CHAPTER XXI 
SWEET POTATOES 
For Food and Feed. —Sweet potatoes are grown ex¬ 
tensively in the South where they are used as an impor¬ 
tant article of food. Farmers and gardeners in this 
section plant small patches varying from one-fourth to 
one acre in size for home use. Some truckers grow large 
areas to be shipped and marketed in the northern states. 
Sweet potatoes are gaining in popularity since they 
may be served in many delicious ways, such as baked, 
in pies, puddings, candied, and fried. The cull and 
surplus potatoes may be used as feed for livestock on the 
farm and the manufacture of denatured alcohol. 
Climate and Soil Requirements. —The sweet potato 
requires a growing season of four and one-half to five 
months. The climate should be warm, free from frost, 
with sufficient rainfall to promote growth. If we have 
excess rainfall after the vines have covered the rows or 
land and the plants are making their fruit, we have too 
much vine growth which results in low yields of potatoes 
of a very poor quality. 
Sweet potatoes may be grown on many types of soil 
with reasonable success. They do best on sandy loam 
soils having a fair amount of organic matter and plant 
food, with a clay subsoil. Poorly drained soils or the 
heavy clay soils are not adapted to sweet potatoes. 
Soil Preparation. —This crop like many others does 
best when grown in a crop rotation. If the land selected 
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