CHAPTER VII 



PLANTING 

 By Daniel Dean 



Soil preparation for planting potatoes should be such 

 as will meet the peculiar demands of the potato plants. 

 A loose and mellow soil is needed for extension of the weak 

 and tender roots and for the development of the tubers. 

 Preparation should be designed to correct the faults 

 of the local soil and climate as far as that can be accom- 

 plished. Preparation before planting should be such as 

 will reduce the tillage after planting as much as possible. 

 Weeds are more cheaply killed by wide-spreading tools, 

 like harrows and disks, than by small, single-row tools 

 or by hand hoeing later. 



Fall plowing is of great value in all but the lighter 

 soils. It rots the soil organic matter, puts the land into 

 better physical condition by exposing the bare soil to 

 winter freezing, stores up more water for the use of the 

 crop and sprouts and kills part of the weed seeds in the 

 ground. The control of insects, like the white grub 

 and wire-worm, is easier with fall plowing because the 

 larvae are more exposed to freezing and to attacks of 

 their natural enemies, such as birds. As a rule, the 

 heavier a soil, the more it is benefited by fall plowing. 

 There is some saving in labor by fall plowing in the 

 northern states because potatoes are usually followed 

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