The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-26
TILLAGE BEFORE BEARING

If the soil and the contour of the land will permit, the hill or or~modified hill
 system should be adopted for the plant ing plan. The rows are laid off three and 8 half feet apart and the plants are set IS to 20 inches apart in the Gow.
 They are carefully titled throughout the
 first growing season. Most of the run ners are cut back. This tends to force an unusually vigorous growth of the mother plant, which will throw out many extra sprouts, thus forming large clump of vigorous plants. Tiliage is con- tinued until winter.
 After the first severe freezes the plants are mulched with pine straw or other suitable mulching material. Pine straw is one of the very best materials for this purpose. This mulch is placed over the entire surface deep enough to keep down excessive weed growth and to as- sist in retaining the moisture. But when growth starts in spring 1t is raked off the plants and left between the rows. It then serves a bed on which the berries lie without coming in contact with the soil, thus insuring clean fruit at harvest time The fruit is not as liable to become diseased where 1t does not come in contact with the soil at ripen- l ing time Large weeds which may come through the mulch material are cut out with narrow hoe or pulled by hand TILLAGE AFTER EACH CROP After the crop is harvested small I turning blow is run along the rows. turning the earth towards the center | of the row and leaving space of about | 12 inches uncut. This space contains the | original plant and the sprouts which clus-
 ter around it. These plants are not dis 1 turbed but weak plants and those which are found between the original plants are carefully cut out with the hoe. leav- l ing the original plant and those clustered around 1t, after which the ground be- | tween the rows is carefully worked down ! smooth Level tillage is continued | throughout the season and followed by | mulching as before. The tops are not cut or burned. This plan is followed year after year. 1t is not the plan in l general use but it is that followed by I MT Frank Holman of York, Ala. Mir. I Holman is the largest grower in the state | and has had a continuous experience of | 2G years successful business He has 25o acres bearing this year. from which l he has harvested an unusually heavy l crop of fine fruit. Following this plan I of tillage, MT. Holman has harvested extremel: heavy crops of fruit from plants which are five years old and he has. in times past, harvested seven crops | from the same plant.
 1 The matted row system. in which the plants are trained to occupy complete | space of about F inches to IS inches l in width. with a space of two feet be- tween for cultivation, is the most gem | eral method now in use. This method does not give as large berries, the plants suffer more during dry, season, the fruit is more difficult to pick and it is more difficult to keep out grass and 1 weeds than by the modified hill system ! described above. It is probable. how ever. on hillside land which is likely l to suffer from washing, that the matted ! row may have some advantages.
 FERTILIZATION
 The strawberry will produce q small crop on poor soil without fertilization, l but there is no plant which responds l more heartily to good soil and heavy fertilization than the strawberry v tz