Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-03-27
The SfraWberrv

Inc straw perry! How 1t makes one S
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 OIL 710taIreI, or with
cream and sugar! Everywhere well
come, everywhere a favorite. Like all
small fruits, it enjoys best a loose, rich,
deep, sweet soil, with plenty of humus
in its composition, but rendered sweet
and safe by good drainage Its pro-
pagatiOn 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 practice has its adherents,
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
will tell them that the best time for
planting the strawberry is as 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 a permanent hold of the
soil shrivels more than hall of them
up; but when planted before the sun
has much power, and while there is
plenty of moisture in the ground, and
generally 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
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 carried
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 years
frUiting. If 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 fioodings, 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 carried 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
splendid crop the coming season.
And this may be repeated every third
year, renewing the ground and plants
in the same manner. This is way of
my own, made public in this paper for
the first 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, BidWell,
Wilson's Albany, Charles Downing.
Sharpless, Glendale and lucinda will
be found good troopers, hardy, fruit
medium to very large, and early, me-
dunn and late varieties. | would have
added Longfellow, but it is very shy.in
many districts Vic6'S lid M0nthzu.