- 7 



Fig. 2. A production field of 'Senga 

 Sengana' variety in early-June . The 

 field was planted in late-July of the 

 previous year. (Courtesy of Wilhel- 

 minadorp Research Station) 



are planted into plastic 

 pots or small baskets of 

 3 to 4 inch diameter in 

 December or January and 

 placed in a greenhouse or 

 under cold frames. They al- 

 so might be planted "loose- 

 ly" in the greenhouse in 4 

 inches of peat or potting 

 soil. About mid-April, 

 these plants are transplan- 

 ted into the field. The 

 procedure of starting the 

 plants under glass advances 

 harvest by 10 to 16 days 

 thus lengthening the harvest 

 period of everbearing straw- 

 berries . 



Removal of flower clusters 

 and runners . Tt is desir- 

 able to begin the harvest 

 of the everbearing plants 

 when the harvest of the June- 

 bearing varieties is com- 

 pleted. Thus, the first 

 flowers on the everbearing 

 plants are removed. For 

 plants started under glass, 

 flower cluster removal is 

 necessary before transplant- 

 ing. When harvest is sched- 

 uled to start about July 10, 

 the blossoms are removed un- 

 til the end of May. Runners 

 are removed until harvest. 



Harvest . The harvesting peri6d of 'Ostara' and'Rabunda' is from 

 mid-July to the beginning of October. In North Holland, the 'Revada' 

 variety is harvested from mid-August to late October and in the mid- 

 dle and the southern part of the country, it is 10 to 12 days earl- 

 ier. 



The berries are picked once every 5 to 7 days depending upon 

 weather. Only the first 4 to 6 berries from a cluster are harves- 

 ted and then the cluster is removed, because the rest of the ber- 

 ries will be too small and their presence will delay the formation 

 of new flower clusters. In a field of well-grown plants, about 2.2 

 pounds of berries can be harvested per plant. The fruit is sold 

 for fresh consumption in boxes holding about 0.55 pounds of fruit. 



