MARKETING 



Marketing — This should receive very careful 

 consideratit)!! as it is one of the major items in re- 

 lation to your {)rofit. Of course every grower 

 irnist work out his luarlietinj,' method to meet his 

 or her particular requirements, liowever, tlie method 

 used should be the one that will realize the very 

 best i)rice for the cro)). Should you have a nearby 

 market and your acreage is not too large, by all 

 means retail your berries, in this Avay you save the 

 transportation co«ts and the middleman's profit 

 goes into your own i>ocket. These are two large 

 items and should not be expended unless no other 

 course is available. Of course, with a large acreage 

 or when markets are at considerable distance the 

 large wholesale markets must be used. 



If you are located close to a well traveled high- 

 way, a roadside stand should solve your marketing 

 l)robl(.'m nicely as you will be able to dispose of 

 your borries and some oilier products at good 

 prices and eliminate the trouble and expense of 

 iianling to some nearby city or town. Then there 

 are giocery stores, hotels, and your own private 

 cust<>mers, any or all of these may fit into your 

 marketing program. Whaiever method you decitle 

 on bear in mind that It I'ays To Advertise. .Grade 

 your berries carefully. Give good full measure. 



grow varieties that are sweet and good and above 

 all let people know you have them. But do not fall 

 down on your grading no matter how many orders 

 you have to turn down. If you do, all the time and 

 effort you have spent in building u,) a reputation 

 as a grower of quality berries will quickly be lost. 



When shipping to the wholesale markets grad- 

 ing is just as important as when selling locally. 

 The transportation costs are the same, crates and 

 picking the same, whether the berries are of the 

 very best quality or are poor, but there will be a 

 great difference in the returns from fancy berries 

 and just ordinary ones. There is always enough 

 spread on wholesale markets so that by command- 

 ing top (luotations your berries will show a nice 

 margin of profit. 



If you ship to a commission house or do not 

 sell for cash don't fail to iniiuire into the financial 

 standing of the people to whom you sell. This will 

 re()uire very little time and may be the means (»f 

 preventing the loss of both your time and money. 

 The same is true of the nursery from whom you 

 purchase your stock, look tliem up too, make sure 

 they are reliable, and have a reputation of shii)ping 

 only strong, healthy, true to name stock. This will 

 be time well spent. 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE 



Often jou may liavo road of Secret Methods for raising" Strawl)erries. Well, the secret is 

 the same as applies to any other crop, suitable soil, jrood plants, i)roper fertilization and 

 clean, thorough cultivation. Anyone can grow berries sncc(?ssfully by following these simple 

 directions. jNlost experienced growers follow this same procedure and have been doing so for 

 years. 



In strawberry culture, as with most other crops, there are a few seemingly unimportant 

 operations that are really of major importance in relation to the success of the enterprise. 

 AVe wish to call your attention to the paragra[)hs under Soil Selection. Preparing Land, Time 

 to Plant and Fertilize and Manure. These operations are of major importance and should be 

 given special attention. 



Adaptability: Th(» strawberry is the most vor- 

 sntiie fruit grown and is successful from Florida to 

 California, and can be grown on almost any soil 

 tliat will retain surri<-ient moisture to mature the 

 the fruit. Tin; ada|)iability of each variety for cer- 

 tain latitudes make this wide range possible. 



Soil Selection : To produce the maximum yield 

 the selection of suitable soil is of major imi»ort- 

 nnce. As strawberries draw very heavily on mois- 

 ture at fruiting tinie and if there is not sufficient 

 present, the crop will lie «-ut down materially, tlie 

 soil selected sh<)uld bo retentive of moisture, should 

 contain an abundance of humus and at tlie same 

 time have good drainage. These are the essentials 

 of good strawberry soil. In sections where the 

 Avhite grub is i)revaient. the soil selected for ber- 

 ries should have been planted to truck croi)s that 

 liad thorough cultivatitui for two years, previous 

 to setting tiie berry ])lauts. Soil that has been 

 )>lauted to truck crops is preferable in all cases 

 as the clean cultivation given the preceeding crop 

 Avili cut down the oresence of weed seed and the 

 soil will be in better mechanical condition. Newly 

 plowed sod land should be avoided as it may be 

 badly infested with white grub and at best it is 

 rough and hard to get in any sort of condition. 

 If no other land is available, plow in the fall and 

 disc or harrow several times during the winter 

 and spring. This will aid in getting the soil in 

 better condition and most of the grubs will be 

 killed out. 



I'reparins the "Land: When conditions permit it 

 is well to plow down a cover crop of rye and vetch 

 or t)tlier cover crop suitable for your section, of 

 course, this is not necessary, but it will add much 

 liunius to the soil which will increase the fertility 

 and aid in retaining moisture. If the land should i>e 

 covered with grass or weed-;, these should be i)low- 

 ed down while green when they will :uUl much 

 humus to I he soil and tlie seed will not likely germ- 

 in.ite. but if pennilicd lo die I lie growl h is of little 

 value and the seed will make constant Imeing neces- 

 sary. Tile land selei-ted should be idnwi>d as early 

 as )i(»ssible in the spring and disced or harrowed 

 tlioroughly until a firm, cm-u plant bed is obtained. 



Tiim> To IMaiit: IOx))erience has taught us Early 

 Spring is the very best time to plant. When the 



plants are dormant they withstand digging, ship- 

 Iting and transiilanting better, start growing (piick- 

 er and are much more vigorous than when planted 

 after the growth h:is started. Early runner jdants 

 are much more i.roiluctive than those made in the 

 summer or fall, thus by early planting your patch 

 will be more j.rodnctive. It costs no more to 

 plant early than late thus there is no reason why 

 everyone should imt enjov the beneficial results 

 of Early Planting. Eight frosts, that do not heave 

 the ground will not damage the plants. April is 

 the projier time lo set pl.-iiits in the Northern 

 States, in the Central States March and early April 

 and in the Southern States from November 1 until 

 April 1. Ee sure to have your order in early so 

 that the plants will be at liand when your ground 

 is ready. 



This is one of the great advantages we can offer 

 yon. Our climate is such that we can furiiish you 

 liard.v. fresh dug i)Iants promptlj' any time from 

 Oct. l.jth to Miiy 1st., whereas Northern plant 

 growers are often unable lo dig until your plants 

 should have been in the ground. Then too. our 

 plants are permitted to go through the winter un- 

 protected and are therefore more hardy than plants 

 grown where conditions make mulching necessary. 



Caro of Plants: Plants should be set as soon as 

 received. If for any reason you are unable to set 

 them for three or four days the plants should be 

 removed from the crate and the roots and moss 

 dampened, replaced in the crate and stored where 

 it is cool, iireferably in a cellar. Should you ex- 

 liect to hold the plants for a longer period it is 

 better to heal them in the ground. The roots 

 should be dampened, the bundles opened and the 

 plants hee!ed in a V-shaiied trench with the crowns : 

 even with the ground, and the soil packed firmly 

 around the roots, if desirable they may be heeled! 

 in several layers with a few inches of s«)il be-! 

 tween each row. Ey healing the i)lants in a shady 

 place and keeping the soil moist they will keep 

 in perfect condition for two or three week-*, 

 r.e sure to have the plants well spread out so that 

 the soil will come in contact with all the roots. 



rianting: There are many methods of settint 

 plants and of course you should use the one bust, 

 suited lo your neeils. 'I'he main object is t«) Ii:iv( 

 the roots straight down and spread out fau sliaye'i 



