CHAPTER VII 



SEED-BED PREPARATION AND PLANTING 



SO MUCH depends on the conditions in the 

 different districts, that seed bed preparation 

 and planting methods differ somewhat. 



The fundamentals, however, are the same every- 

 where. These are whatever cultural methods are 

 necessary to make a deep, mellow seed bed or root 

 nest. The success of the crop depends on the size 

 and vigor of the root system. 



The seed should be planted sufl3ciently near the 

 surface to get the benefit of the heat of the sun, and 

 deep enough that the root system be in contact 

 with the moist earth. 



The seed bed must be sufficiently firm that the 

 rootlets come immediately in contact with the soil 

 particles, yet open enough that they readily pene- 

 trate. 



Humus — decayed vegetable matter — from 

 every source is an essential in a good potato soil. 

 Legumes and barnyard manure are valuable, and 

 decayed turf, from meadows or pasture, is ideal 

 for potato culture. It seems to "clean" the soil 

 from injurious diseases, and because it has grown 

 in it is thoroughly incorporated in the entire soil. 

 All vegetable matter should be plowed under the 

 fall previous to the cropping season. 



The cover crop, or green manure — a mass of 

 vegetation turned under in a green state — has a 

 wonderfully beneficial effect on soils, both for the 



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