ALWAYS PLANTING POTATOES. 319 



moisture producing the first new potatoes of the California 

 garden year, as previously stated. Thus it appears that 

 potato planting covers the entire year, and that while 

 some parts of the State are digging their main crop, other 

 parts are making their first planting. To bring the matter 

 nearer to a point it may be said that a man in the central 

 coast region may be eating new potatoes from his hillside 

 while he is planting his main crop on his lowlands. And 

 yet one is frequently asked to answer categorically the 

 question : ' ' When do you plant potatoes in California ? ' ' 

 Obviously it is a local question, to be learned by experi- 

 ence, observation, and inquiry, in accordance with the 

 general conditions outlined in the chapter on the planting 

 season in California. 



In connection, however, with this wide liberty in plant- 

 ing, taking the State as a whole, it must be borne in mind 

 that local requirements are sometimes very sharp and that 

 planting on the interior plains or in other parts of the 

 State where there is high heat and drought, or the soil be- 

 comes dry even with moderate heat, planting must be un- 

 dertaken early enough to allow a large part of the de- 

 velopment of the plant before such stress comes. Local 

 failures with potatoes may, therefore, be often attributed 

 to neglect of planting as soon as moisture and temperature 

 conditions favor growth in each locality. 



Soils. Light, rich loams are best for potatoes as they 

 favor root extension and expansion of tubers and they are 

 retentive enough to hold the moderate amount of moisture 

 which ministers to the highest quality. Very near the 

 coast well-cultivated, light uplands receive atmospheric 

 moisture. enough to sustain the deep verdure of the potato 

 fields, while the pastures are sere and yellow. Summer 

 growth on interior plains and foothill slopes and mountain 

 plateaus is sustained by less irrigation than many other 

 crops require, and winter growth, whenever feasible, is 

 best on light, free soils. The sediment and peat of the 

 river lands are also, in their season, light and warm. But 

 the potato insists upon adequate moisture, though its claim 



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