STRAWBERRY— COST OF PRODUCTION 



1931 



always ueeded in the West Kootenay dis- 

 trict, but wliere it is convenient it sliould 

 be in readiness for the insurance of a 

 good crop. An application of water to the 

 patch just after the first or second pick- 

 ing will often double the yield. Mulch- 

 ing the berries to prevent them from be- 

 coming soiled during the picliing season 

 is very important if the berries are to be 

 shipped. This is one of the serious prob- 

 lems confronting the growers in some 

 parts of the district where no straw or 

 slough grass is to be obtained locally. In 

 some parts ferns are cut and used to good 

 advantage. Others cut clover and mulch 

 the patches with it, allowing it to remain 

 and be worked into the soil as a fertil- 



izer. This is especially good during the 



last year of the berry patch, which is 



plowed immediately after the crop is 



picked. 



M. S. MUJDLETON, B. S. A., 



Assistant Provincial Horticulturist, Nelson, 

 B. C. 



COST OF GROWING ONE ACRE OF 

 STRAWBERRIES 



While the strawberry crop is one of 

 the most profitable to grow, it is also 

 one of the most expensive, and in order 

 to give those who may desire to begin 

 growing strawberries for sale some idea 

 of the cost of producing this fruit, the 

 following estimates, furnished by repre- 

 sentative growers, are given: 



ESTIMATED COST OF PRODUCTION, 

 WITH AVERAGE YIELD AND PROFIT, 

 FROM ONE ACRE OF STRAWBERRIES 



Interest and tax on land (2 



years) $4.00 



Plowinc 3.00 



Harrowing 3.00 



Fertilizer 50.00 



Plants 30.00 



Sottinc plants 1000 



Cultivation r.0.00 



Training and cutting runners 10.00 



Fall mulch 10.00 



Adjusting mulch for sum- 

 mer 10.00 



Total cost of growing. . . . $1S0.00 



Crates and haskets 30.00 



Cost of picking 8,000 quarts 



at l'/4c 120.00 



Total outlay $330.00 



Value of an average crop, 8,000 qts. 



at 8c (wholesale) $640.00 



330.00 



Net profit $310.00 



Annual profit 155.00 



The above is believed to be a conserv- 

 ative estimate under average conditions. 

 In some cases the profits have been much 

 greater; in others less. The grower who 

 retails his crop or grows fancy berries for 

 wholesale will consider the above price 

 as being low, while the grower who ships 

 ordinary berries to distant markets to be 

 sold by commission men will doubtless re- 

 gard it as slightly above the. average. 



H. P. Hall, 



New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, Durham, N. II. 



INTENSIVE METHOD FOR HUMID 

 SECTIONS 



One method of setting a field of straw- 

 berries for which claims have been made 

 for extraordinary yields is that of T. C. 

 Kevitt, of Athenia, N. J. 



