Picking Catskill in the Three-acre Field Which Yielded 32,000 Quarts in 1935 



Picking and Packing 



Careful picking can make a thing- of beauty out 

 of a quart of fancy strawberries. It can make 

 ordinary berries very salable. Careless picking- 

 can reduce the value of fancy berries and make 

 unprofitable less fancy but otherwise marketable 

 berries. Careful picking will pay. 



Avoid green sides and tips by selecting varie- 

 ties that ripen evenly and without green tips. 



Have the pickers discard undersized berries 

 and those which have soft or rotten spots (espe- 

 cially after a heavy. rain). 



Dirty or gritty berries (after rains) can be 

 largely avoided by using a mulch which is even 

 more effective if plants have been spaced so the 

 mulch can be worked down between the plants. 



Berries look best in the package when the caps 

 are left on and from one-quarter to three-quar- 

 ters of an inch of stem is left. 



Bruising- and mashing berries detract from 

 their value and can be avoided by careful picking 

 and handling. 



Well-filled packages not only make the buyer 

 feel that he is getting his money's worth (even at 

 a higher price) but they actually make the 

 berries show up better. 



After being picked berries should be carried to 

 the packing shed in a relatively short time. One 

 hour's exposure in the hot sunshine will some- 

 times ruin an otherwise fancy quart of berries. 



In packing, face the berries some if you must 

 but not too much, as a reputation for an honest 

 pack will help you sell on any kind of a market. 



Clean, bright packages will make your fruit 

 more attractive to the buyer than dirty, soiled 

 packages. Improved types of crates which do not 

 cut and bruise the berries as much are being de- 

 veloped. If available it may pay you to try them 



nut. 



Opportunities 



Part-time jobs may be profitably rounded out 

 with strawberries. A small acreage can be made 

 to do so much that a minimum of land is neces- 

 sary. If no land of your own is available perhaps 

 a, neighbor would rent you that vacant lot. 

 fertile land is best and rank weed growth indi- 

 cates fertile land. Mr. Thomas Weller of Grant 

 Z!o., Ind., writes, "I made big profits from a small 

 xcreage of strawberries in 1935. I expect to plant 

 -our city lots next spring in Dorsett and Fair- 

 fax." 



Little money is needed to start a strawberry 

 garden or a small berry business. A few simple 

 :ools, a small outlay for fertilizer, and the plants, 

 vhich were never more reasonable in price than 

 tow. Also, strawberries yield quicker returns 

 ind bring in money earlier in the season than 

 my other fruit crop. 



Marketing 



Advertise. Especially for local markets a 

 small ad in your local paper or a sign in front 

 of your farm may bring telephone orders or even 

 farm buyers to your place in such numbers to 

 take your whole crop. "We have many reports 

 where this is done. Try to have a fancy, high 

 quality product. If you can, selling will be much 

 easier. 



Roadside Market. If on or near a well-traveled 

 highway try a roadside market. Many growers 

 are successfully disposing of their crops of 

 strawberries as well as other things by this 

 method. It is surprising how many automobilists 

 like to buy fruits and vegetables right on the 

 farm. On our own roadside market we have 

 many regular customers who drive out from town 

 in the afternoon to buy at the farm. Others 

 traveling through on business or for pleasure 

 notice the market and stop to buy on their return, 

 sometimes days later. Attractive products, espe- 

 cially fruits, will be bought by tourists to enjoy 

 as they travel. Unless you have a market already 

 developed look into the possibility of a roadside 

 market. Like many others, we were amazed at 

 the results from our own, even the first year. 

 Perhaps you will be. 



Hotels and Grocery Stores. It is an old truth 

 that any produce well grown and well packed 

 is half sold. "We have many reports from cus- 

 tomers that they dispose of all they can grow 

 to such outlets, much of it being engaged even 

 before it is harvested. 



Wholesale Markets. If you are well situated 

 from a standpoint of land and labor to grow 

 considerable acreages of strawberries, keep in 

 mind that the motor truck or train will quickly 

 put your berries to the large "Wholesale Markets. 

 Even in seasons of low prices, the price range 

 is wide enough so that if you can get top quota- 

 tions there is almost always margin enough to 

 allow you a fair profit. 



A sample makes a sale. "We are positive that 

 on the roadside market, in a local grocery store, 

 or to the actual consumer, a sample of any prod- 

 uct of superior quality will help sell it. This is 

 true even on the wholesale markets. Try it with 

 varieties like Fairfax and Dorsett especially, also 

 with Big Joe, Catskill, Chesapeake and "William 

 Belt. 



A brand or label will help if you are selling in 

 any quantity. Sell only a high grade product 

 under your brand name. "We have developed a 

 real demand for our Dorsett, Fairfax and Catskill 

 berries in Philadelphia and New York. They 

 were identified by variety and label and were 

 often sold before the actual shipments arrived. 



