School: Meath Hill (roll number 7166)
- Location:
- Meath Hill, Co. Meath
- Teacher: Patrick J. Connolly
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0712, Page 208
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- The Potato CropPotatoes were grown first in America. A man named Sir Walter Raleigh brought them to Ireland first. The ground was found suitable for them and they were grown there. They were grown first by farmers in the north of Ireland and after a short time they were spread throughout the whole country. Nowhere in the world does the potato grow wild. Potatoes are sown in Spring. My father plants about three roods in ridges. The ridges are ploughed with a single plough. The tops of the ridges are levelled with a spade, then the manure is spread on the ridges and the potatoes are dropped in sets of three across. The medium sized potatoes are used for planting. They are cut in pieces, leaving an eye or two in each seed. They are not planted immediately, lime or turf-mould is put on them for a few days, then they are planted and they are covered with a spade. When the stalks appear above the ground the clay in the furrows is made fine and shovelled up on the ridges. Before the blossom comes on them they are sprayed with soda and bluestone to prevent a disease called the blight. In autumn when the stalks wither away the potatoes are dug out and put into long pits and covered with straw and clay to keep out the rain and frost.Kathleen Kieran Standard V
- Collector
- Kathleen Kieran
- Gender
- Female
