The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-08-06
Strawberry cuIture-Midsummer.

o. W. Blacknall. Kittrell, N. c.: There
are two vital points in strawberry Gull
ture at this season-the prompt destruc-
ton of weeds and grass and the conserva-
ton of moisture. Fortunately both of these
can be achieved by one and the same
means-two birds killed by one stone, as
it were.
Frequent and shallow culture are the
means. This we accomplish by means of
a small, five-tooth horse cuitivator and
light hand hoes. The cultivator is run
down the middle once or twice as may be
necessary to stir the soil well within a
reasonable distance of the plants. Up to
about July 10 we pillow within six inches
of the plants, using a small tooth one
inch wide on the side of the cultivator
next to the plants. This small tooth cuts
not over an inch and a half inch deep
and throws no dirt on plants. Later. as
the plants get older and larger. we drop
back a little farther with the plow.
The strip around the plants that the
cultivator does not reach we stir with
hand hoes, cultivating very shallow just
around the plants and little deeper far
Their off.
We make 1t a rule to cultivate this way
every two weeks. Timely done. such cul-
tivation is rapid end inexpensive. 1t is
when cultivation Is delayed and grass and
weeds intrench themselves that arduous
and expensive work is necessary. In my
callow days / have he'd crab grass get
such dominion over a field of matted rows
that it cost nearly as much TO subdue
il as it should have cost to hoe that field
all summer. The time to kill grass is be-
fore it comes. Crab grass, the great foe
Of the Southern strawberry grower. has
the lives of a cat, once that it punches
well. There is a saying among North
Carolina farmers that you can't kill era
grass in August. This is in the main true.
This grass punches If allowed to get its
growth, which 1t does in August, till it
resembles a crab, hence the reason.
In August the sun power weakens.
| heavy dews increase and showers are
heavier, or at least, more lasting in their
effects than earlier summer. Under these
conditions crab grass is almost invulnera-
Bile to any force that perspiring agricuI-
ture can bring against it.
| l have in my time witnessed some ex-
ceedingly humorous battles of behind
hand growers against this invincible foe
First would come one or two desperate
attempts 20 smother, by means of a turn
ing plow, the huge punches as they waxeJ
and grew among the berries. This fail
ing an onslaught with hoes would follow,
in which the punches were dug, chopped
| belabored and shaken without mercy but
without avail. Narrowing was arrayed
but simply 10 pile the grass draw earth
on it and give it fresh start. Then
comes another charge and belaboring with
the hoes. Thus varying his modes of
onslaught the helpless grower kept up
the battle till driven 10 surrender and 10
leave the plants to their fate. Now and
then have known a plucky, irate fellow
TO finally lug the grass bodily from the
| field and leave it TO grow in the road and
along the fence corners. One-tenth of
the labor done on time would have killed
the grass before it came.
And, as before intimated, all this culti-
walton is worth all it costs as a conserver
of moisture. In fact weeds and grass,
in that they force us TO give the culture,
are really blessings in disguise.