12 
Colorado Experiment Station 
it places an additional expense on the grower. If greening is 
resorted to, the potatoes should be placed in shallow boxes or 
crates, and exposed to the full influences of sunlight. The tem¬ 
perature also must be such as to stimulate growth activity. 
PLANTING 
The time of planting depends entirely upon the season and 
the locality. In some sections of the State, planting is delayed 
until early in June. This delay makes the season rather short for 
potatoes, and, as a result, the crop is often immature and low in 
quality. Under average Colorado conditions, we believe that 
earlier planting will give better results, not only as to yield, but 
in the quality of the crop produced. The latter part of May is 
about the right season for most sections of the State. This refers 
to the main crop. Seed plots, or potatoes intended for seed, may 
be planted as late as July. 
Depth of Planting 
Soil conditions generally determine the depth at which 
potatoes should be planted. On the average land in irrigated 
districts, potatoes should be planted about 4 inches deep. The 
rows should be from 36 to 40 inches apart, and the seed dropped 
12- to 14 inches apart in the row. On the more level land, it is 
important that the rows be at the maximum distance apart, in 
order that the hilling may be deep enough to carry off the water 
without coming into contact with the potato plants. On land 
having a good fall or slope, the rows may be closer together, as 
high hilling is not necessary. In the dry-farming sections, the 
rows should be 4 feet apart, and the seed from 18 to 24 inches 
apart in the row. 
Potato Planters 
There are numerous makes of potato planters on the market, 
most of which are generally satisfactory to the grower. We 
believe, however, that the picker type of planters are less satis¬ 
factory than the disk type. While it requires an extra man or 
boy to watch so that each compartment in the disk has its seed, 
it insures a perfect stand, while the picker type of planter often 
misses the seed, and sometimes spears the eye, resulting in an 
imperfect stand of plants. Farmers, as a rule, pay little attention 
to this phase of the operation, but the loss from missing plants 
in a field is considerably greater than one expects. We have found 
that, taking the State as a whole, the growers are losing on the 
average of 15 percent of the crop through' imperfect stands, 
generally caused by the failure of the planter properly to 
