubers. Get your supplies from a reputable house and demand hand-picked seed. Pay a little more to get the correct thing if necessary. Anything larger than a size recommended should be divided into two or even three pieces, but it is not advisable to plant the cut portions until they are Avell sprouted. This may best be achieved by first dipping them in wood-ash to prevent bleeding, and laying them, cut portions downwards, on shallow trays or boxes in a dark place for a few days. Whole tubers are best sprouted by first laying them out in the cellar, or some other place excluded from light, and covering them with a wet sack.

PREPARE THE GROUND In the meantime the ground should have been thoroughly prepared by good digging and cleared of all weed growth, and the surface soil worked to a fine tilth. The tubers or “sets” should be planted about five inches deep, eyes upward, care being taken not to bruise or damage the shoots. Place the sets from 12 to 15 inches apart in the rows according to variety. The rows should run from 2\ to 3ft. apart. A little bone-dust and superphosphate applied in the proportion of loz. of each to the square yard, supplemented by foz. of sulphate of potash, scattered along and mixed with the soil at the base of the drills at the time of planting, will prove highly beneficial to the resulting crop. For home plot, 141 b. of seed potatoes will be sufficient for 100 feet of drill. In other words, the quantity mentioned will comfortably plant a patch of ground 10 by 30 feet. For larger plantings we would recommend six to eight hundredweight to one acre. Keep the soil about them free from weeds during growth, hill up when the plants are of an established size, and water liberally between the rows, without saturating the foliage, when the weather is dry. Kitchen slops are excellent for this purpose. Keep an eyeopen for disease. As a preventive measure we strongly advise an occasional spraying with Bordeaux mixture or some other reliable fungicide.