Evening star., 1949-03-20
Strawberries for Your Garden
DR.. Darrow Lists 10 Newer Varieties;
Some Practical Advice on Bed Technique

NV VII A/A -
missing is Premier. Premier has
long been rated as the best OF the
early varieties but DR.. Darrow
omits it for lack Of quality.
However, quality may not be as
important with the first berries OF
the season. At least, most OF us 90
not feel so critical at that time.
More important, though. is the
ability of Premier to set a second
crop of bloom If the first is killed
by a late frost. This character
istic should be weighed against its
lack of quality.
The omission of Catskill, a high
quality, mid-Season berry, Is well
justified since disease-free plants
are difficult to obtain. Fairland
and Sparkle are relatively free
from disease and are Of approx
imately the same fruiting season
so that the loss Is not too serious.
Two Harvests-Then Spade.
One of the major cultural prac-
tices that has made strawberry
growing seem difficult in this area
is the tendency to keep an old bed
fruiting for three years or more.
Most experienced students OF
strawberry culture insist that
years of fruiting is all that 1t pays
to seek. This means the bed set
this spring, and spring planting Is
the safest, will fruit in 1850. and
again in 1851. AS soon as the fruit
ing season of 1851 is past. the bed
should be spaded under. There are
three reasons for this. First, If
there are insects or diseases pres
ent, they will have reached such a
degree of infestation as to make
culture both difficult and expen-
sive. Second, the size and quality
of fruit deteriorates rapidly after
the first fruiting season. and by
the third hardly justifies the ef-
fort. And third, in this area the
soil is soon exhausted and the
weeds become too thick for good
plant growth.
There is an exception to this rule
and the skilled gardener may wish
to follow it. BY keeping the plants
in hills, that is restricting the
number Of runners to one or two
per plant. we may keep the bed
open. Now cultivation may be
continued throughout the life OF
the planting. With adequate
space around the plants. it is pos
sible to feed and mulch them so
that the soil fertility is main
tanned. Even then we must remove
the old worn out plants and depend
upon the new plants for fruiting.
If the old plants were retained, 1t
would be desirable to NOW the bed
after fruiting and to give it top
dressing of "a to l inch of rich soil
"a mixture of compost and loam
This is to encourage the forma-
ton of new feeding roots.
Points to Keep in Mind.
In setting out new plants, there
are several points to keep in mind.
The plants should be freshly dug
and not permitted to dry out
before setting. Trim the roots
back to about 4 inches-this is
best done before the bundle is
united. Set the plants 50 that
the crowns are level with the sur
face. If set too deep, they will
rot; If set too shallow, they will
dry out. The roots should be
well spread before flrming. Space
plants IL to 18 inches apart in
rows 3 to 31a feet apart.
Keep the plants well cultivated
and remove all blossoms the first
season. If necessary, an applica-
ton Of fertilizer (5-10-5 at the
rate of 4 pounds per so feet Of
row, applied equally on each side
of the row. may be given to
maintain q good vigorous growth.
DR.. Darrow stated that there is
q definite correlation between the
number of leaves on q plant IN
the fall and the quantity OF fruit
produced the following season.
This emphasizes the Importance
of cultivation, feeding. and
watering during the summer
growing season. Also, remove all
but the one or two runners per
plant which are retained Tor
fruiting. II
About Mulching the Bed. H
Mulching a strawberry patch
is a standard practice even
though our winters are mild.
Probably the best material avail
able here is oat or wheat straw
with the weed seed shaken out.
Apply after the ground is frozen
and to q depth Of 4 to 5 inches.
Remove the mulch in the spring
when the foliage Of the plant
begins to blanch. A small amount
of the mulch should be left to
keep the berries free from dirt.
Although, If too much Is left dur
ing q rainy season, 1t will hold
moisture and increase the amount
of fruit lost from fr,ut-rot and
gray-mold.
Ordinarily the mulching ma
terial raked off the bed is left
in the middle to serve as a sum-
mer mulch and to keep down the
weeds. 1t is handy to have 1t so
located in case of a late freeze.
If raked over the plants, 1t may
protect them and save the fruit.