POTATO CULTURE.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1917, Page 2

POTATO CULTURE.

(■By Sunshine.) My last notes dealt with the care and treatment of seed before planting, and it is my intention in this short article to bring the matter a step further and deal with the planting of potatoes as experience has shown beneficial in this part of the district. In the past many and varied methods of planting have been tried with more or less success. The writer, of his own initiative some six to eight years ago, tried several experiments in this direction, treating similar seed in many different ways both as regards cutting and planting of seed, and has no hesitation in saying (and giving the information so that- it will at least be V en a fair trial) that the very shallow, or to be more correct, the surfai-.' system of planting luu given by far the best results. Not only lias it given the best results, but it lia« also several other advantageous features about it, which I will endeavor to make clear to readers. I will as far as possible explain the method adopted by me and which has already l>cen copied by several growers with good success. • Taking the dug ground in its rough state, a line is stretched and the soil alongside it just roughly levelled to about a spade width. Stable manure, or other substitute, is then laid on the levelled surface, and the potato sunk well into it. The soil from both sides is then drawn over the manure with a hoe, to a depth of at the top of say three inches. Artiiicial manure, .such as special potato manure or super-phosphate, can now be spread on the top of the mound and will soon find its way to the growing tuber. This then not only completes the planting but by one pro•cess you have already done your first banking—only one more will be necessary. Stretch your next line a good 3ft away and proceed as before. This is important, as if a lesser distance is left it will be found almost impossible to get enough soil from between the rows to cover the mound of manure etc., A review of this process will at once show that the crop sets every hour of sunshine and warmth, first on one side, from the top, and later on the afternoon sun on the western slope. This district being most suited for early to mid-season crops, we are always sure of an abundance of rainfall, which these mounds will catch, and any excess will be allowed to drain away between the rows. Contrast this method with that of opening a trench, say four to six inches deep, which will only get the sun during the middle hours of the day, and be very inclined to collect an excess of rainfall to the detriment of the crop. The surface growing device is again a labor saver, in that no great effort or actual digging with a fork will be needed. The mounds, when the potatoes are fit can be easily levelled off, and to those who will give it a trial 1 feel sure that not only will crops be heavy, but the quality will be found far superior to similar varieties under the old conditions. In a later article I will deal shortly •with the spraying of the plot.