Cañon City record., 1908-03-19
STRAWBERRY CULTURE
.1-Planting and TAnniss

nQ
or east and west. or in any other direc-
ton according to convenience. Gener-
ally this will b decided BY the direc-
ton Of the slope. the location Of the
irrigation ditch. etc. It pays to lay
the field out by careful alinement and
to secure straight and
uniformly parallel rows.
There are three methods of arrang-
ing the rows. known - the matted
row. the hedge row. beside the half
matted and double hedge rows which
are notifications lying between the
first two systems, and the hill system.
The choice Of system will depsnd
somewhat upon the purpose which the
grower has In view. Most varieties
yield most heavily in the matted row.
but somewhat at sacrifice Of size. For
commercial purposes and ON q large
scale this will probably be preferable.
A greater abundance Of larger berries
at the expense of some decrease in the
total yield per acre will be secured
by the second system. 1t is we'll adapt
ed to the needs OF the producer for
the local market. The hill system
tends to produce extra fancy berries
and is the ideal for the amateur and
the home garden. For the first sys-
tenn set the plants IS to "a inches
apart in rows 81 to feet apart; for
the second, IA to 20 inches in rows
feet apart; for the third IL to IL
inches by 2h to 3 feet.
Having lined out the row, mark out
the burrows as for irrigation. The or
binary furrow made in this way is
too deep for the plants. but by set
ting the plants upon one side OF the
furrow, this may be retained for the
first irrigation. The plants had bet
ter be set upon the shady slope Of the
furrow, as whiting is less likely to oc-
cur here.
This matter of preventing whiting
and drying out Is of much greater i'm
portance under Colorado conditions
than in the humid regions. There It
is customary to distribute the plants
in advance in approximately the
positions In which they are to
be set. Here the plants must be kept
in a fresh and moist condition to the
very moment of planting. To this end
they must not be exposed to the sun
and air for an instant longer than !s
necessary to transfer them to the soil.
With the roots covered the danger is
reduced. The advantage Of the shady
side OF the furrow is that light and
heat both Increase the loss Of water
through Transportation.
For making the hole into which
the plant Is to be set, fiat mason's
trowel pushed forward and back to
make a wedge-shaped cavity is an
excellent implement. or a wedge saw
ed from a piece of 2x4 scantling. with
long handle fastened to the broad
end will result In less back-break-
ing process. In setting the plant
spread the roots out fan shape. and
use care not to bury the crown. In the
first case the roots are brought into
the largest number of points OF con-
tact with the soil, which is an advan-
tage in the formation OF the new root
system; in the second case, the bud
from which the new plant Is to be
formed is free to grow and expand;
whereas, when set below the surface,
It is likely to result in a stunting OF
the whole plant. The soil may be
pressed about the plant by reinsert-
ing the trowel or wedge and firming
the soil against the plant.
The water should be turned into the
burrows Immediately after the plants
are set, and allowed to run several
hours, or until the soil is well soaked
to some distance out from each side Of
the row.
Other articles to follow are: H.
"The Strawberry Patch in All Sea-
sons" III.-"The Choice of Varie-
ties" LESLIE r. PAUL.,
Associate Professor OF Horticulture,
Colorado Agricultural College, Fort
Collins.