POTATO GROWING IN COLORADO 
By E. P. SANDSTEN 
FOREWORD 
The Horticultural Department has received numerous requests 
for information on the various phases of potato' growing in the 
State. These inquiries cannot be answered fully nor adequately in 
personal letters, as the subject covers too extensive a field. To 
answer these inquiries and to furnish reliable information upon the 
fundamental problems of the grower, this bulletin is written. 
While the information contained within is fundamentally cor¬ 
rect for the State as a whole, local peculiarities in soil, situation, and 
climate may necessitate modifications in details, and the grower 
must meet these modifications as they occur. 
The soil and , climatic conditions of Colorado are admirably 
adapted for the growing of high quality potatoes. The develop¬ 
ment of the industry has not measured up to the possibilities. The 
present acreage devoted to potatoes is less than it was five years 
ago. This is particularly true in the Greeley district where diseases 
have been destructive. With better methods of farming, especially 
along the line of rotation, and with better seed, the outlook for the 
future is very encouraging. The acreage devoted to this crop in the 
State has varied from year to> year, generally with the prices obtain¬ 
ed. The State may be roughly divided into 1 two general sections 
known as the Eastern Slope and the Western Slope with the Inter- 
Mountain Valleys. On the Eastern Slope the most prominent region 
is the Greeley district in Weld County. The acreage in this section 
has varied from 6,000 to 20,000 acres annually. The varities grown 
are the Pearl and the Rural. These are late standard white potatoes, 
and have proven well adapted to the conditions in this section. 
The Western Slope and the inter-mountain valleys produce a 
very high quality of potatoes, and these general sections bid fair to 
become the best potato producing regions of the United States. The 
soil, taken as a type, is a mellow, sandy loam which permits perfect 
root development, and offers no resistance to the normal growth 
and expansion of the tubers. With a perfect system of rotation 
and the plowing under o-f clover or alfalfa, the vigor and yield of 
the plants can be not only maintained, but also enormously in¬ 
creased. The prjncipal varieties grown here are the Russet Bur¬ 
bank, Rural, Peoples, Cobbler, and Downing. In the high mountain 
