POTATO GROWING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22208, 10 March 1934, Page 7

POTATO GROWING

HINTS ON CULTIVATION EARLY START ADVISABLE. For particular reasons, into the details of which We capnot enter, here, it may be anticipated .that by the time this year s potato crop is safely harvested amateur hardeners. Who are also fathers of families will have cause to congratulate themselves- if they have produced more home-grown potatoes than usual. On the other hand, those who have not bothered may have equal cause to regret it.. in any case, there can be no two opinions regarding the .wisdom, if potatoes are to be grown at all, of doing one s utmost to get from the ground- occupied the best results of which it is capable. MAKE A GOOD BEGINNING. A correct and good start means a great deal; in fact, if that is missed, the handicap will tell its own tale throughout the whole season. It is but; reiterating old teaching to say that maximum crops cannot be grown on ground which is not thoroughly prepared, and this well in advance of, planting time. Those growers will never break records in cropping who simply take their spades to the allotments and begin digging and planting as th6 o y f equal truth is the assertion that the best of soil in the pink of condition cannot produce fine crops from inferior stock. Selection of Varieties and good planting sets must be matters of careful thought and study. The purpose in doing so is to get the tubers trayed for sprouting, which is one factor in good culture that no grower can ignore without detriment to the ensuing crop. Even in the best hand-picked sets a, few tubers are practically, certain to, creep in which ere essentially blind. By sprouting, these may be detected and discarded, thus avoiding Waste of ground upon unproductive roots. Again, tubers may,, in addition to having two or three vigorous eyes have several which are capable only of making puny shoots from which no usabte potatoes can be produced. These call be rubbed .out, thus diverting the nourishment which, would .be wasted upon thengrowth to the additional support-of- the more virile shoots. - ■ Still - another advantage is that the strongest tubers, which produce more good shoots than one plant requires, may be cut to make two planting sets instead of one. . . Some writers advocate restriction of sprouts to one per tuber; the better- plan is to regulate the number according to the variety and the purpose in view. If a potato such as Majestic Tinwald Perfection or Field Marshal, either of which grows naturally to a large size, is allowed one sprout only, the tendency will be to produce a few extra big tubers per root. By allowing two, or even three, sprouts to develop, the number of potatoes will be multiplied, the size being reduced to a reasonable average. On the other hand, such varieties as Golden Wonder and Sharpe’s Express will yield undersized tubers from a twin-sprouted set, and attain muph better dimensions when only one shoot is. permitted to develop. Selection of varieties must be studied from varying angles, according to the purpose in view, and the character of the soil in which crops are to be grow;n. There are potatoes which have very thin, smooth skins. The Bishop, beloved of exhibitors, is a typical sample. _ Mr Breese, the large, coloured kidney, is another. There are others which are comparatively thick-skinpcd, petted, or russeted. Growers for exhibition generally favour a smooth, polished skinned variety - for single dish classes, but for those of several dishes or for collections, netted and coloured-skinned varieties must he included. It is well to bear in mind, however, that the thinner and smoother the skin the more necessary it is that the potato shall be grown in a soft, friable soil. Those who must grow potatoes in gritty, gravelly, or stony ground will do better with rough or russet-skinned varieties. The reason is that when the small, young tubers begin to swell they make room for themselves by pressure against the soil surrounding them. If this contains harsh, sharp, or rough-edged particles the pressure causes abrasions in the tender skin, and these develop into disfigurements. The scratching is a frequent cause of the appearance of common brown scab, the congealed sap exuding from the scratches constituting the culture medium for the disease. Brown scab does not seriously affect the economic value of a potato, hut it diminishes the effectiveness of examples for exhibition. There are some particularly robust and heavy cropping potatoes for the familv man which are not prize-winners in competition because of irregular shape or deep eyes. We have set the ideal as being uniformity of shape and size, absence of protrusions and hollows and the shallowest of eyes. This latter point ‘said to he justified because deep eyes involve waste and labour in peeling, but if the housewife is wise she rooks potatoes in their jackets, and that does away with the objections, otherwise such cxceltent croppers as Kerr’s Pink and Arran Chief would be discounted.