Potatoes are not a crop for most home gardeners to grow in large quantities - but young potatoes, an inch or two across, have a special flavor and are worth growing. Most varieties have brown skins, but some have reddish or bluish skins. The flesh of potatoes is usually white or cream-colored.
Each block should weigh 1 to 2 ounces and contain one to three eyes. Spread the pieces out in a single layer in a well- ventilated and well-lighted place for four or five days before planting. To minimize loss from rot, dust the pieces with captan.
Prepare the soil by digging a flat-bottomed furrow 6 to 8 inches wide and 3 to 4 inches deep; for more than one row, space the furrows 21/2 to 3 feet apart. Scatter 5-10-5 fertilizer along the bottom of the furrow at the rate of 21/2. pounds to 25 feet of row; mix the fertilizer with the soil. Plant the pieces of potato in the furrow, eyes up, at 12- to 15-inch intervals, and cover them with 3 inches of soil. Potatoes form close to the surface of the soil and are easily damaged by cultivation.
Put into each hole a bushel of compost or well-rotted cow manure, then return the soil, forming a mound about 4 inches high. Plant four to six seeds 1 inch deep in a circle on top of each hill. When seedlings appear, cut off all but one or two of the strongest plants.
From late summer on, remove any blossoms or new fruit to channel the plants' energies toward the fruit that have already formed. For a huge exhibition pumpkin, allow one fruit to develop on each vine, and water heavily. To train vine varieties to grow upward, follow the directions on page 30. To grow pumpkins with corn, sow single seeds every 10 feet or so in the rows of corn.
Potatoes are grown from pieces of seed potatoes, which are specially developed for planting; be sure to buy those labeled "certified" - they are relatively free of diseases and often produce double the crop obtainable with noncertified potatoes. Do not plant potatoes bought at a food store - they may have been shipped in from another part of the country and may not grow well where you live. They may also have been treated with a chemical that inhibits sprouting and will prevent them from growing.
Each block should weigh 1 to 2 ounces and contain one to three eyes. Spread the pieces out in a single layer in a well- ventilated and well-lighted place for four or five days before planting. To minimize loss from rot, dust the pieces with captan.
Prepare the soil by digging a flat-bottomed furrow 6 to 8 inches wide and 3 to 4 inches deep; for more than one row, space the furrows 21/2 to 3 feet apart. Scatter 5-10-5 fertilizer along the bottom of the furrow at the rate of 21/2. pounds to 25 feet of row; mix the fertilizer with the soil. Plant the pieces of potato in the furrow, eyes up, at 12- to 15-inch intervals, and cover them with 3 inches of soil. Potatoes form close to the surface of the soil and are easily damaged by cultivation.
Put into each hole a bushel of compost or well-rotted cow manure, then return the soil, forming a mound about 4 inches high. Plant four to six seeds 1 inch deep in a circle on top of each hill. When seedlings appear, cut off all but one or two of the strongest plants.
From late summer on, remove any blossoms or new fruit to channel the plants' energies toward the fruit that have already formed. For a huge exhibition pumpkin, allow one fruit to develop on each vine, and water heavily. To train vine varieties to grow upward, follow the directions on page 30. To grow pumpkins with corn, sow single seeds every 10 feet or so in the rows of corn.
Potatoes are grown from pieces of seed potatoes, which are specially developed for planting; be sure to buy those labeled "certified" - they are relatively free of diseases and often produce double the crop obtainable with noncertified potatoes. Do not plant potatoes bought at a food store - they may have been shipped in from another part of the country and may not grow well where you live. They may also have been treated with a chemical that inhibits sprouting and will prevent them from growing.
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Once your vegetable seedlings are up and growing in the garden, they will have to compete for moisture and nutrients with weeds, which will flourished in the rich, well-prepared soil every bit as well as the vegetables in the vegetable garden.
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