THE GROWING OF THE FRUIT PLANTS - Continued
Strawberries are often set in August or September, but this is advisable
only for small patches or when the soil is in the best possible
condition and the highest culture is given. For garden culture, it may
pay to secure potted plants (Fig. 290). These are sold by many
nurserymen, and they may be obtained by plunging pots beneath the
runners as soon as the fruiting season is passed. In August, the plant
should fill the pot (which should be 3-inch or 4-inch) and the plant is
ready for setting in the plantation. Such plants should bear a good crop
the following spring.
During the first season strawberries should be frequently worked, rather
deep at first, but as the weather becomes warm and the roots fill the
ground, tillage should be restricted to a depth of not more than 2
inches. The weeds should never be allowed to get a start, and if the
season is dry, cultivation should be so frequent that the surface soil
should at all times be loose and open, forming a dust mulch to conserve
the moisture. If the fall is moist and the plantation free from weeds,
there will be little occasion for cultivation after the first of
September, until just before the ground freezes up, when a thorough
cultivation should be given. In addition to the horse cultivation, the
hoe should be used whenever necessary to loosen the soil about the
plants and to destroy weeds that may start in the row.
[Illustration: Fig. 290. A potted strawberry plant.]
After the ground has frozen, it will be advisable to mulch the plants by
covering the space between the rows with some waste material to the
depth of about 2 inches. Directly over the plants a covering of 1 inch
will generally suffice. The material used should be free from the seeds
of grass and weeds, and should be such as will remain upon the beds
without blowing off and that will not pack down too closely upon the
plants. Marsh hay makes an ideal mulch, but where it cannot be secured,
straw will answer. Corn fodder makes a clean but rather coarse mulch,
and where they can be held in place by some other material, forest
leaves do well as a mulch between the rows. In the spring the straw
should be removed from over the plants and allowed to remain between the
rows as a mulch, or all of it may be removed and the soil worked with a
cultivator.
A large crop should be produced the second season; many persons think it
best to renew the plantation each year, but if the plants are healthy
and the ground free from grass and weeds, the plantation can often be
retained for a second crop. It will be well to plow the soil away from
the rows so as to leave but a narrow strip, and along this the old
plants should be cut out so as to leave the new plants about 1 foot
apart. If this is done in July, the rows should fill up by winter, so as
to be in about the same condition as a new bed.
Insects and diseases of the strawberry.
The insect most commonly troublesome to the strawberry grower is the
common June-bug, or May-beetle, the larvae of which are often very
common in land that has been in sod. Two years should elapse before sod
land is used for this crop.
Cut-worms are often troublesome, but plowing the land the fall previous
to setting the plants will destroy many of them. They can be poisoned by
sprinkling about the field clover or other green plants that have been
soaked in Paris green water (p. 203).
The most common fungous disease of the strawberry is leaf-blight or
"rust," which frequently causes much injury to the foliage, and may
result in the loss of the crop. Varieties least subject to the disease
should be chosen for planting, and on suitable soils and well cared for,
there need be little loss from this disease if the plantation is
frequently renewed. The rust and mildew may be held in check by bordeaux
mixture. It is usually sufficient to spray after the blooming season (or
at any time the first year the plants are set), in order to secure
healthy foliage for the next year (p. 213).
Varieties of strawberries.
For most parts of the country, Haverland, Warfield, Bubach, and Gandy
afford a succession and are all hardy and productive varieties. The
first three are imperfect-flowered varieties, and some such
perfect-flowering kinds as Lowett or Bederwood should be provided to
fertilize them. Among other varieties that do well in most sections are
Brandywine, Greenville, Clyde, and Woolverton. Parker Earle is very
late, and is valuable for either home use or market, upon strong, moist
soils, where it can have the best of care. Belt (William Belt) and
Marshall have large, showy fruits, and do well on strong soil.
Excelsior or Michel might be added as very early; Aroma is grown very
extensively in some sections; also Tennessee (Tennessee Prolific) is a
very promising new sort from Tennessee.
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