374 



GARDEN FARMING 



growth and quick maturity. Light, rather dry, warm soils are 

 nearest to the ideal for this purpose. 



Preparation of the soil. Thorough, deep preparation of the soil 

 is essential for success with potatoes. The soil should be prepared 

 by growing a hoed crop upon it the previous year, one of the leg- 

 umes if possible, and should be cleared of all debris and rubbish 

 during the fall or winter. As soon as conditions are favorable in 

 the early spring or late winter, the ground should be deeply and 



FIG. 142. Good and poor stands of potatoes due to seed 



thoroughly plowed either with a disk plow or a good turning plow. 

 After plowing, if the ground shows a tendency to bake, it should 

 be thoroughly fined and moderately well compacted by the use of 

 a harrow and clod crusher. Soils slow to come into condition in 

 the spring are greatly benefited by disking before plowing. 



The depth of plowing should not be greater for potatoes than 

 for other truck crops. As a general rule the seed bed should be 

 deep and mellow, but it is not safe to turn up too much subsoil at 

 any one time. It is well to deepen the soil gradually, an inch a 

 year, until the desired depth has been attained. 



