Potato Culture02
Waupaca
POTATO CULTURE
Potatoes as a Commercial Crop – The Best New Varieties – Soil
(From The Prairie Farmer)
POTATOES AS A COMMERCIAL CROP
Many farmers would be greatly benefited by going into the growing of potatoes for the market. But the profitableness will be determined by the nearness of the market, and the character of the soil, etc. While it is true that almost any kind of land will raise potatoes, it is equally true that some kinds of soil will not only produce more, but a very much better quality of tubers. The perishable nature of the crop is another item to be taken into consideration. They are not like many other farm crops – if not wanted this year they can be kept for some future time. Potatoes can not by any process within the reach of the ordinary housekeeper be kept good more than six or eight months, so they must be raised every year and used up, or they will become worthless. Yet, notwithstanding they will not keep long, if one has the right kind of land and is within reasonable distance of market, there is no crop that will pay better. In regard to what is the best land for potatoes, I think it is generally claimed that a light, sandy loam gives potatoes of the best quality, and, if the conditions are favorable, gives the largest yield. By light I do not mean poor soil, for the facts are that if we are to get a large crop we must have a rich soil. The richer the better, but not made rich by barnyard manure put on with the potato crop. But rather put the manure on the clover field, cut a big crop of clover, and then plow for potatoes. The clover roots, with the manure, seem to furnish just the food the potatoes need. Indeed, any kind of humus in the soil is a very great benefit to the crop. It will not do to plant potatoes on the same land more than one year; then follow with some other crop before potatoes are planted again. This is undoubtedly good advice, but of a piece of a half acre on which potatoes have been raised every year for the last ten years. It has been planted always with no early variety, so that they could be dug by the middle of September, then the ground was plowed and sown to rye, a bushel to the acre, and that was plowed under in the spring, the firt part of May, and that piece has given a good crop every year. I think the success of that experiment is largely due to the sowing of the rye. It served a double purpose – it furnished a humus for the soil, and then the ground is always mellow when it is plowed in the spring.
Success in growing potatoes depends largely upon two things – good, rich soil, and the right amount of moisture. The first condition is one that any intelligent grower can furnish, but the second is not so simple a thing to do; but it may be done. I refer, of course, to irrigation. Several seasons past it has been too dry in our state (Wisconsin) to give us a full crop, and as a result prices have been high. Suppose one could have put on just the right amount of water at the right time, he could easily have doubled his crop, and it takes no figuring to show that it would have been a great gain. If I were going into the growing of potatoes to make a business of it. I would make arrangements to have water when the crop needed it. I would rather have ten acres that I could irrigate than to have twenty and depend upon the natural rainfall. Of course, some seasons we get rain enough, but there are a good many more of them that our crop is a partial failure for lack of sufficient rain, and these are just the seasons when we would make our money. To prepare for irrigation would, of course, cost some money, ut not very much. Five hundred dollars would dig a well, build a reservoir, and put up a windmill that would furnish water enough to wet fifteen acres. The interest on that investment would be $30 per year. Any one can easily figure whether the increase in the crop would pay for the outlay. The well and the reservoir would be permanent, and the windmill with a little attention would last fifteen years, so it could not help but pay. But raising potatoes without irrigation, when it is intelligently followed, is good paying business. S. Favill.
THE BEST VARIETIES OF POTATOES
If the varieties of potatoes could be put into classes or groups it would help us to answer this question, for the varieties of potatoes are almost beyond enumeration. I believe this can be done in part, although no closely drawn line can be made to separate these classes, and just where a particular variety would go would at times puzzle almost none, and probably lead to difference of opinion.
Of the older kinds, and those with which we have but little to do at present, the Peachblow might be called a type, but so far it has produced no successor of any permanent value. Another potato dating back within the memory of those who are not very old is the Early Rose. Differing from the Peachblow, it has been the ancestor of a family of potatoes whose name is legion, and this can be said of them, that almost without exception they have been of great value.
During the past weeks I have been going through the seedsmen’s catalogues of the last ten years making notes and cutting scraps, and I have been struck with the fact that so many of our most valuable and best known potatoes are descended from the Early Rose. That potato itself is one of our best kinds. When the descendant of the Early Rose resemble the parent in form, even with a change of color and season, they are almost always good yielders. When they are bred toward the round form they seem to gain a quality at the expense of productiveness. Another class of potatoes which have a white russet skin, are round in form and slightly flattened, with the eyes shallow and not large, are usually of the best quality. I think that the Snowflake is perhaps one of the best known of this type, which does not have a large number. Another class of white potatoes are round in form as the Snowflake, but have a smooth skin, with large prominent eyes and not flattened. I think the A Peerless would represent this class as well as any, and as a class they are heavy yielders, but not always of the best quality. In fact I think that some of the very poorest quality of potatoes are in this class.
Now these four classes of potatoes do not by any means take in all the varieties of potatoes, but those grown largely for the yielding habit and table qualities. I think they will include some of the most valuable ones. Then we can take these classes and ptu tome of the older ones with them, and in this way judge of the newer ones.
Of the Peachblow class I know of none today that will compare with our latter kinds. Improved Peachblows have been produced by the score, but I know of none that will yield well or that markets call for. The Early Rose class of potatoes are in the lead, and I think will continue to for many years. Those which resemble it in color, as the Pearl of Savoy, Early Vermont, Clarks No. 1, Late Rose, and many newer and perhaps better kinds are all valuable. Those which resemble it in shape but not in color, such as the Hebron White elephant, Burbank, and the new kinds are equally valuable. Those that are round in form but same in color have better table qualities but are not as good yielders, such as Early Ohio, Ohio Junior, etc. Early Rose tpe of potatoes is a standard in nearly all the markets in our country, and I do not think wise to try to change it unless good reasons can be found.
Of the Snowflake class but little can be said. I remember of having an experience with the Charles Downing potato, when it would not yield, but belonged to this class.
Of the Peerless class it may be said that they will outyield almost any class. The markets do not call for a round, white potato, and justly too, as they are apt to be of a poor quality. The Rural New York No. 2 seems to belong in this class and is fair quality and a good yielder, although it does not make a large growth of top. E.C. Green.
NEW VARIETIES OF POTATOES
It takes time to test the staying qualities of any variety of potato and it can not be said that any potato is one of the best until this quality is established. What I mean by the staying qualities of any variety is that it will, one year with another, with good cultivation, produce paying crops on different soils.
Some varieties will do well one year, and be indifferent the next. There are many new varieties that, while they may be good yielders, have deficient table qualities, and others of the very best quality are poor yielders. Then, again, some varieties will do better on a clay soil than on one of a light texture, and vice versa. A few years ago when the Burbank was introduced into our section the writer found he could not grow profitable crops of this variety on his gravelly loam soil, but another grower four miles away, on a more clayey soil, was very enthusiastic over the crops he grew. The result was that no Burbanks are grown in this section of Ohio now as a field crop, more because of the above reason than any other. In view of these facts it will be readily seen how difficult it would be to say which are best when all these varying conditions are considered, and more especially does this apply to the more recent introductions. Growers must determine this point for themselves.
The writer has made the potato a special money crop for many years, and until very recently disposed of his entire crop in the general market. Many things can be learned only be experience, and while we like to test new varieties of special promise, we have found by dear experience that it is not safe to depend largely on the newer varieties in field culture. There are many of comparatively recent introduction that I believe are holding their own wherever they have been introduced. Among them might be mentioned the Rural New Yorker No. 2, Carman No. 1, Improved Hebron, Early Freeman, Early Everitt, Seneca Beauty, and New Zealand. We have grown last season all of he above except Carman No. 1, and believe they can be depended on in field culture. J.H. Palm
PREPARING POTATO SEED
Prof. Henry, several years ago, conducted a series of experiments in the preparation of seed potatoes. The experiment included seed in thin paring, one eye to a piece; thick paring, one eye to a piece; cutting to single eyes, whole potatoes, seed ends and stem ends, all received the same culture. The results with the thin parings are interesting as showing how good a yield of potatoes may be obtained by planting parings. When potatoes are cheap, the farmer can better afford to plant a greater weight of seed potatoes than to take the time to cut into very small pieces. Further experiments at the Wisconsin Station show that between cutting the whole tubers, the largest marketable yield came from the heaviest cutting, though the increase in yield was by no means in proportion to the increase of seed. The proportion of small potatoes increased with the increase of seed. The smaller whole potatoes gave inferior results as compared with the small cuttings. The hills were thirty-eight inches apart each way, and in the last experiments the hills received two two-eyed cuttings of Rose seedling potato. The drills were also three feet apart, single two-eye cuttings of the same variety being placed eighteen inches apart.