The Growing Plants 
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The Plan 
FOR BEST RESULTS WITH EVERBEARERS 
USE THE SAWDUST MULCH SPACED PLANT SYSTEM 
The Ohio Experiment Station reported 
7,000 quarts per acre the first year with 
Superfection grown under this system. 
Iowa Station reported yields even larger 
than Ohio. In Kentucky the Experiment 
Station reported, with irrigation, 14,000 
quarts per acre the first year with Super- 
fection and Gem. 
During the last few years many growers 
in many states have verified the outstand- 
ing results obtainable by the sawdust 
mulch spaced plant system in growing 
everbearers, first reported a few years 
ago by the Ohio Station. 
A brief summary of the Ohio Station re- 
port is given below. 
The Ohio Station report states that the 
latest development in_everbearing straw- 
berry production demonstrates that the 
largest yields, greatest ease and economy 
of operation and highest profits are to be 
secured by following a 4-row bed type 
planting system. (See diagram and pic- 
ture.) 
In this system the plants are set one 
foot apart in rows which are one foot 
apart. A two foot alley or middle is left 
between each 4-row bed. The 4-row sys- 
tem produces high yields in August, 
which are maintained during the remain- 
der of the season. 
The plants should be set just as early 
in the spring as the land can be prepared 
—late March or early April. The first 
crop of weeds will usually appear within 
two or three weeks after planting. These 
should be controlled by hoeing. After 
this first hoeing the entire area should be 
covered with a layer of sawdust one inch 
thick. This mulch is very important for 
30 
conserving soil moisture and suppressing 
weed growth. Later weeds, if any, must 
be removed by pulling because hoeing 
would mix the sawdust with the soil and 
eliminate its mulch effect. 
All blossoms which develop on the 
new set plants should be removed until 
early June or a week or two later if plant 
growth has not been quite vigorous. Af 
ter fruit production starts berries may be 
harvested about twice each week until 
frost stops growth in October. The saw- 
dust mulch helps to conserve soil mois- 
ture during late summer. If an extended 
drought occurs the crop can be greatly in- 
creased in size and quality by the use of 
irrigation. All runners should be removed 
from the plants as fast as they develop. 
This is essential if highest yields are to 
be secured. 
“The sawdust mulch appears to give 
adequate protection over the winter pe- 
tiod. A thin renewal layer may be needed 
in the fall if the spring application was 
too light. A full inch of mulch should be 
maintained.” 
The spaced-plant sawdust mulch sys- 
tem comes high per acre, with more 
plants and much hand labor réquired, 
but numerous Ohio growers have demon- 
strated in small and medium sized plant- 
ings that a carefully managed patch will 
give high profits. 
This Ohio system and variations of it 
have been used in recent years in many 
other states to enable growers to get far 
more satisfaction from Everbearers then 
they did before. 
