Common Sense Methods 
for 
Growing Good Strawberry Crops 
Experience, though valuable, is not necessary. 
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 sucessfully. In the 
far South, berries ripen and are shipped during the win- 
ter. Far north they bear in midsummer, the greater bulk 
of the crop from the temperate regions coming in during 
April, May and June. With varieties adapted to these 
different sections, no one need hesitate to plant straw- 
berries because of climatic conditions. 
Soil and Site 
Any good garden soil can be expected to pro- 
duce 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. 
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. This is 
especially true of the Coastal Plains section where the 
soil is largely of the sandy loam type and by reason of 
the low elevation has a water table fairly close to the 
surface. In these areas open ditches properly managed 
usually give satisfactory drainage. 
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 possible. 
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. 
Preparing the Land 
As with other crops, a loose friable soil in a good state 
of tilth is desirable for strawberries. In fact, on land 
that is moderately fertile a good mechanical condition 
of the soil may be just as important as an extra applica- 
tion of manure or fertilizer. 
The roots of strawberry plants rarely penetrate 
further than one foot into the soil. It has been found 
that 90% were in the top six inches of soil with 73% of 
the roots in the top three inches. This emphasizes the 
importance of having these few inches of top soil in as 
good condition as possible for best results. 
The matter of drainage, moisture-holding capacity 
and fertility are the important factors to consider if the 
location of -^'anting strawberries has not been selected 
in advance. If selected the previous year, a green 
manure crop can be plowed under in the summer and 
an early winter cover crop such as rye planted and 
plowed in early spring. Stable manure applied to the 
previous crop is still good for strawberries, although it 
can be applied to advantage in the winter or spring 
before planting. The land selected should be plowed in 
early spring. If stable manure is to be used it should 
be spread broadcast on the land just after it is plowed. 
If the land used is fairly heavy clay which would make 
it difficult to get the manure disced in thoroughly, it 
may be better to plow it under. Then the land, either 
with or without the manure, should be disced thorough- 
ly and harrowed to level it so that a nice, soft, even 
planting bed is available. 
Green Manure Crops Help 
"We have never found a way to secure high yields 
of strawberries unless the soil is well filled with organic 
matter." So says Mr. R. A. Van Meter of the Massa- 
chusetts Experiment Station. We agree with that. 
Many green manure crops are available to help build 
up the organic matter. 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. The legumes 
are best if you can get a heavy crop. We like best 
for this latitude, cow peas for summer, rye for winter. 
We recommend for you the crop that will make the 
heaviest growth. All of them should be turned 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 for 
the crop following. 
Soil preparation for strawberry plants starts so early 
in the spring that a winter cover crop should be 
selected which makes the largest amount of root and 
top growth in the fall. Where strawberries are to be 
set early the following spring we prefer rye to any of 
the other crops mentioned. After a heavy sod has 
been grown the rye sod should be disced before plowing 
in order to get the ground in finer condition and make 
cultivation simpler for the strawberry plants. 
Set Plants in Spring 
-Early 
Early spring is the logical, nat- 
ural, and most successful time 
to set strawberry plants. Don't 
neglect setting some plants this 
spring, 1939, if you want a crop 
in spring or early summer, 1940. 
Fall planting (even if plants live) 
will mean little or no crop until 
the season of 1941. 
Everbearing varieties, even more 
than others, should be set early 
in the spring because they bear 
their best crop in the summer and 
fall of the same year and need the 
best possible start. 
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