The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-09-10
DEWBERRY GROWING
Fruit Seems to Thrive Better in
Higher Attitudes.
New Industry Adapted to Regions
Where Maximum Temperature
Reaches 95 Degrees in Shade
No Trick in irrigating Beds.

The cultivation OF the dewberry is
! calities where the maximum tempera-
! ture often reaches the maximum OF
95 degrees in the shade.
| In it's wild state the dewberry is
/, found growing on comparatively light
sandy soil and If this is significant it
would suggest that the sandy mesa
| soils are the best adapted to its cul-
ture. Yet, like our fruit trees. it is
| grown on almost any kind of soil.
| Considered from the standpoint OF
| both ease of culture and adaptability,
| however, sandy soils free from rock
Or gravel are best adapted to dewber-
ny growing. Since the plants must be
are generally covered with the soil
about them, any considerable amount
of gravel or rock is undesirable.
The dewberry may be propagated
by layering the tips or from root cut
tings. In fact the plants are so easily
secured that one may generally get
them from his neighbours plantation
more easily than from a nurseryman.
If plants are required by the whole
sale a good plan is to plow a furrow
along the row, place the tips of the
runners in this and turn light fur
ow back upon them; the tips must
'e actually covered. This work should
'e done before the opening of the
cking season in most attitudes, and
he plants will be ready for next
pring's setting. Deep cultivation that
will disturb or break large roots will
cause many new plants to start. If
an old bed is to be discarded, good
crop of plants may be secured by
thoroughly blowing and working down
the bed in the spring allowing the
young plants to spring up from the
broken roots the following summer.
Root-cuttings from roots the size of
a lead pencil, may be taken in the
fall, stored in moist sand over winter
and planted out in nursery rows the
following spring. If these root-cut-
tings are we'll cared for during the
winter and planted three inches deep
in good soil, kept we'll moistened a
fair per cent. will produce plants.
Root-cuttings taken in the spring and
planted in the same way will also give
fair results. The dewberry does not
sucker as freely as the blackberry,
root-cuttings.
In an irrigated section the first
step in the preparation of land for any
crop is proper leveling, low spots
where water settles or high spots
difficult to irrigate materially cut
down the dewberry yield. Best stands
are secured when the ground has been
deeply plowed, we'll worked down and
pulverized; no doubt fall preparation
is advisable, for spring setting.
Many experienced growers seem to
be of tie opinion that fall setting
would prove as satisfactory and would
bring quicker returns. Planting in the
fall should be done in early Stephen
Der and spring planting as soon as
the ground can be worked When
planted in the young orchard, the dis
lance can be made such as to best uti-
lie the space. There is no particular
objection to planting dewberries in
the young orchard, but the grower is
to be cautioned about crowding the
trees and advised that in most cases
it is not crop for the old orchard.
The cultivation of the dewberry
patch should not be unlike that for
any other bush-fruit 1t should be
well cultivated in the early part of the
season to keep down the weeds and
conserve the moisture. Cultivation
stops at the opening of the picking
season and is resumed again at it's
close, continuing until the end of the
growing season. Since deep cultiva-
ton which disturbs or breaks the
roots tends to start Objectionable
plants in the middles, the early cult
vations and possibly the later, ones
should be rather shallow. If the plants
are allowed toSrun for the purpose of
being trained on trellis, cultivation
must be in one direction; when
checked equal distance each way the
general plan is to keep the middles
open only one way. While it may be
possible to overgrow the plants by
continual cultivation, it is better to
counteract this by withholding water
rather than by discontinuing cultiva-
ton. Good cultivation is no doubt con.
ducive to vigorous, but not necessarily
to rampant growth.
There are really no tricks in irri-
eating dewberries. The ground should
be kept moist and in good condition
during the early part of the grow
ing season. The young plants will
stand a good deal of water the first
season. During the picking season it
is the common practice to water after
each picking, Just a light surface wa
tering. This supplies the roots with
the needed moisture to swell the ber-
ries to good size and by keeping the
surface Of the ground moist the ber-
ries ripen better, there is less loss
from the drying Of the fruit. It would
be a good plan. no doubt, to try to
induce early maturity Of the canes by
Withholding water after the close Of
the picking season. In localities where
the winter snowfall is not great the
dewberry patch should be given late
fall irrigation.
Gooseberry Cuttings.
Both the gooseberry and the currant
are easily propagated from cuttings.
These are made in the fall from VOL.