OUR CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL 



WHERE THE MEMBERS OF THE 

 SCHOOL AND THE INSTRUCTOR 

 IN CULTURAL METHODS MEET 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE 



PRACTICAL LESSONS TAUGHT 

 PERTAINING TO THE SCIENCE 

 OF STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION 



AUTUMN is an important season 

 for the strawberry grower, and 

 the instructor urges every mem- 

 ber of this school to look after 

 the details of his work with especial care 

 at this time, as the season is a trying one 

 in all lines of plant life. Some of our 

 friends wonder why their plants are not 

 thriving as well as usual in a season that 

 has been peculiarly hard on vegetable life 

 of all sorts, except cereals. The peach 

 crop, which gave promise of extraordinary 

 yields in the spring and early summer, 

 has fallen very low as compared with 

 other seasons, and so it is with other 

 orchard and garden crops, while flowering 

 plants and foliage ha\e shrunk and died 

 under the influences of the long hot, dry 

 weather which has marked this season 

 over a very large portion of the country. 

 Under such conditions it requires work 

 to bring the plants through and keep 

 them up to a high standard of strength 

 and productive power. But work will 

 do it. It is gratifying to know that the 

 old-timers join in saying that this is the 

 hardest year in three decades of exper- 

 ience; for we can't complain if nature 

 does give the strawberry folk a severe jolt 

 once in a generation. The fellows who 

 grow apples, peaches and other fruits con- 

 sider themselves fortunate if they have a 

 run of five good seasons. And we are 

 especially pleased to hear from so many 

 members that they are succeeding despite 

 all discouragements; and they are kind 

 enough to say that The Strawberry in- 

 struction and advice lies at the bottom of 

 their success. Let us help each other to 

 even greater things, for by working and 

 studying together we shall be able to 

 accomplish wonders. 



\. J. I., South Attleboro, Mass. Have just 

 moved on a farm and being interested in 

 poultry, thought I would start in the straw- 

 berry business also and would like to ask a 

 few questions: Would hen manure be all 

 right to use as a fertilizer; when would I have 

 to put it on and how much? 

 2. About what time in the fall will I have to 

 plow the land? 



We note that you are interested in 

 poultry and that you purpose to go into 

 the growing of strawberries. This will 

 make a valuable addition to your poultry 

 business. We have many customers 

 growing strawberries in connection with 

 chickens, and they are making money, too. 



1. There is nothing better than chicken 

 droppings for strawberries. You should 



compost them with an equal amount of 

 soil. T his compost should be spread on 

 top of the ground after it has been thor- 

 oughly broken up, and then thoroughly 

 mixed with the soil before plants are set. 

 This is a very strong fertilizer and should 

 be applied thinly. 



2. The plowing of your land should 

 be done either the latter part of Septem- 

 ber or the first of October. If you could 

 plow in September and then sow about 

 five pecks of rye to the acre, the rye 

 would help hold the plant food until 

 spring. When this is done you could 

 scatter the chicken droppings on top of 

 the rye during the winter months. 



J. J. B., Wirt, Ind. When my berries first 

 began putting out runners, I thought I would 

 allow them to make what they would and use 

 the extra runners this fall in resetting one 

 patch that was almost entirely lost last spring, 

 as a result of early drouth and late setting. 

 But the extremely dry hot weather has con- 

 tinued since April until just recently. This 

 being true, the runners have not rooted suf- 

 ficiently, I fear, to risk setting this fall. So 

 I have almost concluded to use the Planet Jr. 

 disc and cut off a large portion of the runners, 

 thus narrowing the rows to a narrow-matted 

 row. My intentions were to follow your in- 

 structions, using only single and double hedge 

 rows. But the weather remains yet very 

 warm, and I fear to remove so many runners 

 at once would injure the mother plants, as 

 they look somewhat worsted from the drouth 

 and having to support so many runners. I 

 fear I have made a serious mistake in allowing 

 the mother plants to put out so many runners, 

 but kept thinking all the time it would soon 

 rain; then they would take root, and I would 

 then clip the runner plants from the mother 

 plants, thus relieving the mother plant. I 

 would appreciate your advice very much as 

 touching the method I should use in the 

 above. I am surprised at the vigor of the 

 plants, considering the drouth, though I have 

 kept a fine dust mulch all summer. 



It is all right for you to allow the 

 plants to make a large number of runners 

 so that you may secure enough sets to fill 

 in the vacancies in your other bed of 

 plants. The continued drought undoubt- 

 edly is the cause of so many of your plants 

 having failed to grow. The resetting of 

 these plants should be done the latter 

 part of September and the work should 

 be done immediately after a rain, when 

 the soil is full of moisture. In taking up 

 the plants leave quite a little soil on the 

 roots, as this will prevent their being 



Page 203 



checked in growth. If you decide to re- 

 mo\e the runner plants now, it will not 

 injure the mother plant, provided you cut 

 them off with shears or a knife. Culti- 

 vating once each week assists wonderfully 

 in carrying plants through a dry season, 

 and we are glad to know you have main- 

 tained a dust mulch. This is why your 

 plants display so much vigor after so try- 

 ing an experience. 



^ <^ 



M. A., Driscoll, N. D. When is the best 

 time to cut the leaves and stems off strawberry 

 vines — fall or spring? 



2. Are coffee grounds food for strawberry 

 vines? If so, when should they be used? 



In regard to removing the foliage from 

 your strawberry plants: It is unnecessary 

 to do this save after the first crop is picked; 

 in your locality this would be from the 

 5th to the 10th of July. The reason we 

 urge growers to mow the vines oft after 

 the fruiting season and burn the bed over 

 is for the purpose of destroying insects 

 and fungous spores. 



2. There is no value to cofFee 

 grounds. However, we do not think 

 they would do the plants any injury. 



C. O., Plant City, Fla. On page 182 Septem- 

 ber issue of The Strawberry I see A. L. E., 

 Birmingham, Ala., asks about growing ber- 

 ries after onions. Now I had an experience 

 last spring. I received some plants late in 

 March that I had ordered for earlier deliv ery 

 and when they came I had no ground ready 

 for them, and as it was late I did not think 

 they would do much. But I had some land 

 in onions and I planted the strawberries be- 

 tween every other row of onions. They did 

 not do much as long as the onions were in the 

 ground, but just as soon as I got the onions 

 off and worked them out you ought to have 

 seen them grow. So I think if friend A. L. 

 E. will plant his onion rows so he can plant 

 every other row with berries, he can get his 

 crop of onions and also his berry patch. 

 2. I see that you advise the use of muriate 

 of potash for berries. Now this is something 

 new to me, as all the authorities I have seen 

 advise the use of sulfate of potash for fruits 

 and vegetables. But the muriate is a good 

 deal cheaper, and if it will give as good re- 

 sults as the sulfate I would like to know it. 



We are pleased to have your exper- 

 ience with strawberries grown in the 

 onion bed, as many of our readers have 

 small gardens and will find in your account 

 matter of large interest. It will doubt- 

 less encourage a more profitable way of 



