Sea ALLEN’s Book OF BERRIES — 1929 
Cultural Directions 
Selecting and Preparing the Land. No one should hesitate to set straw- 
berry plants on account of climate or soil. They are grown successfully in 
semi-tropical Florida and as far north as Canada and Alaska. 
They are grown successfully on light sandy types of soil and on heavy 
clay soil, altho, like most other crops, they respond very quickly to fertile, 
well drained soils that are full of humus and retentive of moisture. 
If your neighbors or others in your locality can grow strawberries, you 
can, too. But even if no one in your section does grow them, that is no 
reason why you should not attempt it. It may even be an added reason why 
you should, because it might leave a better market for your crop or surplus 
over what you need for home use. 
In selecting a soil, keep in mind that any good garden soil will produce 
strawberries successfully. If planting a larger acreage, it is well to select a 
field that has been planted to some hoed crop such as potatoes, beans, cab- 
bage, where the growth of grass and weeds has been kept down and not 
allowed to go to seed. 
It is also well to remember that one of the most essential requirements 
for strawberries at fruiting time is plenty of moisture. Any soil that has 
had good crops of cowpeas, clover, rye, or any other cover crop turned under 
will be full of humus and therefore more retentive of moisture, as well as 
looser and more easily worked in the case of heavier soils. 
Sod land should be avoided if possible as the white grubs winter over in 
such land and cut off the young plants soon after they are set the following 
spring. If you have no other land available, plow the land in the fall, har- 
rowing it during the winter and early spring as often as you can, and many 
of the grubs will be killed out. 
The land selected should be plowed in early spring. If the field has been 
selected the preceding fall and rye planted, a heavy sod of rye plowed under 
in early spring will help, altho, of course, it is not necessary. After the 
ground is plowed in the spring it should be harrowed thoroughly. If stable 
manure is to be used (see manure and fertilizer below) we like it best spread 
broadcast on the land just after it is plowed. Then the land, either with or 
without the manure, should be disced thoroughly, and, if necessary, dragged 
to level it up so that a nice, soft, even planting bed is available. 
Our ideal one year’s preparation for a given piece of land for strawber- 
ries would be to broadcast the land as heavily as possible for the preceding 
crop. In this section, that crop would be sweet potatoes, because they are 
usually kept free of weeds and grass, and when dug there is a very helpful 
quantity of leaves and vines left in the ground. If dug early, there is also 
opportunity to plant rye and have a good sod to turn under in spring. The 
special point we want to make here is that the residual effect of stable manure 
(especially if quite coarse) applied to previous crop has given us just as good 
(perhaps better) results as when applied same year plants are set. 
Another point. If you want to plant strawberries and have no field fol- 
lowing a hoed crop available, plow down grass and weeds before they go to 
seed and while they are still green. Green weeds and grass plowed under 
are valuable in adding humus and retaining moisture, but dried out growth 
is of little benefit. If this kind of land is used, though, watch the hoeing 
closely the following summer. 
