The cultivated strawberries are somewhat like exotics, having been created in Europe from the native wild berry and a somewhat similar wild plant brought from Chili in 1750. Varieties resulting from that cross were subsequently brought to this country and furnished the stock from which has gradually been developed the large, luscious fruit of to-day. But it still likes American soil and so will thrive in a wider range of latitude than any other cultivated plant. 136
There are several strawberry farms in our vicinity and, according to the owners, they bear most profitable crops. One grower tells me that he averages six thousand quarts to the acre, and gets an average price of eight cents a quart. Another neighbour says he calculates to clear three hundred dollars an acre from his berries. Personally, I can’t quote figures, because we have never gone in for market berries. Being very fond of them, and wanting the very best we could possibly grow, we have always confined our efforts to garden culture, just for home consumption, and the reward has been such epicurean feasts that we have been satisfied.
Like asparagus, strawberry beds should be established as soon as the family has settled in a country home, because it takes a year to get a full crop. There are a great many varieties to choose from, but I think it is best to restrict selection to the old established kinds. The Marshall for first early, the Glen Mary for mid-season and the Gandy for late gathering. And truly I don’t believe there can be a better selection for the home garden in the vicinity of New York.
But, as some varieties do better than others in a certain locality, it is advisable to consult old residents in the neighbourhood and the nurserymen from whom plants are ordered.
Light sandy soil, sloping slightly to the south, will produce the earliest berries, but we are convinced 137 from experience that slightly heavier soil and a more northerly exposure produces a better fruit in mid-season. Our beds all slope to the south, but the late varieties are so situated that they are slightly shaded by a row of young pear trees, which protects them from the direct rays of the sun. The soil is—or rather was—of ordinary quality, neither very sandy nor very heavy, so for several seasons we scattered fine coal ashes between the rows of the early plants, which materially lightened the soil, and for several years we have had berries from five to ten days earlier than our neighbours.
New beds may be started in the fall or spring, whichever is the most convenient. If the plants are set out in the early fall, they will bear the following season, but if planting is delayed until spring, it will be a full year before any fruit can be expected. So I recommend August planting of all plants to the beginner, and spring planting when there are established beds to take other plants from.
To explain: Strawberries are propagated from the runners, which, under natural conditions, shoot out from the parent plants and, taking root, develop individual crowns. But the up-to-date nurseryman has of late years taken to sinking small pots filled with rich earth in the beds, then by lifting the ends of the runners on to the pots the roots of the young plants develop within the pot instead of on the ground and can later in the season be removed without any check 138 to growth, which, of course, greatly facilitates the growth of the crown after it is set out in its permanent position.
Pot plants, as they are called, are slightly more expensive than layer plants, but they are well worth it when time is an object.
Before the plants arrive the ground should be thoroughly prepared by digging and raking until it is in a fine fibrous condition. Mark off rows four feet apart. When the plants are received, unpack and water copiously, and leave in a shady place for twenty-four hours before setting out, at which time make a hole with a trowel a little larger than the pot in which the plant has been growing, fill it about half-full of water, and if the plants have been delivered in the pots, remove carefully by loosening the soil, which is done by pushing a small stick through the drain-hole and turning the pot upside down. Then slip out the ball of earth, and put it into the hole which you made with the trowel. Fill in with the loose earth and the process of planting will be complete.
Plants should be set two feet apart in the rows. If they are strong and healthy specimens, growth will start almost immediately, so you must go carefully through the rows in about two weeks’ time, when the plants will have commenced to throw out runners. We never allow more than four for each plant, and those are trained to root as nearly as possible before and behind and on each side of the parent plant, which makes a solid row about twenty-seven inches wide at 139 the end of the growing season. The best way of insuring runners rooting is to press them close to the soil, holding them in place either with a small stone or a handful of earth.
After growth stops in the fall, the space between the rows should receive a dressing of commercial fertiliser and be well spaded over. About December 1st a mulch of straw or leaves should be spread over the plants to protect them from the frost. Early the following spring the same work is repeated, and about May 1st the mulch is removed from immediately around the plants, but left on the ground to keep the berries from coming in contact with the earth, and also to keep the soil moist about the roots. The beds must be kept free from weeds at all times.
After the crop has been gathered, a few runners are allowed to develop and are rooted in pots, as explained above, to be used in establishing new growth later in August, as we always put out six new rows each season and demolish six old ones, as young plants yield more and better fruit than old ones. For market the culture cannot be so careful, because the size of the beds will necessitate the use of horse cultivation. What is more, pot plants cost too much.
The successful market grower, to whom I have referred previously, practises the following method: The ground from which early potatoes have been harvested is sown with oats and rye, and when that crop is removed the following summer the ground is ploughed, harrowed and marked off in rows four feet 140 apart, and the plants are taken from the field set out the year before.
When the field is planted in June, a man goes through the rows about August and covers the tips of the runners with a little soil, to hold them down to the ground. This work is usually done by a man’s foot and a hoe; then, after growth stops in the fall or before it starts the following spring, the young plants formed from the runners are severed from the parent plant and taken up. This is accomplished by running a one-horse plough along the outside of the rows to cut the runners and throw out the plants, so making it easy for a man to go along and pick up the strongest plants, which are carried to a trench in some convenient location and left until the following June.
The trenches are made about six inches deep and the plants are set about one inch apart, and the trench refilled. Again a man’s foot and the hoe do the work. The idea is that severing plants while in a dormant condition and storing them closely in a trench prevents their feeling the shock of removal from the parent stem and retards growth until time to bed. Of course, when they are removed to permanent rows, they are planted one foot apart and fields are kept free from weeds by the use of a one-horse cultivator between the rows.
Even in field culture the runners have to be attended to as soon as they commence to form. Allowing several to develop from each plant will make the row a comparatively solid mass of from fifteen to eighteen 141 inches wide at the end of the season. A field set out in June or early July will give a full crop the following year and be nearly as productive the second year if early cultivated and fertilised, but after that should be ploughed up and the ground used for potatoes, cabbage or some other crops before it is again used for strawberries.
The ground on which strawberries are to be grown should have been well enriched with barn-yard manure for previous crops, but commercial fertiliser should be used while berries hold possession of the ground, for barn-yard manure is apt to contain the spores of fungus diseases which attack strawberries. Any sign of these diseases should be instantly checked by spraying with Bordeaux mixture. One thing more. When purchasing plants, remember that there are what are called perfect and imperfect plants. The latter are just as good for all practical purposes if planted side by side with perfect plants, but not otherwise.