Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-08-24
That Old Strawberry Bed.


The fruit is picked, and the returns are
.a,isC,ctory in both pleasure and
-,or.y. but the weeds have grown Won
/ a.,fuIly if il is as rich as it should be for
1 .,,avberres and the prospect for lot
Il e hand labor is too great to be pleas
an, Many growers, perhaps wisely.
,lo,,gh it up at once. depending on new
Il sst beds; but where the plants look
h thrifty and have not suffered too much
H fran oyrrbcaring, drouth or blight, 1t
wi,I ray larger interest on the labor
N leave. it than any crop you can follow
!, With. il it is cared for well and
4 eheaply.
IN gardens and small patches the
Il groIld can he spaded up, throwing out
al Of tie Oldest plants and thinning
Il the rest to one per foot. scattering on
Il rotted manure and allowing new run
nerq To root.
Another way is to cultivate close to
the obi row until the soil is very mel
low. and then turn all new runners
onc way To root In this cultivated side
Lat. this fall plough up the old plants
Il and l-ayc the new row. The next sea-
son reverse. and thus continue the bed
Indefinitely. But for larger areas, 1t is
too slow and expensive many plough
on each side of the row, turning the
dirt away from the plants, using two
horses and a large plough. Only about
on foot in width Is left, and all of the
space between the rows Is broken up.
Then cultivate until all weeds are
runners and foot OF old plants are for
next years fruiting. The most of the
4 fruit will be on the new plants, and
4 no more Of the old plants should be
left than are absolutely necessary, for
they must be cleaned out by hand; they
breed rust and fungi on the old foliage
and are more or less infested with
worms. all of which makes labor and
decreases the chance Of success. One
who has an acre of Strawberries t.
clean out by hand and cannot find any
help to hire must seek a quicker meth
Cd Of caring for them.
siudied out the following method sew
eral years ago. and have never failed yet
10 E"t n satisfactory result Put In an old
Gt Of knives and NOW the whole thing
as clos" as possible. Take Off the wheel
and shave the soil With big pillow
and team. plugh the bed. making a back
furr"w on each row and n dead furrOw,
atHut eighteen inches wide. by cutting up
10 the row with the plough just enough
b. make the dirt meet on top of the
EplantS
ny this method you have all the old fol
iagc. dis"as. aud worms buried" and
row. Let II alone for Il week to Smohc
chen cross harrow until the field is lev.
and the stubs of tn" cut off strawberry
leaves begin tn show through the fine
dirt "n top Of the plants. This har-
rowing which can bc don" every two or
three days for two weeks. will null all
stone. humps and refuse back into the
dead burrows. level the field and leave
lin" coating " soil on top of the plants
to keep down tn" small weeds. Use Il
HmouihinE harrow any time until the new
wh"rTY leaves which will come up
through tn" dirt are as large as 4 silver
tw'ntN fly" cent piece. After that keep
he w"c'i"r going once q week until fall
coating of rottCd manure, spread on
the row in August will pay.
All The hand work necessary will be the
cut'iur oit Of coars.. weeds that may
srr"nl from IN" old roots the same AS
n" strawhcrri' s will if you only keep
the harrow and wc"'iCr going. There will
BE- hut few If any new runners. and the
Ecf"p will com" from the new foliage
grown from III" oi,l roots
! hav" grown satisfactory crops ny this
method. and lik" 1t well. 1t is no better
Than growing new runners. but 1t is a
good d'ai cheaper. easier and quicker.
4ulsliutinc horse for hand Labor. | think
The whole time for an aCr" would not cX-
cecil tw" DAYS with team and two more
Tor hand labor. by fall the new foliage
viii h. s"lid mass of bright green, ALSO
htelv tr"" from diSras" of all kinds. After
several Years nf this treatment we have
M dreaded rust about cleared up as
th-r" T. nothinE for il to propagate on
Mwhlr tn" old foliage il buried.
While i, might pay to hoe out an old
pei. would rather set and care for a
new one nu" can tit a piece of ground
very tine and mellow and set it to straw
berries during a wet spell by using big
tod "f plants from the old bed. With a
sh"N ! Cut out chunk a foot square
mi ST IN" whole thing In hole in tho
new t"d and ho" well. These hills
sh"ul' J." about fourteen inches apart one
Wav and two feet the other All the
Ywe'de can hc taken out. and Their" will
hr good stand If new runners. as the
ed plants will not I've checked in growth
FINS can h" don" an time In July or Au-
gust. aud will b" cheaper than working
W. MID he'd as tn" ground is In better
thlr" and they are more easily cared
hr New York Tribune Farmer.