1900. 
THIS RURAL NEW-YORKER 
303 
A STRAWBERRY GROWER’S NOTES. 
First I would recommend that the 
prospective grower get rid of the idea 
that a strawberry patch is a royal road 
to fortune, plant sellers and others to 
the contrary notlnvithstanding, although 
with favoring conditions of. soil, climate 
and market, the strawberry may be 
a very profitable crop. If you cannot 
grow more than 20 bushels of corn, 10 
or 12 of wheat or rye, or one ton of 
hay per acre, you would better keep 
out of this and every other branch of 
horticulture for market purposes. How¬ 
ever, it is little short of a crime for 
any man who owns land and has a 
family not to have an abundant supply 
for domestic use. 
The next thing to be considered is 
the soil. Most of us will have to make 
the best of what we have. Fortunately, 
the strawberry will grow on almost any 
soil, but for market purposes shun a 
very light sand or stiff clay, also some 
muck soils will heave too much. For 
some reason the strawberry seems to 
do the best on newly-cleared land, which 
has been cultivated only one or two 
years before being set; at least, since we 
have been compelled to use old ground, 
we have not been able to raise nearly 
so good crops. When the land was 
new we planted berries after berries. 
This worked well for a time, but soon 
we found the land became too foul and 
gave too good a chance for insect en¬ 
emies. The plan I follow at present 
is to start with a heavy sod, and, if 
I can, give it a good coat of manure 
a month or two before plowing, say 
from 10 to 15 tons per acre. After 
plowing and harrowing once, apply 
about 200 pounds muriate of potash and 
400 or 500 pounds bone and finish 
harrowing. Then plant to corn, potatoes 
or other hoed crops and keep clean. 
Keeping “clean” is pretty in theory, but 
in practice-. I have raised pig¬ 
weeds that actually measured nine feet 
in height—but don’t let a weed go 
to seed if you can help it! After the 
Summer crop is off I would plow the 
land late in the Fall an inch or two 
deeper than in the Spring. I like to 
plow about seven inches deep for the 
corn and eight inches for the berries. 
This will furnish excellent preparation 
for any kind of berry. If .the ground 
is not plowed until Spring it should be 
rolled or floated with a plank drag, then 
well harrowed when it is ready for 
planting. 
Now you want the plants. No pains 
should be spared in getting good ones, 
for with poor plants failure is assured. 
The best way is to plan a year ahead 
and grow your own. If you have not 
done this, and must plant this Spring, 
then find some one within driving dis¬ 
tance who can supply you so that the 
plants can be set the same day they are 
dug. Remember, the plants are living 
things and handle them with care. Don’t 
throw them together heads and tails, 
or allow the roots to be dried by sun 
or wind. If no plants can be got in 
this way send to some reliable nursery, 
i his is a good way to get a start in 
new varieties, but I have known f 
few beds that were a success where the 
plants were shipped in. In field culture 
the rows should be about four feet 
apart, with plants from IS to 24 inches 
apart in row, according to vigor of 
variety. To save hoeing some row both 
ways with plants 24 to 30 inches the 
narrow way and cultivate both ways 
till July, when the runners should be 
turned in and allowed to root. You 
can mark the land or use a line. Four 
people make a good “gang” to set: one 
to make holes, two to plant and one to 
dig plants. Setting the plant is one 
°f the important points. Insert the 
spade nearly the length of the blade, 
bend from you, then toward you, and 
withdraw, leaving a hole two or three 
inches wide at the top. then take your 
plant by the top, shake the roots out 
straight, step with one foot each side 
of hole, bend over, giving the plant a 
deft shake so roots will spread out like 
a fan in the hole; press sides together 
so _ they will fill at bottom first, and 
it is done. Be sure to set the plant a 
little deeper than it grew, and if the 
roots are at all dry, dip them in water 
before setting. On no account set plants 
from a bed that has fruited. 
I wish I could tell what varieties to 
plant, but the best advice I can give 
is to plant what does best with the 
growers near you, and every year test in 
a small way two or three of the most 
promising varieties and thus find what 
is best suited to your own place. My 
main crop berry is Brandywine, and 
Uncle Jim is nearly worthless. My 
neighbor _ grows Uncle Jim and thinks 
Brandywine worthless, and there you 
have it. If you have prepared and 
fertilized the land as outlined, no other 
fertilizer will be necessary the first year, 
although I like to give a good dose of 
wood ashes when* I can get them. 
Apply and harrow in before planting; 
spread near the plants and cultivate in 
or broadcast in Fall or early Spring; 
in fact, any way to get them on. I 
used from two to five tons per acre as 
long as I could get the ashes and had 
better crops and healthier beds than I 
have had since. Of course, if ashes 
can be had we don’t need the muriate. 
I have tried nitrate of soda on fruit¬ 
ing beds, as a Spring top-dressing 
several times with unsatisfactory re¬ 
sults. The heavy Spring rains seemed 
to wash it out of the soil completely. 
The best fertilizer I have found is hen 
manure, using the Summer accumula¬ 
tion for a top-dressing after growth has 
stopped in Fall, and Winter supply be¬ 
fore growth begins in Spring. The 
matted row, one to two feet wide and 
plants from three to six inches in the 
row, is the method used here and I 
think it is best for general field culture. 
When the blossoms come out on your 
newly-set bed send -the children with 
sharp scissors to clip off the buds. Our 
old rule was to keep the runners cut 
till July but since the wireworms, grubs, 
etc., have developed such an appetite 
for the plants, we root the first run¬ 
ners. During the time when the weeds 
grow best cultivate and hoe once a 
week, as we find it easier and cheaper 
to hoe four times a month than once. 
In this section strawberries have never 
been mulched to any extent; in fact, 
T have seen only one bed really mulched. 
In 25 years we have had only two 
beds seriously injured by the Winter. 
Most of the time straw cannot be 
bought here for love or money, but we 
plan to use an extra lot of straw (if 
we can get it) for bedding and use 
the fresh manure as mulch. Criticism 
of this plan invited. 
After the first crop is nicked I take 
.the Planet, Jr., cultivator between and 
perhaps narrow the rows somewhat. 
Then take the scythe and cut the weeds 
at the top of the plants, and an oc¬ 
casional cultivation is all the care they 
get. Perhaps this is a slipshod method, 
but the money returns are just as good 
as from any way with which I am ac¬ 
quainted. Some very good growers tell 
me they raise five or six successive 
crops, but with conditions of soil and 
climate here it is useless to try raising 
more than two crops. After the second 
crop is off, you can raise a good crop 
of fodder corn, turnips, buckwheat, late 
cabbage, or, in many places, beans. I 
usually let the land lie until the next 
year, plant to corn, sow to oats, seed 
to clover, cut two crops of hay and 
start over again. With this rotation 
insects are not likely to be troublesome. 
About the worst trouble we have in 
this part of Michigan is a new disease 
known locally as “black root,” and a 
serious trouble it is, as both cause and 
cure are unknown. Some growers have 
been forced out of the business by it. A 
bed with this disease may grow and 
look fairly well till time for the fruit 
to ripen, when the whole plant will dry 
up. Tn severe cases, the entire patch 
may die, and if the plants do ripen 
most of the crop, 4hc second crop is 
almost sure to be a failure. My old 
bed of ltd acre last year produced only 
about eight 16-quart cases. Young beds 
often fail because set with infected 
plants. All you can see wrong with a 
young plant is black and dead roots. 
The experiment station tells us all we 
can do is to plant as healthy plants as 
we can get on new, clean land, and 
give good culture. Some varieties are 
more resistant than others. Brandy¬ 
wine is the most resistant variety I 
know of, which is one reason I grow it. 
Now a word to any prospective fruit¬ 
grower or farmer who may read this. 
Even though you have mastered the 
theory of the whole business, be slow 
to boast thyself and you may be spared 
the humiliation of an experience such 
as I had once. You see, I staid at 
home when a boy and worked with my 
father. As soon as I could drive a 
horse I began to do the team work on 
the farm, and father did the repair 
work, hoeing, etc., and as we grew quite 
a few berries, became an expert with 
the hoe. In time I began to think, 
like many other young fellows of IS 
or 20, that I could do as much or a 
little more than a man. One day, when 
father was giving the strawberries a 
needed hoeing, I finished my work so 
I could help a couple of hours. The 
patch was about 20 rods long, and 
taking the hoe, I started to help, pos¬ 
sibly with the undefined idea that I 
would show him a thing or two about 
hoeing. Well, we started to hoe, and 
mv father hoed three rows, then came 
and helped me out with mine. No, he 
didn’t laugh at me, but he did look 
kind of funny around his eyes. You 
can imagine my feelings as I’ll not at¬ 
tempt to describe them, especially as 
my father was about 60 years of age 
at this time. a. bauhahn. 
Michigan. 
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