CLEANING OUT THE FENCE CORNERS ON A LARGE STRAWBERRY FARM 



Suggestions for September Work With Strawberries 



Restricting 

 Runners 



SEPTEMBER is the month in which 

 the strawberry plant makes runners 

 most profusely, and the grower 

 must not lose sight of the fact that 

 not only is the mother plant strong and 

 vigorous and therefore the better prepared 

 for this work than at 

 any other time, but it 

 also is true that the 

 young plant that this mother has produced 

 is at this time well-established in the soil 

 and during the month will produce run- 

 ners nearly as rapidly as the mother her- 

 self. So we urge all growers to keep 

 their best eye on the bed from now on 

 till mulching time with a view to pre- 

 venting too many runner plants from 

 taking root. This is what we term re- 

 striction. No runner should be permitted 

 to take root after your ideal row is formed. 

 By removing all of the surplus runners 

 the plants which remain to produce the 

 1907 crop is greatly strengthened and its 

 power to produce big crops of berries 

 immeasurably increased. 



A PLANT cannot build up a heavy 

 ■**■ fruit-bud system while a large num- 

 ber of runners draw their sustenance from 

 it. So many letters come to us from 

 readers after it is too 



Keep Control , f i\ i t 



of the Field 'ate saymg, My plants 

 have got the best of 

 me, that we urge the importance of this 

 matter. Some write that the plants are as 

 thick as grass and want to know what to 

 do to cure the evil. That is a hard ques- 

 tion to answer, for this a case wherein 

 prevention is infinitely better than cure, 

 and if all will follow the instructions 

 above given, it will never be necessary to 

 call upon outsiders for aid. If through 

 sickness or absence you may not do this 

 work yourself, hire it done; for the im- 

 portance of its being done just at the 

 right time may not be overestimated. 



'T'HE long and severe drought that 

 •^ occurred during the period just fol- 

 lowing the setting of plants this season 

 caused some of the plants of many grow- 

 ,,.„. , , ers to fail to take root. 



rilliny In the t^. • i 



Vacancies ^ "^ Vacancies thus cre- 



ated may be better filled 

 in during September than at any other 

 season. By selecting a day afttr a rain 



Fall 

 Cultivation 



the soil will be full of moisture, and it 

 will be easy to take the plant up with a 

 large amount of soil adhering to the roots. 

 Take a wheelbarrow and go down the 

 row, taking up the strongest plants from 

 places you may best spare them and 

 reset them where most needed. We 

 often have done this, and observed no 

 check in the plant's growth whatever. 

 The plant will feed from the adhering 

 soil until its roots are thoroughly estab- 

 lished in its new quarters. Although 

 these reset plants will not yield so many 

 berries as will the others, the work thus 

 done will preserve the symmetrical beauty 

 of the bed and also will put the patch in 

 fine shape for the second crop. 



WITH the coming of fall the tendency 

 of the plant is to send a large 

 number of feeding roots up near the sur- 

 face, therefore it is best to cultivate very 

 shallow so as not to dis- 

 turb these feeders which 

 play so important a part 

 in sustaining the plant during the process 

 of fruit-bud development. The grower 

 should take care also that he does not go 

 too deeply with the hoe. Merely cut 

 under the surface sufficiently to break the 

 crust. Of course, if your soil is very 

 hard and compact, it will be all right to 

 go more deeply in the center of the space 

 between the rows. For this work we 

 use a five-tooth cultivator, having the 

 shovels quite sharp and pointed, drawing 

 them close together so that the outside 

 shovels will not come nearer than one 

 foot to the plant. This tearing up of the 

 soil will make it possible for it to absorb 

 a large quantity of water supplied by the 

 fall rains. It also mixes the vegetable 

 matter and fertilizers with the soil so that 

 the bacterial germs may work it up for 

 the plant's use. 



TH IS is the time when all fence corners 

 and other nesting places of insect 

 pests should be thoroughly renovated. 

 This work is just as important as any 

 other feature connected 



• I 1 1 ■ r Insurance 



with the production of .„„. , ,„,„„ 



^ ^ . Against Insects 



strawberries, and if 



every grower will but see to it that his 



fence corners, creeks and all other places 



Page 177 



where obnoxious growths are sure to be 

 found, are thoroughly cleaned he will 

 greatly reduce the danger of insects and 

 their destructive habits. First mow off 

 the weeds and grass and, where it is pos- 

 sible, burn everything over when dry. If 

 along a fence, take a time when the wind is 

 blowing away from it and then it will be 

 safe to set fire to the stuff. And even if 

 the fence gets a little scorching it will not 

 do so much harm as would the insects 

 that breed and hibernate there. Just note, 

 and you will see that the first attack of 

 insects is made on the rows nearest a 

 fence or creek or some other spot where 

 obnoxious growths have been allowed to 

 remain. And only a short time will be 

 required for them to work their way to 

 the remotest portion of the field. And 

 even though you never have seen an in- 

 sect on your farm, it will pay you big to 

 keep every fence corner, driveway or 

 other spot on the place perfectly clean. 



WE do not believe there is any other 

 crop that repays the cost of extra 

 care more handsomely than does the 

 strawberry, and preparing the soil in ad- 

 vance is an important ^ 



- c f 1 Preparing Ground 



feature oi successful (or i907 



strawberry production. 

 To those who have a piece of ground 

 accessible at this time, we suggest that it 

 be broken up and thoroughly prepared by 

 several harrowiiigs until every clod is 

 made fine and the soil is like a garden 

 bed. Then the latter part of September, 

 or even the first of October, sow rye at 

 the rate of five pecks to the acre. This 

 rye will become large enough to be a 

 great protection to the soil during the 

 winter months. During the winter when 

 the ground is frozen, scatter manure thin- 

 ly and evenly o\er the rye. The rye will 

 take up the leachings of the manure that 

 have been extracted by the winter rains 

 and snows and hold it in reserve for the 

 strawberry plants the following spring. 

 Just as early as possible in the spring this 

 rye should be turned completely under, 

 when you will have as well prepared a bed 

 for strawberry plants as one could wish 

 for. For those of our friends who raise 

 chickens let us say that the rye will be 

 an excellent place for the fowls to get 



