Strawberry Culture ij 



Preparation of the Soil 



Plowing or spading deeper than is required to cover any 

 growth of weeds or grass that may be on the ground is usually 

 unnecessary and often injurious. If done in the fall there may 

 be an advantage in rather deep plowing to enable the soil to 

 take in all the rain that falls, and in that case it will settle dur- 

 ing the winter. This settling is very important. Deep plowing 

 in the spring, unless it is followed by very thorough harrowing, 

 so that nearly every foot of land is tramped, is not best. The 

 best soil should be left 011 the top. Loosening the soil to a great 

 depth so that the roots of the strawberry can penetrate it is labor 

 lost. No soil is ever too firm for the roots of the strawberry, 

 or any of our fruit bearing plants, to penetrate, if it is damp. 

 Roots never work in dry soil. Care must be taken to prevent 

 cavities in the soil, for if there be one of any size under a plant 

 no blossom buds will be developed. Some years ago I planted 

 an acre of strawberries on land that had been used for a pasture 

 for fifteen years. It was a tough blue-grass sod, and in plow- 

 ing there was a hollow place left under each furrow. A year 

 later when the plants were in bloom I found that all the runners 

 that had rooted over a cavity failed to bloom. I set out about 

 a quarter of an acre of these barren plants, and grew them in 

 hills. The next year the}'' fruited abundantly. 



The ideal preparation is first to drain and grade the bed 'in 

 the fall. Then cover the surface with manure according to its 

 needs. Fresh, strawy manure is as good as any. Burly in the 

 spring rake off all trash and make fine to the depth of six inches, 

 and then harrow until smooth, when it is ready for planting. 

 This may seem contrary to the teaching and practice of some 



