CULTIVATING, HOEING AND SPRAYING IN A COMMERCIAL STRAWBERRY FIELD 



Intensive Strawberry Culture-- Importance of Adopting a System 



By Frank E. Beatty 



HAVE you decided upon the system 

 you intend to follow in growing 

 strawberries this season? What 

 is your decision? Hills, single- 

 hedge, double-hedge, narrow or wide mat- 

 ted row? It is very important that you 

 decide upon the kind of row you prefer 

 before runners start forming abundantly. 

 If hills are your choice no runners should 

 be allowed to make plants. 1 hey should 

 be cut or pinched off before the node de- 

 velops into a plant. It does not matter 

 whether you cut the runners close to the 

 mother plant or just back of the node. 

 When the single-hedge row is wanted, 

 each mother plant should be permitted to 

 make two strong runners. Layer one on 

 each side directly in the row. By placing 

 soil on the runner cord uist back of the node 

 it will hold the rimner in place, also hold 

 moisture until the little plant takes root. 

 In case a mother plant fails to grow, leav- 

 ing a vacancy, then the two mother plants 

 on each side of this vacancy, should make 

 two runners and each runner allowed to 

 make enough plants to reach across this 

 vacant spot, so as to maintain 

 a continuous line of plants. 

 Or if an occasional mother 

 plant appears less strong and 

 vigorous than the others, the 

 mother plant on either side 

 may make two runners each, 

 and each of these ruuners be 

 allowed to make plants enuu'jh 

 to reach to the weaker mother 

 plant. Do not allow the weak 

 plant to make anv runners at 

 all. 



The double-hedge row is 

 made by allov\ingeach mother 

 plant to send out four strong 

 runners each, and these run- 

 ners can make one or two 

 plants each, depending upon 

 the space between the mother 

 plants. If the mother plants 

 were set twenty inches apart 

 in the row, then allow each 

 runner to set one plant only, 

 if the distance from one moth- 

 er plant to the other is thirty 

 inches, each runner may set 

 two plants, layering the run- 



ners zig-zag or X fashion. While this is 

 known as the double-hedge row, yet there 

 are really three rows in one. 1 he mother 

 plants make the center row, and the run- 

 ner plants the two outside rows. The 

 width of a double-hedge itself should be 

 about one foot. I mean one foot from 

 one outside edge of the plants to the other 

 outside edge. 



If there is a vacancy follow the same 

 course as with the single-hedge row. 



The narrow matted row should be made 

 by allowing each mother plant to make 

 about six runners, and each one of these 

 should set two plants. Spread the runners 

 so that the plants will set about si.x inches 

 apart. This will give each one plenty of 

 room to develop itself. The wide matted 

 row is not a desirable way to grow choice 

 berries, but some growers insist upon fol- 

 lowing this system. The mother plants 

 should be set thirty inches apart in the 

 row, and the rows should be four feet 

 apart. This gixes plenty of room each 

 way to spread runners so that the plants 

 will not be crowded. Do not expcet to 



get fancy berries by the matted-row sys- 

 tem. 



Whichever of these systems is followed, 

 after the desired number of young plants 

 are layered to make up the row, the bal- 

 ance of the runners should be treated as 

 weeds. Cut them off with roller runner- 

 cutter or hoe or pinch them off. Some 

 growers use a knife or shears for this 

 work. 



For choice fancy berries and lots of 

 them, I prefer the double-hedge row, with 

 plants well spread. Now just a few don'ts 

 before closing: 



Don't allow mother plants to make 

 runners until they are well established and 

 are making a vigorous growth. 



Don't lose any time in layering the 

 runners after the node begins to swell. 



Don't start to grow the single-hedge 

 row and get careless and let it run into a 

 matted row. 



Don't wait until your plants have 

 matted thickly and then try to get single 

 or double-hedge row. 



Don't jerk runners off by the handful. 



SCENE IN THE STRAWBERRY PATCH OF D. B. LACEY, MAYLENE, ALA. 



Page 141 



