CHAPTER XX 

 The Strawberry 



THE Strawberry is one of the easiest of hardy fruits for the 

 amateur to grow. It thrives in ordinarily good soil without 

 much attention, and its requirements are few and are met 

 without difficulty. 



The best time to make a start is early in September. If 

 a few plants are then obtained, and are planted on ground 

 that has been deeply dug and manured, they will produce Straw- 

 berries for three summers. The best arrangement is, I think, 

 to have the rows 2 feet apart and to put the plants 1 foot apart. 

 After the first crop has been gathered, alternate plants in the 

 row are pulled up, and all will then remain at 2 feet apart. It 

 is necessary to plant firmly and to put the plants at such a 

 depth that the crown or heart will be showing just above the 

 soil. 



The finest fruits are obtained from the first crop, providing 

 the plants are put out on good ground not later than early 

 September ; many growers plant in August. The second year 

 there will be a heavier crop of good fruits, while the third season 

 the fruits will be small but very abundant. 



General Hints. The Strawberry plants need no attention 

 during autumn and winter, except an occasional hoeing to keep 

 down weeds and to ensure that the surface soil is loose. In 

 spring, before the Strawberries come into bloom, it is usual to 

 mulch between the rows and round about the plants with " long " 

 or strawy manure ; the " feeding " properties of this are washed 

 down to the roots and the strawy part, which will remain, serves 

 to protect the fruits from being spoilt by soil splashed up during 

 wet weather. 



If the amateur is unable to apply a mulch of this kind, 

 he should take steps to keep the fruits off the ground, or 

 many of them will be spoilt. This is accomplished by sup- 

 porting the bunches of fruits by means of sr^all forked sticks, 



103 



