28 
COMMON SENSE METHODS FOR GROWING 
GOOD STRAWBERRY CROPS 
Experience, though valuable, is not neces- 
sary. Common sense methods enable even 
the beginner to grow strawberries successfully. 
CLIMATE 
All forty-eight states of this country as well as Canada 
and Alaska on the north and several countries farther 
south produce strawberries successfully. In the far 
South, berries ripen and are shipped during the winter. 
Far north they bear in midsummer. The greater bulk of 
the crop comes in during April, May and June from the . 
temperate regions. With varieties adapted to these 
different sections, no one need hestitate to plant straw- 
berries because of climatic conditions. 
SOIL AND SITE 
Any good garden soil can be expected to 
produce satisfactory crops of strawberries. 
The ideal soil for strawberries is a fertile, deep, well- 
drained sandy loam. They are grown successfully on 
lighter sandy soils as well as on heavy clay. All of the 
soil types are made more suitable by adding organic 
matter, whether in the form of stable manure or green 
manure crops. Adequate moisture is very essential. 
Organic matter added to any soil types increases the 
water-holding capacity. Some soils are naturally 
springy, others may have plenty of moisture by reason 
of a low elevation and high water table. 
In regions where late frosts are frequent, a slight slope 
is desirable to give good air drainage. A southern slope, 
being warmer, will start growth quicker and bring the 
crop into bearing earlier, but for that very reason is more 
subject to late frosts. A northern slope, on the contrary, 
will be later, but less likely to be injured by late frosts. 
On sites where erosion starts quickly, the rows should 
be planted with the contour of the slope rather than up 
and down. In regions where late frosts are not usually 
a serious factor, many fields of low elevation make ideal 
strawberry sites. 
If land that has been used for hoed crops is selected, it 
will simplify the problem of keeping weeds and grass 
out of the strawberry patch. 
Although several successive crops of strawberries are 
sometimes grown on the same land successfully, it is 
not considered good practice and the site should be 
changed every few years if posible. 
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 it in the fall, 
harrow it during the winter and early spring as often as 
you can, and many of the grubs will be killed out. 
Selection of a site on a North slope together with ade- 
quate mulching may delay ripening as much as a week 
or more. Berries coming on after the bulk of the crop 
has been harvested might bring much better prices. 
PREPARING THE LAND 
A mellow, friable soil in a good state of tilth is desir- 
able for strawberries and helpful in getting good results. 
73% of strawberry plant roots are in the top three inches 
of soil, 90% in the top six inches. It is easy to see the 
importance of having these few inches of topsoil in as 
good condition as possible. 
The land should be plowed in late winter or spring. 
If a rye or other sod cover crop has been grown, the soil 
will work up better if the sod is disced thoroughly before 
plowing. After plowing, disc again if necessary and 
harrow land to level it so that a nice soft even planting 
bed is formed. The rows can then be marked off and 
plants set at desired distances. 
If commercial fertilizers are to be used in the row 
under the plants, the rows should be run out three or 
four inches deep. Fertilizer is then applied and thor- 
oughly worked in, after which the soil is thrownback 
into the furrows and again levelled off with drag or rake. 
ORGANIC MATTER 
Soils well filled with organic matter are essential for 
big crops of strawberries. Barnyard manure and green 
crops turned under are the main sources of organic 
matter. More important than the fertility they contain 
is their effect on the moisture holding capacity of the 
soil. 
Barnyard Manure 
applied to soil (10-20 tons per acre) is the best possible 
treatment for strawberries. On light soils is should be 
broadcast in fall, winter, or very early spring after plow- 
ing, and then disced in thoroughly. On heavy soils it 
may be better to broadcast first and plow the manure 
under. Very satisfactory results are usually had if a 
heavy application has been made to the previous crop. 
Coarse strawy manure is also used with good results as 
a mulch to cover fruiting beds. 
Green Manure Crops. 
For summer crops, peas, beans, some clovers, lespedeza, 
sowed field corn, or a rank growth of weeds and grass 
may be used. For winter crops, rye, wheat, oats, etc. 
are good. Legumes are best if you can get a heavy 
growth— although strawberries following soybeans do 
not do well. We like best for this latitude, cowpeas for 
summer, rye for winter. 
We Recommend for You 
the crops that will make the heaviest growth. Summer 
green manure crops should be plowed under when they 
have the greatest amount of green growth and before 
maturing seed. Green growth rots quickly and the 
absence of seed makes cultivation simpler. Of course 
winter crops like rye, when grown for strawberries, must 
be plowed or disced in late winter or very early spring. 
This is necessary to get the land ready to set the berry 
plants as early as they should be set. 
CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS 
Soils that are naturally fertile or have had frequent 
applications of barnyard manure may show no bene- 
ficial effect from any chemical fertilizer. A rank healthy 
growth of plants with vigorous dark green foliage is 
evidence that it is not needed. 
When fertilizers are indicated, we recom- 
mend as a plant grower and starter 
600 lbs. per acre of 5-10-0 
This is for use in the drill before the plants or as a side 
dressing applied after setting. .Broadcasting before or 
after setting will do no harm but is not economical for 
this crop. The 5% of nitrogen may vary from 3-6% and 
the 10% of phosphorous from 8-12%. Any or all of the 
following can be used satisfactorily to make up this 
mixture. Dissolved bone, tankage, cottonseed meal, 
dried blood, fish— superphosphate, steamed bone, bone 
meal. In fact, most any phosphorus or organic source 
of nitrogen is O.K. Do not use salts of either potash or 
nitrogen (such as nitrate of soda, etc.) where they can 
come in direct contact with the roots of strawberry 
plants. They will surely injure or kill in dry seasons— 
possibly even where plenty of moisture is available. 
For fruiting beds we recommend 
600 lbs. per acre of 6-8-2 
For best results this application should be made in 
late August or early September. These figures are not 
exact. A variation up or down in the amount to be 
applied as well as the percentage of Nitrogen, Phos- 
phorus and Potash may be entirely satisfactory. 
It is most important to apply this mixture when the 
foliage is thoroughly dry and to brush off promptly any 
material which lodges on the leaves. The nitrogen may 
be made up from nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, 
tankage, fish, in fact any regular nitrogen fertilizer in- 
cluding some organic and some inorganic sources. 
Phosphorus from dissolved bone or superphosphate. 
Potash from muriate of potash. 
Nitrogen is the most important of these fertilizer ele- 
ments. Phosphorus also is generally helpful. We have 
not had much, if any, response from potash but have 
included a small percentage as insurance because of 
the good results claimed from its use by some others. 
The main reason for suggesting late summer applica- 
tions to fruiting beds is that if applied then the nitrogen 
stimulates fruit bud formation and strong crown 
development. Spring applictions are more likely to 
make merely a rank vegetative growth. For this reason 
very weak beds or second year beds may sometimes 
respond satisfactorily to spring applications. 
