PLANTING AND CULTURE OF 
VINE BERRIES 
PLANTING: The best time to get out 
plants is as early in the spring as the 
ground is workable. We find the best 
time is February and March. Nectar- 
berries, Boysenberries, and Youngberries 
can be planted in rows 8 feet apart with 
plants 8 feet apart in the row. Dew¬ 
berries are spaced the same distance be¬ 
tween rows but about 4 feet between the 
plants. With all of these berries, the 
vines are left to grow on the ground the 
first year, keeping all of the canes in a 
row growing in the same direction. By 
keeping the vines in adjoining rows 
trained so that they grow in opposite 
directions on the ground, the cultivation 
can easily be done in the same direction, 
up one row and down the next, without 
danger of the cultivator running into, 
tangling up and injuring the ends of 
the canes. 
YOUNGBERRY 
PLANT PROMPTLY: As soon as the 
plants are received, get them into moist ground at once. If 
they appear dry owing to exposure, put them in a pail of 
water to soak for a couple of hours. If the ground is not 
then ready, “heel them in” in a furrow, sheltered from the 
sun, and water them well so that the soil is settled well down 
around the roots and the roots not left exposed to the air. 
As' soon as ready to plant, put them in field boxes and keep 
them covered or wrapped with wet burlap so that they will 
not dry out. 
PLANTING IN FURROWS: Before planting, the ground 
should be plowed deeply, disced and harrowed, and the rows 
measured and marked out. The quickest way of planting, 
especially if a considerable number are to be planted, is in 
the side of a plowed furrow, similar to the setting out of cab¬ 
bage and cauliflower plants. Plow a straight furrow the 
length of the rows. Then take the covered box of plants down 
the rows. Take from the box, set out and cover one plant at a 
time, being sure not to leave any plants uncovered in the sun. 
In planting, take up the plant with one hand and place it 
against the straight side of the furrow and see that the crown 
of the plant is about level with the ground surface. Spread 
the roots out fan shaped and all pointing downward. While 
holding the stem or “handle” of the plant with one hand, 
with the other hand or with a short-handled hoe, draw some 
dirt from the other side of the furrow and press it firmly 
over and around the roots. Step firmly but carefully on the 
dirt, covering the roots and against the side of the furrow, 
being careful not to step on the crown of the plant, or push 
the whole plant down into the furrow. 
The following day or as soon as the 
ground can be worked, plow the dirt into 
the furrow where the plants were set out, 
being careful that the plants are not 
completely covered up. 
PLANTING WITH A SHOVEL: If you 
are setting out only a few plants or it 
is not convenient to plow a furrow with 
either a horse, motor or hand wheel plow, 
then dig holes for setting out the plants. 
With the soil well plowed and harrowed 
and the rows measured and marked or 
staked out, step on the shovel, driving it 
straight down. With the shovel still in 
the hole, lean it to one side, away from 
the sooth, vertical side of the hole. 
FERTILIZING: If the soil is deficient 
in humus and plant food, barnyard ma¬ 
nure can advantageously be applied be¬ 
fore the initial plowing and then thor¬ 
oughly worked into the soil before the plants are set out. DO 
NOT put any fertilizer in the hole when planting, as that is 
a good way to burn them up. After the plants have become 
well established, it is ample time to apply fertilizer and you 
can then give them plenty. Owing to the heavy cane growth 
and abundant fruiting of these berries, they should be fer¬ 
tilized to provide the plant food necessary. 
TRELLISING: The canes should be put on the wires just 
before the buds begin opening in the Spring. The end posts 
should be braced, the brace being at least as long as the end 
post extends above the ground and with the upper end nailed 
into the end post at least as high as the top wire. This will 
prevent the end post being pulled up when the wires are 
loaded with vines and berries. 
PRUNING: Each Spring new canes will start growing for the 
bearing of the following year’s crop. We find it best with 
Vine Berries to hold back the growth of these canes until the 
picking is over or nearly so, pruning off these new shoots 
close to the roots. In other words, raising one crop at a 
time; first the berry crop, and then the cane crop for next 
year’s bearing. So we snip off the young shoots as soon as 
they put in an appearance, and then in a few weeks, go over 
the rows again and snip off the new ones that have started 
since the previous cutting. Then, when the berry crop is 
finished and the canes that have been bearing are cut off at 
the ground and removed, the new canes are allowed to grow 
on the ground as the first summer. 
Burlington, Kans., 
March 1st, 1939. 
Waller Brothers, 
Judsonia, Ark. 
Gentlemen: 
Please quote me best price on 15,000 to 20,000 strawberry 
plants. Are your plants as good as we got two years ago? 
Yours very truly, E. P. M. 
Oklahoma City, Okla., 
March 7th, 1939. 
Waller Brothers, 
Judsonia, Ark. 
Gentlemen: 
Received strawberry plants which were in excellent condi¬ 
tion. Thanks so much. Yours very truly, H. C. 
Ozark, Ark., 
March 1st, 1939. 
Waller Brothers, 
Judsonia, Ark. 
Gentlemen: 
Please quote me on 2,000 Imp. Klondike. I got the best 
plants from you men 16 years ago I ever saw. That is the 
last good plants I have been able to get. I have tried many 
different places and each time got stung. Yours very truly, 
L. T. 
Erie, Kans., 
February 17th, 1939. 
Waller Brothers, 
Judsonia, Ark. 
Gentlemen: 
The strawberry plants bought of you last spring could have 
not been any better. Will you please let me know what to do 
with my Boysenberry. They all lived and are now all over 
the ground. I have them mulched with straw. Yours truly, 
F. V. W. 
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