The fact that sweet potato growers
do use some artificial heat, either from manure or by piping bottom-heat
in their propagating houses, is a demonstration that such recourse is
desirable to get best results. The necessity of irrigation depends upon
the soil and its natural moisture supply. On a fine retentive loam, the
crop is chiefly made without irrigation, if the plants are all ready to
put out in the field as soon as it is safe. If you are late in the
planting, or if the soil is dry or likely to dry before the tubers are
grown to good size, irrigation, some time ahead of the need of the
plant, is essential.
Sweet Potatoes.
What kind of soil and climate does it take to grow sweet potatoes, and
can I grow them in any part of Contra Costa county, and about what time
is the best to plant them?
Sweet potatoes do best in a light warm loam which drains well and does
not bake or crust by rain or irrigation. Sprout the tubers in a hot-bed
or cold-frame in February and break off the shoots and plant as soon as
you are out of danger by frost. Sweet potatoes are more tender than
common potatoes. There are places in Contra Costa county where they do
well, though some parts of the county do not have enough summer heat.
Sweet Potatoes Between Fruit Trees.
I am expecting to grow a fall crop of about twenty acres of sweet
potatoes. The land is a heavy, sandy loam in the interior, which has
been set out this spring to almonds, apricots and prunes.
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