Catskill — The most profitable midseason berry 
Strawberries Pay 
Year in and year out we believe that strawberries will pay as well as any other crop and far 
better than most. Just how much can be expected per acre will vary widely depending on the 
fertility of the soil, the variety used, cultural methods, weather conditions (especially the amount 
of moisture at fruiting time) and the market. We believe that growers well located, on suitable 
land, and with a fair market have reason to expect a profit of $200.00 to $400.00 per acre if they 
intelligently make use of all the factors under their control. Much of this Berry Book has been 
written with the idea of helping the grower determine what these factors are, and how to control 
or influence them. 
However, to give a basis for figuring we feel that under average conditions, with good soil, 
good varieties and proper care, growers can count on from three to ten thousand quarts per acre. 
From $100 to $175 per acre should cover the cost of growing the crop, including plants, land rent, 
fertilizer, labor hire and fair wages for the growers' time. Cost of crates and picking will vary, 
but will average about 1%4 per quart for crate and baskets and 1%C to 3<? per quart for picking. 
Except in years of extremely low prices these figures seem to leave room for a nice profit. 
2800 Quarts from One-fourth Acre in a Dry Year 
Gloucester Co., Va., October 5th, 1936. I got 
from you last year strawberry plants for one 
fourth an acre of Fairfax and Dorsett. With the 
driest spring- on record I picked 2800 quarts. I 
shipped them to Baltimore and the wholesale 
market. The least I got was $4.50, that to $6.00 
a crate and my commission man called me up 
every day and said I had the best berry that 
came to Baltimore. I don't know which is the 
best, Fairfax or Dorsett. Fairfax is about three 
days later. Every plant lived and they were the 
nicest plants I ever got. I have bought from 
several nurseries but your plants are the best. — 
Mr. Walter J. Hogge. 
Over 10 7 000 Quarts Per Acre 
Carroll Co., Ind., February 1st, 1936. — My ber- 
ries last year made at the rate of slightly over 
10,000 quarts per acre. I had 1/10 acre which 
made me 182.00. — Mr. Chester A. Kuns. 
Planning for Profit 
1. Have some berries every year. The most 
successful strawberry growers keep at it year 
after year. With berries every year you can get 
by in bad seasons, make a profit in average years 
and real money in good years with high prices. 
Jumping in and out of the game is not good 
business. Too often this means plenty of berries 
when prices are low and none when they are 
high. 
2. No erop shows a profit every year, but we 
believe strawberries offer an opportunity for 
larger and more consistent profits than any other 
widely grown and easily grown crop. Cotton 
growers in the south, dairy farmers, poultrymen, 
stockmen, vegetable growers, and others, might 
find an acre or two of strawberries highly profit- 
able in connection with their regular line. It is 
for each grower to decide, but improved varieties 
and better methods make strawberries a good 
bet at this time. 
3. Select some of your best land. You will put 
relatively a large amount of labor and expect 
relatively a large return from your strawberries. 
Do not waste your money and labor on poor land. 
Give your strawberries some of the best, and 
give it careful preparation. 
4. Set fancy high-yielding varieties best suited 
to your purpose. We have tried to tell you the 
honest truth about all our varieties. We have 
summarized our conclusions on page 32 under 
"Picking the Winners." It should not be hard 
for anyone to know what to plant to get the 
best, and it is this kind that brings the highest 
prices. 
5. Grow as many as you can handle properly 
but no more. The amount of other work you are 
attempting to do, the amount of land you have 
available, the locality in which you live, and the 
methods you intend to use in marketing would 
all have a bearing on this question. A half acre 
field on good land, well cared for and handled 
properly in marketing might well give more 
profit than twice the acreage poorly cared for. 
6. Get good, dependable, well-rooted, true-to- 
name plants. A good start is important in grow- 
ing a good crop. 
7. Better methods. On page 13 we discuss 
results from saving early runner plants, from 
spacing or restricting formation of late runners, 
and from fertilizing to build up a large leaf area 
per plant in the fall. We believe these things 
have a definite place in any program of growing 
berries for profit. 
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