STRAWBERRY GROWING IN WEST KOOTENAY 



1929 



water in diverting the late spring frosts. 



There are three principal strawberry- 

 growing districts as commonly referred 

 to. The Vashon Island district is a large 

 island in the Sound between Tacoma and 

 Seattle: the Lake Washington district 

 comprises the east shore of the lake and 

 adjacent country lying east of Seattle; 

 the Bay Island district comprises the 

 islands and shores of the south part of 

 the Sound, principally near Tacoma. 

 Many other sections are favorable for the 

 industry, but are not yet extensively de- 

 veloped. 



Varieties 



The varieties commonly grown are the 

 Magoon, Marshall and Clark's Seedling. 

 Besides these the Warfield, Wilson, Gold 

 Dollar and New Oregon all do well and 

 are profitable. 



Marketing 



The various steam and electric roads, 

 as well as the excellent service by boat 

 lines, solves the transportation problem 

 perfectly. The growers have access to 

 several good canneries, which care for the 

 surplus fruit. 



In the Vashon and Bay Island districts 

 the growers are well organized into co- 

 operative associations for marketing their 

 produce. 



F. H. BUBGLEH.\US 



STBAUBEItRY GROmKG Ilf THE 



IVEST KOOTEXAY DIS- 



TKKT, B. C. 



The possibilities of successful straw- 

 berry growing in the Kootenay have been 

 fairly well demonstrated to be one of the 

 most profitable adjuncts to general fruit 

 growing. The character of the soil, along 

 with the ideal climatic conditions to pro- 

 duce a large crop of the highest quality 

 berries in color and flavor, has been the 

 means of creating considerable favorable 

 comment from those capable of judging. 



The yield and profits from strawberries 

 in the Kootenays are quite varied, de- 

 pending almost wholly upon the grower, 

 the condition and preparation of the soil 

 and the cultivation and attention given 

 the patch. As an instance, the average 

 yield per acre in this district has been es- 



timated at less than 200 crates per acre, 

 while Individual growers have reported 

 yields of from 400 to 600 crates per acre 

 in a good season. Mr. O. J. Wigen, at 

 Wyndall, has produced as high a yield as 

 14,000 pounds, or about 600 crates per 

 acre, and an average of some 400 crates 

 per acre, during a fair season, on some 

 seven or eight acres which he devotes to 

 the crop. Last season the berry crop In 

 the Kootenay was badly affected by cut- 

 worms. In some instances the plants 

 were completely ruined, while in others 

 they were injured sufficiently to mate- 

 rially affect the bearing of the plants. 

 Application of Paris green and bran in 

 the proportion of one pound of Paris green 

 to 50 pounds of bran, with about three 

 or four pounds of brown sugar added to 

 sweeten it, gave good results where it 

 was applied to the patch in good time in 

 the spring. 



The varieties which are most commonly 

 grown in the district for the factory are 

 the Glen Mary, William Belt, Royal Sov- 

 ereign and the New York. Those for ship- 

 ping are the Magoon, Royal Sovereign and 

 the Parson's Beauty; the softer of the 

 berries being sold in crates locally. The 

 Magoon is a~good berry and is probably 

 the most widely known. It is very dark- 

 colored and is not so attractive when put 

 up in jam as is the Glen Mary or William 

 Belt, which are lighter colored with large 

 light-colored seeds, giving them a very 

 attractive appearance when put up as jam, 

 especially when put up in glass. The Glen 

 Mary, William Belt and New York yield 

 somewhat larger crops than the Magoon. 



Unquestioning the demand for the ber- 

 ries and the adaptability of the district 

 for the growing of them, we must be at- 

 tracted by the great variance of crop 

 yields obtained. It will be the endeavor 

 in the balance of this article to give the 

 Iiractlces followed b.v the most successful 

 growers in the district. It costs about 60 

 cents to pick ai'.d pack a 24-pound crate 

 of strawberries. The total expense in 

 growing a crate of strawberries is esti- 

 mated at about $1.20 per crate, calculated 

 on a 250-crate yield per acre. It will be 

 seen that as the yield is increased the 



