Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-09-29
Renewing Strawberry Beds.

circumstances, it is, nevertheless, my
opinion that if the first crop of straw
berries is large one the second or
next succeeding crop is practically GER
tain to be small. 1t is my further
opinion, SAYS writer in the Rural
New Yorker, that where land prices
are high and the soil well supplied
with plant food it is more profitable
TO pillow under strawberry patch and
grow some fall vegetables, such as
sweet corn or cabbage. have
carefully tested the renewal idea at
various times for many years past,
aad never, except IL one instance, have
I succeeded in harvesting large crop
of berries. There were good reasons,
however, for this apparent exception,
as the following facts will show:
The first crop from this patch was very
light, owing to unfavorable weather
conditions during the latter. part of
the previous year. The early part of
the season from the time the plants
were put in the ground to midsummer
was very favorable, so that the
plants made an unusually large
growth.
The late summer and fall were hot
and dry, so that bud development was
much restricted, and very few fruit
buds resulted. Hence, the fruit har-
vested the first year was very light,
scarcely checking the growth of plants,
which was practically continuous
through the second year. The patch
was thoroughly worked Immediately
after the fruiting season and few new
plants were permitted to grow, as
plants were carefully layered the first
year, and having borne but little fruit
were in fine condition. The resulting
crop was phenomenal, perhaps the
largest l have ever grown, and the
berries were almost entirely fancy.
Previous and subsequent results, how
ever, have been disappointing, and l
would not recommend the renewal of
strawberry beds as a rule.
The cause of these disappointing re-
\ suits is easily understood, if one will
examine a plant Immediately after it
has borne crop. The plant is a mere
skeleton. 1t has been absorbed. root
and stem, in the ripening of the fruit.
The plant is in state of complete ex-
haustion, from which, after period of
4 suspended activity, it makes slow
and imperfect recovery. 1t makes a
new root system and throws out run
ners from which new plants may be
3 established. In the light of these
facts, let us see what may be expected
of patch of thousands of plants, each
of which has borne large yield Of
berries. The condition of these
plants is precisely like that of the
plant described above. The fruit will
have been gathered by July 1, and the
plants will not have recovered from
their fruiting effort and be in fail
growing condition before August
That is to say, the making of the sec
ond strawberry crop can hardly be
considered fairly under way before
August l.. Growth of plant, the pro
pagation of new plants and the devel
opment of fruit buds and the work OF
an entire growing season is crowded
into the late summer and fall months
Under favorable conditions moderate
results are possible. But if, as often
happens, the seasonal conditions are
unfavorable, that is, if the weather
4 should be hot or dry, or both, or cold
weather should set in early, the second
is likely to be very light.
Immediately after the fruiting sea.
4 son we run over the ground with the
mower. The coarse materials are
raked up and drawn off the field. The
soil is then worked by special pat
i tern of Getaway tool. This consists
4 of working gang of three 20-inch Cut
away disks and guide gang of three
! 16-inch fiat disks. There is space
of about 10 inches between the gangs.
4 This tool is drawn by two horses in
such way that the space between
/ gangs is directly over the row. This
/ tool pulverizes the soil thoroughly to
4 the depth of FIVE inches. 1t does not
invert the soil, but cuts it up fine. The
work of the tool is repeated several
times, varying with the hardness of
4 "
slightly ridged and the surface soil
thoroughly fined. pamgea ~. -
This tool is followed closely by a
float, and garden tillage runs through
the growing. season. Men with hoes
follow the Cutaway, thoroughly work
ing down the soil in the row and hoe
! ing the plants. .Hoeing is continued
/ through the season as needed. With
A respect to fruiting one of two methods
is followed. Runner plants are es-
| tablished as soon as possible, after
which all runners are removed, or
fruit-bud growth is forced about the
axis of the old plant by the removal of
1 all runners and thorough ,tiilage. Each
method has its strong and weak points.
But neither, as / have already said,
mas given satisfactory returns as COM
pared with the one-crop practice. In
this. as in many other lines of oper-
alive horticulture, circumstances al