What Others Have to Say About RED RICH 
NEW STRAWBERRIES NEARLY ‘TOO PERFECT’ 
By RUSSELL ASLESON 
Minneapolis Tribune Staff Writer 
ENFIELD, MINN.—Two elderly women inching along 
through the fruit exhibit at Minnesota State fair paused in front 
of a strawberry display. 
“Artificial,” muttered one as they walked away. 
Marion Hagerstrom, young Enfield farmer who was stand- 
ing in the background, chuckled to himself. 
“T knew I had developed a good berry,” he said in retelling 
the story, “but I didn’t know it was too perfect.” 
The “artificial” berries on the display were Red-Rich straw- 
berries, and the result of years of work on the part of the En- 
field horticulturist. 
“T had picked them fresh from my field that morning and 
had selected some good big ones, nearly two inches across,” he 
explained. “They were a deep red and shone like they’d been 
lacquered.” 
“T guess it was that shine that fooled those women,” he de- 
clared. 
THE HAGERSTROM everbearing strawberry bids well to 
become an overnight sensation when the stock now being propa- 
gated goes out and the berries come to market in volume. 
Experts who have tasted it are hailing the Red-Rich as the 
greatest development in strawberry culture in the last 50 years. 
They say it’s redder, sweeter and hardier than any other 
yet developed. 
So far, the new berry has been mostly in the increase stages. 
The plants were placed on the market for the first time this 
spring—and completely sold out. They spread from Maine to 
Oregon. 
Development of the Red-Rich was not made overnight. 
It actually started when Hagerstrom, then a boy of 12, 
grafted a plum tree in his father’s backyard and therein had a 
hobby. 
About 20 years ago, he got interested in raising strawberries 
as a sideline on the 400-acre general farm in Wright county. 
“SOME OF THOSE early berries just lacked quality,” he 
recalled. “And I often wondered why I couldn’t develop a 
better everbearing.” 
Drawing on his practical knowledge of plants, he decided to 
make a controlled cross between two berries that would produce 
a better flavor and a high yield and one that would send out 
runners to start new plants. 
He liked the taste of the Wayzata strawberry, but it was 
hard to propagate. He also found the Fairfax to be of superior 
quality. So he crossed the two. 
He tended the berries from the resulting plant and then 
planted the seed. 
Once he had the new crossbreed, the job remaining was one 
of selecting the best plants in succeeding generations. 
Fifteen years and some 15,000 seedlings. later, he had what 
he wanted. He soon had a flourishing patch in his backyard 
workshop. 
George Nelson, state nursery inspector, stopped by one day 
and tasted Marion’s new strawberry. 
“THEYRE TOO GOOD to keep to yourself,’ he said en- 
thusiastically. 
“T wanted to develop a berry that I liked to eat,’ Marion 
declared. “My family liked it, Nelson liked it and others who 
ate it liked it. I figured then that the new berry was about 
ready.” 
Hagerstrom’s first large scale field plantings were started in 
1948 when he set out 7,000 plants. He got about 4,000 quarts 
from July 6 until October 23 and subsequent tests showed a 
yield of over 10,000 quarts an acre counting both spring and 
fall crops. 
“Tt’s a good yield, but no record,” Marion warned. 
Further testing of the plant showed its hardiness. He left a 
portion of the field uncovered during the winter. The tem- 
peratures fell to 30 degrees below zero, but the plants next 
spring showed little damage. 
“Hardly hurt them a bit,’ he reported. “They should be 
a good northern berry.” 
One of the faults of earlier berries also has been overcome. 
The berries reproduce extensively. 
Of the 7,000 plants he had last year, he dug 120,000 runners 
—each of which makes a new plant. Each plant sends out an 
average of 16 to 20 runners. 
AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE 
UNIVERSITY FARM 
ST. PAUL 1, MINNESOTA 
January 5, 1951 
Hillcrest Gardens 
Albert Lea, Minnesota 
Dear Mr. Ruble, 
This is in reply to your letter concerning the performance 
of the Red Rich strawberry. I had some of this variety in my 
own garden last summer. I grew it both in the hill system and 
in the matted row system. Under the matted row system, 
where the plants were put a foot apart each way with a picking 
aisle between every third and fourth row we produced sixty 
quarts from a triple row fifty feet long. On an acre basis this 
would figure about 12,000 quarts an acre, from about the mid- 
dle of August until about the middle of October. Under the 
matted row system of culture where the plants were put in 
rows four feet apart, the plants set out two feet apart in the 
row, the production was about one-fourth as great as in the 
hill system. 
As far as quality is concerned I feel that the Red Rich is 
by far the best quality everbearer we have with the possible 
exception of the Wayzata and as far as easy culture is concerned 
the Red Rich is much easier to grow. I hope this information 
will prove helpful to you. 
Sincerely yours, 
LEON C. SNYDER, Extension Horticulturist. 
Cyrus, Minnesota, September 18, 1950 
Hillcrest Gardens, 
Dear Sirs: 
The strawberry plants (RED RICH) I ordered this spring 
are doing great. The RED RICH sure are a heavy producer of 
large red berries. 
We are picking about 25 quarts every other day for the last 
8 weeks and they are still going strong. 
I bought 500 RED RICH potted plants from you last spring 
and every one grew. I think potted plants are the best way 
to plant berries. 
ARTHUR SKOGSTAD 
Kewaskum, Wis., July 14th, 1950 
Hillcrest Gardens, 
Your strawberry plants (RED RICH) are above expectation; 
never saw anything like them. 
Sincerely, 
ALMA BUSS 
November 1, 1950 
Dear Sirs, 
Your RED RICH strawberry plants did wonders; picked the 
first huge berries July 30th. One of my deaconess sisters came 
to see me that day from Cincinnati, Ohio and was she amazed. 
We have been picking two quarts of berries every other day 
from the 100 plants which we have been freezing and do they 
make a showing in the boxes after being frozen and are they 
ever sweet. 
Sincerely, 
ALMA BUSS 
ABOUT WAYZATAS 
Department of Justice 
UNITED STATES MARSHALL 
District of North Dakota 
Fargo, N. D., October 20, 1950 
Gentlemen, 
Last spring I ordered 50 Wayzata Strawberry plants from 
you, got them quite late on account of late snow and rains; 
they came thru just fine and as of today, October 20th we are 
picking a pint of berries a day and the plants are just full of 
half ripe berries. 
Yours truly, 
A.G.K., U. S. Marshall, Fargo, N. D. 
