The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1884-03-06
The Strawberry.

Inc strawberry.
The strawberry! How it makes ones
mouth water, even in January, to think
of the treats of june and July. How
grateful to the palate of hot, thirsty
and weary humanity! What boon it
is whether served du 1tdturel, or with
cream and sugar! Everywhere well
come, everywhere a favorite. Like all
small fruits, it enjoys best loose, rich,
deep, sweet soil, with plenty of humus
in its composition, but rendered sweet
and safe by good drainage. Its pro-
Dagation is by runners, and if rooted
in pots all the better and safer. Some
people recommend planting in May and
June, and others in September and
October; each praciice has lis adhcrents,
and while they are settling WHICH is
best we will prepare our ground by
deep trenching and a liberal dressing
from the compost heap, and then we
viii tell them that the best time for
planting the straw berry is rs soon as
you can get the frost out of the ground
in spring. If planted in September
and October more than one-half of the
plants are thrown out and destroyed by
frost, and if planted in May and June,
the hot, dry weather coming on before
they have got permanent hold of the
soil shrivels more than half of them
up; but when planted before the sun
has much power. and while there is
plenty of moisture in the ground, and
generally a liberal allowance of showers
they commence with the season and
never go back. The strawberry should
be planted two feet apart between the
rows, and about eight inches between
the plants; these, the year after plant
ing. will give an abundant yield, and
in spring should be top dressed with a
mixture from the compost heap and
rather more than half decayed barn
yard manure. The compost and the
decayed parts of the manure will feed
the plants and the littery parts of the
manure drying will not only act as a
mulch by keeping the sun from drying
the ground but will also keep the fruit
and flowers clean during heavy rains.
When the fruiting season is over, this
long stuff can be raked off and carted
with other garden refuse to the heap,
and the rest of the stuff forked in. The
plants should be encouraged to make
good strong crowns for next year. 8
fruiting. II the weather is very dry
during June, when the strawberries are
coming into flower, give copious water
ings; far better leave it alone than half
do it, and if the ground gets two or
three good floodings. the top dressing
will keep it moist most through the
fruiting season. Every third year, in
stead of digging the plat up and plant
ing another, train the runners into the
the middle between the rows and peg
them down. With the liberal top dress
ing we have given the soil, here will be
just the thing for new bed, and as
soon as the young plants can do with
out their fostering mother the old ones
can be cut off and carted to the heap
aforesaid, some of the decayed parts Of
the heap brought back in their places
and dug in, and by the fall we will have
a splendid crop the coming season.
And this may be repeated every third
year, renewing the ground and plants
in the same manner. This is q way of
my own, made public in this paper for
the iirst time, and / claim that it is far
the best method practiced for renewing
the strawberry bed. In new varieties,
james Wick, Warren and Jersey Queen
are about the best, and in the old
standards Crescent, Duchess, Bidwcll,
Wilson'S Albany, Charles Downing,
! Sharpless, Glendale and Jucunda will
be found good croppers, hardy, fruit
medium to very large, and early, me-
dunn and late varieties. would have
added Longfellow, but it is very shy in
many districis-Yict's LTD Monthly.