POTATOES 167 



Planting. Early potatoes may be planted as early in 

 the spring as the soil can be prepared. Late potatoes should 

 be planted in May or early June. The crop suffers when dry 

 weather comes on. The time of planting should be planned 

 to bring the time when the tubers are forming at a period 

 when the rainfall is usually good. 



There are several good methods of planting potatoes; 

 these vary according to climate and soil. In wet or heavy 

 soil they may be planted only three inches deep; in the 

 lighter soils or when the weather is hot and dry the tubers 

 may be planted as deep as six inches. 



In large fields, potatoes are usually planted by the use of 

 machine planters. There are several types of these machines. 

 The best ones open the furrow in the plowed field, drop the 

 seed potatoes at regular intervals, cover them with soil, and 

 distribute commercial fertilizer as desired. 



Two crops a year are usually grown in States south of the 

 Ohio River. It is best to not grow the second crop on the 

 same field where the first was dug. Rotation is better. 



The first crop is planted in February or March or as 

 early as the ground can be prepared. This crop usually 

 suffers very little from dry weather and is more productive 

 than the late crop. The harvest is in May, June or July, 

 depending upon the latitude. 



The second, or late crop is planted about June or July, 

 and if protected from blight disease may continue growing 

 until winter, say about the first of December. Frost does 

 not injure the crop. For the second crop, seed potatoes 

 chiefly from the northern States are held over in cold storage 

 for the midsummer planting. 



Mulching the second crop with straw or similar material 

 is practiced in many places. This is to save the soil moist- 

 ure and to give the growing tubers a cooler condition. The 

 crop is planted in the usual way, or perhaps a little shallower. 

 Then the straw is spread over the field a few inches deep. If the 

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