The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1912-06-06
ADVICE TO THE
BERRY GROWER

This is the season of the year when
the volume and quality of the berry
crop is either increased or decreased ac-
eording to the care taken and the ener-
gy expended by the grower. The re-
cent rains have been timely and help
full They have also made the grass and
weeds to grow and in order to get the
right kind of results the growers must
get busy as soon tie soil Is suffici-
emily dry to warrant cultivation. What
applies to a berry field in which the soil
il light and sandy does not apply to .
berry field where the soil is neavy for
the former case the land dries out
more quickly and therefore. may be
worked much sooner after a rain.
Without any desire to show superior
personal knowledge in the culture OF
berry fields. there are q few suggestions
that can be made to the new growers
that may benefit them. We shall ex-
perence a long dry season during the
summer months and in order to take our
berry vines through in good shape SO al
to produce a heavy yield OF good-sized
berries it will be necessary to retain all
the possible moisture that Is now In
the ground. This cannot be done IL the
berries are plowed or cultivated, and then
the ground left to stand open. In brief,
the finer the cultivation the more Iuois-
ture will the ground retain. In hoeing
out the canes it is very advisable ana
desirable to have a fine dust mulch at
least one inch deep on top of the soil.
To Illustrate: DO not, in hoeing the
l,erries, skin the surface off with ycur
hoe and leave II hard. compact surface.
but take the hoe and chop up finely the
surface of the soil and then take a hand
rake and pulverize 1t. In other words.
if the ground is not in the proper con-
dition the sun, air and wind will take
out of the soil more moisture in ~
hours than can be replaced by ~ hours
rain. No crop produced responds more
quickly to good cultivation than do rasp-
berries If the grower desires to pro-
duce 400 crates to the acre instead OF aOO
crates, it cannot be accomplished by in
different cultivation. To those who en-
ploy help | would suggest the employ
ing of six men for one day us being
more desirable than the employing or
one man for six days. The point is that
the sooner you get your berries In prop
er condition the heavier will be the crop.
If in going through your fields You
find weak spots where the canes are
short and the leaves not sufficient.
suggest that you investigate the roots
to ascertain whether it is caused by dis
case of any kind, and ii not, an appii-
cation OF nitrate of soda is very benefit
cial for deficient growth. Nitrate OF
soda can be applied at the ratio Of 2OO
pounds to the acre. The association has
q quantity on hand SO that your orders
can be filled.
To growers having chickens In tho
yard l suggest that it is well to watch
that the chickens do not scratch the
soil away from the plants to such an
extent that the crowns or roots are ex-
posed to light, heat or air. A very SIM
pie way to rectify conditions OF this
kind is to take an ordinary garden rake
crowns a little of the surrounding soil
and draw to the exposed roots and
In fact, each year the crow OF any ber-
ry- y-producing plant is a little bit higher
out of the ground than the preceding
year and it is necessary to have tho
soil cover the feeding roots In all cases.
Blackberry roots have tendency 10
grow deeper than red raspberry roots;
IN fact, the feeding roots of the red rasp-
berry have a tendency to seek the sur
face of the soil; therefore. the shallow
est possible cultivation, which means
that one inch is better than two inches.
viii give the best results in the red
raspberry fields. The growers should
run a light harrow through the berry
yards after every rain. n the rains
come too often, run your cultivators at
least once each week and in this way
YOU will subserve the moisture that will
be needed during the months of July and
IL. Paulhamus, president OF
the Puyallup Berry Growers Association.