The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1922-04-28
START STRAWBERRY
PATCH THIS SPRING
BY F. F. ROCKWELL, Editor Farm
and Firesiden


Whatever else you plant this spring,
be sure to save space in your garden
for strawberry bed. A comparative
ample yield to supply you with delic-
ious, fresh Strawberries for your table
and give surplus for canning and
preserving for winter use.
The space you reserve for for your
strawberry bed should be a good
sunny spot with shelter from cold
winds, but--not too sheltered, for you
do not want to have the vines ruined
by a late frost! The ground you
choose should be rich, fertile soil, -
the richer the better. 1t is better to
avoid sod or grassy ground, as it
harbors the white grub, the larvae of
the June beetle, which attack new
plants. New ground, even If some
what acid, need not be "limed" for
Strawberries.
Thorough preparation of the soil of
your bed, with the most careful culti-
walton of the ground before planting,
will always pay in the end Get the
| soil fine, loose and mellow whether
you use horse with O narrow toothed
harrow, hand plow attachment to
| the wheel hoe, or merely a fork.
Never set your plants by simply dig
ging holes in hard packed soil!
Two Methods of Setting Plants.
| There are two methods which you
may use in setting out your straw
berry plants,--either the hill system
or the matted row.
! In the matted row method the
rows are marked 2 or feet apart.
and the plants are set II to 18 inches
apart in the rows. New runners will
soon form and root between and to the
sides of the original plants until a
solid mat some Is or Is inches wide Is
formed. The plants in the mat should
not be closer than 5 or 6 inches.
In the hill system the plants are
set IL or Is inches apart each way, in
beds OF from 2 to rows, with Is or
"a inch paths between the bels.
How to Get Big Berries With
the Hill System.
To be successful with this hill sys-
tenn, all runners have to be cut Oft
most particularly for weeks after
planting. This makes one great big
crown TO each individual plant, and
gives extra big, fine berries. Unless
one can be certain about doing this
well and thoroughly, the matted sys-
TEN will be found to be the most sue
cessful.
Be sure that the new strawberry
plants which you set out are new,
strong, and healthy. In setting in the
plants, put them in very firmly up to,
but not over, the crown or center of
the plant. Have the soil fairly moist
before planting-using irrigation be-
fore planting If possible--and giving
"A thorough watering after the plants
are set in the soil
TO afford succession of ripe ber-
ries until late in the summer, early
and late sorts should be chosen. Early
Ozark is fine, new early; another is
Early Jersey Giant; second early are
Sample and Glen Mary; medium to
late, Nick 0pmer, Brandywine, and
Marshall; late, Lovett, Big Joe, and
Chesapeake.
You Can Have Berries" Until Frost.
In addition to at least three of the
above varieties, you should also plant
one of the ever-bearing kinds. The
eyer-bearing berries are no longer an
experiment; they are practical, and
well worth while, particularly for
home use.
Ever-bearing varieties set out now
and kept well cultivated during the
summer, will begin bearing in August
or September, and keep right on until
hard freezing weather. | have gath
cred good ripe red berries in October.
The culture of the ever-bearing varie-
ties is the same as for others, except
that pinching the blossoms off in
spring and early summer viii give "A
heavier crop in the autumn. Progress
sive" is one of the best ever-bearing
sorts.