STRAWBERRIES WITH THE LEAST LABOR. 377 



THE LARGEST CROP OF STRAWBERRIES WITH 

 THE LEAST LABOR. 



JOHN EKLOF, STOCKHOLM. 



To make strawberry growing- profitable when prices are as low as 

 the past season, it is required to reduce the cost of production. 

 It is hard to improve on the methods now pursued, as nearly all the 

 work will always have to be done by hand. The manner in which 

 the bed is covered in the fall differs greatly with the different grow- 

 ers, and in this part of the work a good deal of labor can be saved 

 under favorable circumstances. 



Now, for many years I have placed the straw stack near the straw- 

 berry bed, and after the first fall of snow, if the ground is frozen, I 

 haul the straw over it with team and a pole, in the same way that straw 

 was formerly removed from the threshing machine. The snow will 

 prevent the pole from injuring the plants. It is more essential to 

 have the plants heavily covered for the thawing and freezing in 

 spring, than to cover early in the fall. I attribute my success in 

 strawberry growing to the heavy covering of the bed and also to 

 leaving the covering on as late in the spring as possible. 



The manner of setting, cultivating and training the plants is 

 done in the same way as is done by many of the fruit growers. 

 The plants are set out usually from the first to the twentieth of 

 May, in rows four feet apart, and plants two feet apart in the row, 

 and trained to a matted row two feet wide, leaving the cultivated 

 space two feet wide. The bed is fruited two years. 



Wood ashes from a near-by creamery are liberally used for fertil- 

 izing the ground before planting, and also when renewing the old 

 bed. Although some recommend to not cover the bed the second 

 year, I have always covered mine, as the mulch greatly retains the 

 moisture. The fruit is thereby increased in size and is more free 

 from dirt. 



Mr. O. C. Gregg: This last paper brings to mind the system 

 I follow, which I supposed was purely a farmer's system. In 

 regard to this system of abundance of straw, I got a sugges- 

 tion from Prof. Green and got something of a neighbor; I put 

 both together, and the result has given me a great deal of satis- 

 faction. I think where this plan is followed of using abundance 

 of straw, if the rows are placed six feet apart the grower would 

 be better pleased. I should put them even wider than that. 



After the usual work is done, the covering is put on in the 

 fall. The last letter from home tells me the man is going to 

 cover the strawberry bed. Our berries are free from dirt, as 

 we leave some of the straw right on the rows, and the plants 

 make their g'rowth right through it, and we have no bare 

 ground. 



Mr. Hartwell: When do you remove the straw? 



