GROWING STRAWBERRIES 
SOIL AND CLIMATE 
While the choice of anything from the sand of Florida to the heavy 
clay of southern Indiana gives us plenty of leeway, we do rather prefer 
a sandy loam because it is more easily worked. And while the climatic 
range in our country is from the Gulf states to the Dakotas, we think of 
our strawberry belt as extending from Tennessee and Arkansas to Wis- 
consin and Michigan. 
Whatever the type of soil, it must be high in fertility and 
humus content. This condition is difficult to reach in one year, 
but should be attained in the years before being used for 
berries by the use of barnyard manure, legumes, fertilizers, 
green manure crops, and other practices familiar to good 
farmers. 
Fall plowing is a good step in plant bed preparation. Certainly the 
soil must be well worked down to eliminate all clods, and to make the 
plant bed firm but friable. It is best not to have had the ground in 
heavy sod the previous year on account of cut worms and white grubs. 
These pests may do a great deal of damage in early season by eating 
off the plants at ground level. 
Extensive experiments have shown that berries do best on 
a soil that is slightly acid. Technically, we say that a pH of 
5 to 7 is most satisfactory. 
