HELPFUL HINTS 
Professor George L. Slate is one of the country’s leading “Small Fruit Specialists.” 
He has supervised the breeding work that resulted in the introduction of such new 
Prof. varieties as September, Milton and Indian Summer Raspberries, Hedrick Black- 
George berry, several varieties of Strawberries and many other plants. 
L. the following year. In the spring the red Raspberry canes are cut 
Slate back to a height of 4 to 5 feet, depending on the variety, and the 
i 
RASPBERRIES and BLACKBERRIES 
(See pages 39 and 40.) 
Raspberries and Blackberries are easily grown fruits if their cul- 
tural requirements are met. An open, airy situation is best and the 
plants should be away from the root competition and shade of tall 
trees, but may be grown among the smaller fruit trees in the home 
garden. Most good farm and garden soils are suitable if 
not very heavy or very light, and are well drained so that 
water does not stand on or near the surface more than a few 
hours during the growing season. Keep black and purple Rasp- 
berries off the ground that has grown Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants 
or Potatoes the past two or three years. Get rid of old run-out Rasp- 
berries nearby to prevent disease spreading into the new planting. 
Preparing the Soil 
Fit the land thoroughly as for vegetables—plowing under a green 
crop or stable manure if the soil has been under constant cultiva- 
tion. Red Raspberries and Blackberries may be planted in late fall 
or early spring, but fall planted plants should be mounded up to 
prevent them from heaving out during the winter. Tip plants of 
black and purple Raspberries should be planted in the spring. Space 
Raspberries in home garden 7 feet between rows and 2 feet between 
red Raspberries in the row, and 3 feet between black and purple 
varieties in the row. Set the plants the same depth they grew 
previously and be sure the soil is packed tightly so that the plant 
will resist a strong tug without loosening. 
Cultivation 
Weeds must be kept down by cultivation or mulching. Cul- 
tivation should be shallow and frequent enough to keep down weeds. 
Mulching is especially valuable in dry seasons. Straw, spoiled hay, 
weeds, lawn clippings, peat and sawdust are all suitable. When saw- 
dust is used an extra feeding with a nitrogenous fertilizer is advis- 
able. Cultivation should be discontinued after the crop is off or 
about August first and the weeds allowed to grow or buckwheat 
may be sown between the rows to check cane growth and harden 
the plants off for winter. 
Fertilization 
For fertilizers after the first year any of the following materials 
may be applied in early spring: 
Nitrate of Soda, 3% lb. per 100 sq. ft. 
Ammonium Nitrate, ¥% lb. per 100 sq. ft. 
Stable Manure, 3 bus. per 100 sq. ft. 
Poultry Manure, 1 bu. per 100 sq. ft. 
On soils low in fertility, especially sands or gravels, or eroded 
soils, supplement the nitrates with a 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 
1 lb. to 100 sq. ft. If new growth is too rank and winter-kills, reduce 
or discontinue the manure until Jessened growth indicates its need. 
Red Raspberries and Blackberries produce many suckers which 
must be kept within bounds. When cultivating or hoeing, restrict 
the row to one foot in width by removing all suckers coming up 
between the rows. 
Raspberries and Blackberries must be pruned each year. The 
canes are biennial; they grow one season, bear fruit the second 
season and then die. After the crop is harvested the canes which 
bore it are cut out, leaving behind the current season canes to fruit 
weaker canes removed, leaving the canes spaced about 6 inches 
apart in a row a foot wide. Black and purple Raspberries are treated 
in a different manner. In June when the new shoots of black Rasp- 
berries are 18 to 24 inches high they are pinched off to induce 
branching. Purple Raspberries are pinched 6 inches higher. Black- 
berries are pinched at 3 feet. Do this as soon as the required height 
is reached in early June. The following spring cut the branches 
back to 8 to 10 inches for the black Raspberries, 10 to 15 inches for 
the purple Raspberries, and 15 to 18 inches for the Blackberries. 
Fall bearing red Raspberries, such as Indian Summer, are pruned 
the same as other red Raspberries. 
Blackberries that bloom, but produce no fruit or only poorly 
developed berries, should be sprayed just before the bloom with 
DDT at the rate of one pound of actual DDT to 100 gallons of wa- 
ter. 
STRAWBERRIES 
(See pages 42 and 43.) 
Strawberries are one of the best home garden fruits, being valu- 
able for dessert, freezing and jam, and unusually high in Vitamin C, 
outranking even the citrus fruits in that respect. 
Location of Bed 
The site should be sunny, away from the shade and roots of large 
trees, although interplanting among young fruit trees is satisfactory. 
The soil should be fertile, well drained and free from quack grass 
and other perennial weeds. Soils that will grow good vegetables are 
suitable for Strawberries, but the berries should not be planted 
where Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants or Potatoes have been grown 
for several years, as these may infect the soil with a wilt disease 
that is destructive to Strawberries. Keep the Strawberries a few feet 
away from the place where these vegetables have been grown. Grass 
sods may have white grubs and should be avoided until they have 
been cultivated two years. Manure or ploughing under a legume 
sod is good preparation. 
Planting Time 
Early spring, not August, is the time to set Strawberries. Space 
the plants 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 314 feet apart. The crown 
or solid center of the plant should be set even with the surface of 
the ground and the soil firmed so tightly against the roots by pressure 
of the foot that the plant will resist a strong tug without loosening. 
After the runners form, space them around the mother plants so 
that they are about 6 inches from each other and the row is 18 
inches wide. Remove as weeds runners coming after the row is 
filled out. The first runners are the most productive. 
Fertilizing 
Manure at the rate of 3 to 6 bushels to 100 square feet at the time 
the ground is fitted will provide adequate fertility. Lacking manure, 
a 10-10-10 fertilizer may be worked in before planting, or applied as 
a side dressing at the first hoeing. A pound to 100 square feet is 
about right. 
A nitrogenous fertilizer such as nitrate of soda, ¥% pound to 100 
square feet. or ammonium nitrate at half that rate may be broad- 
cast over the plants in late August when the foliage is dry, and 
immediately brushed off with a broom or piece of brush. Fertilizer 
should not be applied to the bed in the spring of the fruiting year. 
Keep weeds out of the bed at all times, and the soil mellow to 
facilitate the rooting of runners. 
Everbearing Strawberries grown in hills in beds of 4 rows spaced 
12-15 inches apart each way with a 2-foot alley between beds and 
mulched with sawdust are much more productive than when grown 
in matted rows. All runners should be removed. 
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