156 Strawberry-Growing 



the Los Angeles district, the picking season from old 

 plants is continuous for eight months, from April to 

 November or December. The yield is heaviest in May, 

 June and July, but there are profitable pickings through- 

 out the season. Plants set in October or November 

 bear a fair crop from April to the middle of July ; some 

 fields have a small crop in the fall also. "In middle and 

 northern Alabama," says F. S. Earle, "plants set in the 

 spring and allowed to form matted rows ripen all their 

 fruit during a period of three to four weeks, as in the 

 North ; but if set in summer or fall they develop succes- 

 sive fruit clusters during a much longer period, often 

 scattering the crop through eight or ten weeks, as is the 

 habit of the strawberry farther south. For home use or 

 for local market, this longer fruiting season is a distinct 

 advantage. Where berries are grown for northern ship- 

 ment, the heavier early picking from the spring-set 

 matted rows will be more practicable." ^ In the North, 

 old fields often bear seven to ten days earlier than new 

 plantings of the same variety, especially if the field was 

 not renewed. 



PICKING PROBLEMS 



How ripe berries should be when picked depends on 

 the variety, weather, method of training and distance 

 from market. Soft varieties need to be picked greener 

 than firm sorts in order to get them to market in good 

 condition. ^Vhen the weather is cool, berries may be 

 vine-ripened for near markets, since they are firm ; in hot 

 weather they should be picked greener. Redness does not 

 always indicate ripeness. Some varieties color well before 

 they are ripe, or ready to eat. Berries increase in size 



1 Bui. 109, Ala. Exp. Sta. (1900), p. 41. 



