THE STRAWBERRY MAY 1906 



apply the fertilizer is before the plants are 

 set, or, after the first crop of berries is 

 picked, you may mow off your vines and 

 burn the bed over, then scatter your fer- 

 tilizer between the rows and work it into 

 the soil. This will be in plenty of time 

 to benefit the succeeding season's fruit. 

 If your soil is sandy loam and quite loose, 

 we should prefer the wood ashes, usinj; 

 from forty to fifty bushels to the acre. 

 But if your soil is a black loam or clay, 

 the potash would serve better. 



J. S. A., Jackson, Mich. I had an old run 

 out strawberry bed which was heavily 

 manured last summer. This has been turned 

 under and the soil worked up in fine condi- 

 tion. I propose to salt it heavily this spring 

 to kill weeds and white grubs, which troubled 

 me seriously last season, and after the rain has 

 washed the salt down into the soil will reset 

 it to new plants. Will this be all right? 



So far you have followed the right 

 method in turning the old bed under, 

 save that you should have burned the bed 

 over before doing this, as this would have 

 resulted in destroying many insects and 

 fungous growths. If you apply salt 

 heavily enough to kill weedseedsand grubs 

 it also will kill strawberry plants, as well 

 as affect the chemical condition of your 

 soil for some time to come. The best 

 way to kill weeds is by cultivating once 

 each week. This stirs the soil and pre- 

 vents the weed-seeds from germinating. 

 Of course, if the Soil is wet this cannot be 

 done, but as soon as it becomes dry you 

 can carry on the work. The grub is a 

 troublesome enemy, and quite difficult to 

 get rid of on account of its underground 

 habit. The best preventive is to break 

 your ground in the fall, which leaves the 

 grub exposed to freezing and thawing and 

 to the attacks of birds. As your ground 

 was plowed last fall we think you need 

 not fear for the grub this year. 



■^ ^ 



I. H. S. , East Akron, Ohio. What would you 

 think of preparing the soil for strawberries like 

 this: Use a manure spreader and scatter a 

 light dressing of manure over young clover 

 after the wheat is taken oflF, using only fine 

 manure of course. Then the next year give 

 it a heavier coat after the hay is taken otf , us- 

 ing a manure spreader as before. This will 

 give a good second growth of clover which I 

 propose to turn under and the following spring 

 plant to potatoes, and the following spring 

 after the potatoes are dug, will set this field 

 to strawberry plants. What would you think 

 of plowing the potato patch twice — once in 

 the fall before freezing starts, and again in 

 the spring.' 



This letter makes us anxious to see the 

 berries you will grow upon soil thus pre- 

 pared. We say "amen!" to your entire 

 program. Your first light dressing of 

 manure will give you a big crop of hay. 

 Your second dressing of manure and 



and second growth of clover will fill your 

 soil full of humus — just what potatoes re- 

 quire to give a big crop, which you will 

 be sure to get. The potatoes will take 

 up the rankest part of the manure and 

 will put the soil in the best possible con- 

 dition for the following spring. If you 

 break up this piece of ground after the 

 potatoes are dug, sow about five pecks of 

 rye to the acre, but do not harrow the 

 ground smoothly. The rye will prevent 

 leaching of the plant food. In the spring 

 turn the rye completely under, then pre- 

 pare the soil thoroughly before setting 

 the plants. And when the berries are 

 ripe don't forget to send us an invitation 

 to come and eat shortcake with you! 



One word about those potatoes: As 

 the use of so much manure is likely to 

 produce scab on the potatoes, let us sug- 

 gest that you dip the seed potatoes in a 

 preparation composed of two ounces of 

 corrosive sublimate dissolved in sixteen 

 gallons of water. Submerge the seed in 

 this for about one hour. This prepara- 

 tion is rank poison; be careful that it does 

 not get into a cut or sore of any kind. 



J. W., Austintown, Ohio. Will you please 

 advice me how you prepare your sowed-corn 

 fodder for mulching purposes — do you shred 

 it or put on the whole stalk? I want to know, 

 as I have some trouble in securing enough 

 straw for my berries. How much corn fodder 

 do you use to the acre? 2. I have quite a lot 

 of strawy manure every year, and last year 

 put quite a lot on my plants. But the tim- 

 othy and weed-seed grew so rank that they 

 got the best of me. How do you manage 

 such cases? 



1. In sowing the corn use three bush- 

 els to the acre. This will make the fod- 

 der so thick that it will grow up spindling 

 and full of blades. We run over ours 

 until the corn is about a foot high, with 

 weeder, thus keeping it free from weeds. 

 In the fall cut it close to the ground with 

 a mowing machine. This should be done 

 before it is fully ripe, so as to retain the 

 toughness of the fodder. Two days after 

 cutting and when the corn is damp, pile 

 this up in large heaps and let them re- 

 main until you are ready to spread. We 

 do not shred, but apply the corn in the 

 whole stalk. This material will last for 

 two or three years as a mulch if carefully 

 stacked after the berries are picked. It 

 will require about four big two-horse 

 loads to the acre. Another good way is 

 to have the fodder cut with a corn har- 

 vester, which will bind it in bundles. 

 Lay these bundles lengthwise in the row, 

 continuously, and after laid cut the string 

 and spread it out thinly enough to cover 

 all the plants. You will readily see how 

 easily this mulch will be parted from over 

 the rows in the spring. 



2. In using stable manure for mulch- 

 ing, it always is best to throw it ofF the 

 wagon in small piles, then go over it and 



P&ge 123 



shake out tne coarsest parts to put directly 

 over the plants, scattering the decayed 

 matter between the rows. Let this re- 

 main undisturbed until spring; then rake 

 the decayed matter along the side of the 

 row, which will make it thick enough to 

 make seed-germination impossible, while 

 the bare space between the rows may be 

 cultivated through the entire fruiting sea- 

 son. Do not start the cultivator in the 

 spring until all danger from frost is past, 

 and avoid cultivation when the plants are 

 in full bloom, unless the soil is moist 

 enough to prevent any dust from flying. 



Mrs. L. S. Detroit, Mich. I had a patch of 

 strawberry plants which gave three good 

 crops of berries; then we transplanted some 

 runner plants from this bed and the last two 

 summers they made some bloom, but the"e 

 blossoms dried up and bore no fruit. What 

 is the cause of the trouble? 



You have taken plants from an old, 

 run-out bed where the mother plants al- 

 ready had exhausted themselves in pro- 

 ducing three crops of berries. It is im- 

 possible for such plants as these to pro- 

 duce a crop of berries. This only em- 

 phasizes what we so often have said, that 

 plants to produce a crop must be taken 

 from a new bed and be vigorous and 

 strong. 



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