Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1905-01-02

(By +. Hofer, Salem, Marion County,
Oregon.)


(Bv +. Hofer, Salem, Marion County,
Oregon.)
Growing Strawberries is one OF the
many fruit industries Of Oregon and
is well established in Marion county,
there being several hundred acres
about Salem, and thousands Of crates
shipped and canned at the cannery
each year. As a field crop they are
planted on well drained land that has
been thoroughly plowed in the fall and
again in the spring, dragged until
thoroughly pulverized fine and smooth,
! and plants set out in May or as soon
as the ground can be worked up good
after the heavy spring rains are over,
Mark off the ground three feet each
way and set the plants with a dibblc,
the crowns even with the surface,
| Planted this way all the work of cyl.
| tivation can be done with two horses
and riding ~cultivator, and a little hoe
ing about the plants once a year Will
be all that is needed. Thorough cult.
walton until fall will result in a fine
| stand and a full crop the following
spring. Better results are obtained by
removing all blossoms the first year.
The runners are cut off once after they
get out long and before they root. New
runners will be formed before fall
on the strongest plants, and enough
new plants will set to fill all empty
hills that may need replanting. In
field culture and to grow fruit only it
doees not pay to plant in fall, as only
a partial crop is secured the following
spring. If the winter is mild, as is
often the case, it will cost more to
clean weeds in the spring than the
art crop will bring. The object Of
spring planting and high cultivation
until late in fall is to keep the ground
clean and get a large growth of plant
roots and foliage that will ensure a
strong growth and a big crop the fol.
lowing spring. Plants cost $3.50 to
So per thousand, and should be en-.
are picked three to four times, not
counting the first and last ~pickings
which yield a profit. They are packed
in 24-box crates and sold in the local
market or at the cannery or shipped,
Following are returns from fve-acre
! field one and one-half miles east Of
Salem: Crop of 100000 crates, av'
erage return $l.25 per crate. Net re-
turn, less cost of crates (l6c) AMI
picking (25c), So cents per crate, $500
-$l56 per acre to grower. Berries
are sold to local trade or shipped to
Portland, and grower can sell all he
can produce. Win have eight acres
next year. By making up his own
crates and boxes in winter, cost can
be reduced from 16 to IA cents per
crate for package. On these five acres,
100 crates were not picked, as pickers
could not be procured on account Of
warm, dry spring Fastening the ripen'
ing of the crop faster than usual. Crop
was light this year, as spring was dry
and there was no rain during the
ripcning season, when showers are gen
orally plentiful enough to add materi,
ally to the crop, which is produced
without irrigation. The foliage the
lighter than usual. The same land
would ordinarily produce 1000 crates,
At G5 cents per crate net, it pays bet
ter to ship than to sell to the cannery,
Mr.. Aufrance farms 20 acres to fruit,
growing apples, pears, prunes, cherries,
grapes, raspberrics, b]lackberrics, cur.
rants, Loganberries and vegetables,
Manure or fertilizer adds to the value
of "A strawberry crop, but any ordinary
land will grow them without. As high
ms 5000 to $500 per acre has been made
on Strawberries at Salem, but $75 to
Sl25 per acre is more nearly the aver.
age return.