July: Third Week 



SUMMER WORK WITH STRAWBERRIES: CARE OF 

 THE SPRING PLANTED BED; REMAKING THE 

 OLD BED; POTTED PLANTS; STARTING THE 

 NEW BED; FALL BEARING STRAWBERRIES 



The home garden should produce an abundance of straw- 

 berries. There is little danger of having too many, because 

 if the bed should happen to get ahead of the immediate 

 demand for the table the surplus may easily be saved for 

 winter. Rightly managed, a very small space will give an 

 ample supply for both purposes. Extra-fine quality should 

 be the aim in the home berry patch, and fortunately, with 

 this crop, the best quality and the biggest yield go together. 



Berries can be grown in almost any soil, but there is con- 

 siderable difference in adaptation of varieties to different 

 kinds of soil. In making a new bed it is well to select 

 varieties that you know will thrive in soil similar to that 

 which you have. When plenty of water is available, how- 

 ever, not so much attention need be paid to this. Though 

 the berries revel in an abundance of sunshine, and bear 

 early on a southern slope, the patch should not be located 

 in too sheltered and early a spot, or there will be more 

 likelihood of loss through late frost. Again, irrigation alters 

 the case, for it may be used for frost protection, and proper 

 handling of the winter mulch is also a safeguard. 



Strawberries are one of the few things that do well on a 

 rather acid soil, so avoid ground that has been recently 

 limed. On the other hand, the ground can hardly be made 

 too rich. Manure or fertilizer or both should be used freely. 

 Only old, well-rotted manure should be selected, and if this 

 can be applied to a crop preceding the berries so much the 

 better. Of fertilizer, the basic formula, 4^-8-10, is the 



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