Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-10-18
STRAWBERRY CULTURE.


Plants IN the Fall.
Many farmers at the close of the
strawberry season resolve that they
will never go another year without .
supply of this most desirable fruit
They keep on forming good resolutions
on the subject during the fall and win
ter, but when spring comes they find
that they have too much to do to allow
them to prepare plat of ground for
setting out strawberry plants. for pro-
curing them. and for putting them out
The truth is that in the Northwest
putting in field crops employs all the
time the average farmer has. The
season for planting and sowing is very
short. and the success of crops of corn
and small grain depends on getting the
seed into the ground in season. Every
days work counts. A farmer may cal
culate that he has sufficient time in
which to do all his planting and SOW
ing, but in making his estimate he
does not allow for rainy days, which
will greatly delay his work. Seed can
not be planted and sown while rain is
falling or while the soil is saturated
with water. The ''seed time" which
is promised is reduced by rainy days.
Strawberry plants may be set out in
a damp soil in the spring to advantage,
but If the roads are bad, as they usu-
ally are, there will be difficulty in OBJ
tanning the plants. It is accordingly
best to obtain and set out in the fall.
Ii plants are placed in well-prepared
ground in September they will become
well-established and will make a large
growth before the soil freezes. If the
plants are large and thrifty and they
are placed in rich soil many of them
will bear fruit next summer. If the
ground between the rows is covered
with old manure the roots will be pro-
tected during the winter and the
plants will commence to grow as soon
as the frost leaves the soil. In local
tiles where the surface of the ground
is generally covered with snow during
the winter the plants themselves re-
quire no other protection. In places
where the ground remains bare dur
ing the winter the plants may be COW
cred with straw to the depth of two
or three inches, and it can be kept in
place by throwing little dirt over it.
Early in the spring this straw should
be removed. It can be taken to the
barn-yard, burned, or spread between
the rows of plants.
If plants are set this fall they should
be those produced from runners that
took root this season. Those that were
first formed will be the best, as they
will be the largest and the most likely
to produce berries next year. Plants
grown on rich land kept free from
grass and weeds are worth more than
those that rooted on poor soil among
weeds. The land on which the plants
are to be set should be prepared before
they are obtained. A garden trowel
is the best implement to use in taking
them up and in setting them out. If
any of the plants they should be cut
off with shears. If the roots are very
long they should be shortened with the
same implement. In putting the roots
in the hole prepared for them the leaves
should be pressed together in one
hand. The hole should then be filled
with fine dirt and firmly pressed down
with the foot. 1t is never necessary to
water strawberry plants set out in the
fall, as the heat will not be sufficiently
great to cause them to wilt. If the
ground is moist the plants will COM
mence to grow Immediately.
The largest amount and the finest
berries can be produced from a given
area of land by setting the plants
eighteen inches apart each way, re-
moving the blossoms that appear the
spring after they are set out, and pre-
venting the growth of all runners.
One square rod in strawberry plants
set out and tended as suggested will
produce for two years as many berries
as any ordinary family will use. The
large. strong plants that have not had
their strength exhausted by feeding
runners will furnish berries longer
time than plants that are crowded and
are allowed to produce runners. Many.
however, will wish to raise plants in
way that will require less labor. They
have all the land they need. SO that a
saving of it is of no consequence to
them. They are long on land, but
short on time and labor. They are ad-
vised to set strawberry plants in rows
three feet apart. there being space of
foot between the plants. Set in this
way the ground between the rows can
be worked with horse cultivator.
Strawberry plants need to be re-
newed frequently. Only two good
crops of berries can be expected from
the same plant. A plant that pro-
duces so much fruit will soon lose its
vitality. A new bed or a new row of