DEWBERRY GROWING 
5 
Planting. The majority of our dewberry beds are from spring 
settings but many of our experienced growers seem to be of the 
opinion that fall setting would prove as satisfactory and would bring 
quicker returns. I see no reason for not setting in the fall, the plants 
would necessarily be quite tender the first winter but could be well pro¬ 
tected and should suffer no injury. Planting in the fall should be 
done in early September and spring planting as soon as the ground 
can be worked. As to distances for planting there is still some dispute, 
•but, if the plants are to be allowed to grow prostrate, setting 5’ x 5’ 
seems to be the most satisfactory system. They can be pruned accord¬ 
ingly and cultivated either way. If grown on a wire trellis, rows six 
feet apart with plants three feet in the row would no doubt be a better 
system. When planted in the young orchard, the distance can be made 
such as to best utilize the space. There is no particular objections to 
planting dewberries in the young. orchard but the grower is to be 
cautioned about crowding the trees and advised that in most cases it is 
not a crop for the old orchard. 
For planting, the ground is furrowed out one way and cross 
marked. The plants are dropped in the furrow at its intersection 
with the cross-mark, and partially covered with the foot. The furrow 
is turned back, the plants straightened up, the soil firmed about them, 
and the job of setting is completed by running water down the row. 
As with any other plant, the top should be cut back at setting time 
to offset the loss of roots in digging. 
Cultivation. The cultivation of the dewberry patch should not be un¬ 
like that for any other bush-fruit. It should be well-cultivated in the early 
part of the season to keep down the weeds and conserve the moisture. Cul¬ 
tivation stops at the opening of the picking season and is resumed again at 
its close, continuing until the end of the growing season. Since deep culti¬ 
vation which disturbs or breaks the roots tends to start objectional plants in 
the middles, the early cultivations and possibly the later ones should be 
rather shallow. If the p’ants are allowed to run for the purpose of being 
trained on a trellis, cultivation must be in one direction; when checked equal 
distance each way the general plan is to keep the middles open only one 
way. While it may be possible to overgrow tbe plants by continual cultiva¬ 
tion, it is better to counteract this by withholding water rather than by dis¬ 
continuing cultivation. Good cultivation is no doubt conducive to vigorus, 
but not necessarily to rampant growth. 
Irrigation. There are really no tricks in irrigating dewberries. The 
ground should be kept moist and in good condition during the early part of 
the growing season. The young plants will stand a good deal of water the 
first season. During the picking season it is the common practice to water 
after each picking, just a light surface watering. This supplies the roots 
with the needed moisture to swell the berries to good size and by keeping 
the surface of the ground moist the berries ripen better, there is less loss 
from the drying of the fruit. It would be a good plan, no doubt, to try to 
induce early maturity of the canes by withholding water after the close of 
the picking season. In localities where the winter snowfall is not great the 
dewberry patch should be given a late fall irrigation. 
Fertilizing. The grower of dewberries cannot expect that the plants 
will continue bearing good annual crops without fertilization. If properly 
cared for. there seems to be almost no limit to the duration of the p’anta- 
tion. Good stable manure is one of the best fertilizers for our Colorado 
soils. It may be applied in early spring before uncovering the plants and 
the uncovering process as well as early cultivations will help incorporate it 
