EVERBEARERS 
For many years we have been very dubious about the culture of 
everbearers, and in fact have advised against their use in many cases. 
We had observed too many failures. Many were “near misses’, to be 
sure, but still very doubtfully successfull. Also, varieties showed a tend- 
ency to “run out’, This came about from the fact that the plants that 
made the most runners made fewer berries, and the plants that bore 
heavily made relatively few runners. Thus in propagation of the variety 
by new plantings, the plants used were generally from the lines which 
bore least. 
However, recent very successful experiments at the Ohio experi- 
mental station at Wooster have completely changed the picture and 
showed how anyone can have an abundance of fresh berries througk- 
out late summer and early fall, with relatively little expense and trouble. 
The planting pattern is as shown 
in the accompanying diagram. The 
plants are set 1 foot apart in rows 
1 foot apart. Three or four rows are 
set, then enough space is left to 
walk through, and another group of 
rows are planted, and this pattern is 
continued through the patch. 
~ 
~ OM 
~A em Mm 
ym Mm Mm 
nM 
x me KR KM OM 
~~ wm Rw KM 
ps a 2 
mo mw mM mM KR Mm Mm MOM 
pr 2 
~ ~*~ wm Mm OM 
~ Mm mM 
mA 
a 
Cultivate the plants once and hoe 
out remaining weeds. Then cover the 
entire planting to a depth of 1 to1% 
inch with saw dust, and maintain this mulch throughout the summer. 
Use the hill system, that is, cut off all runners as they start and 
keep for fruiting just the plants that were transplanted in the beginning. 
If no sawdust is available, ground corn cobs will do almost as well. 
This method has generally been very successful in producing real 
crops of very beautiful fruit. Sometimes, in cases of extremely dry 
weather, it is a good plan to add some water for irrigation, but in most 
cases the saw dust muich has held the moisture quite well. 
_We do not recommend this manner of culture as a commercial 
proposition, but as something you can use in a smaller planting to very 
good advantage. 
19 
