Making Home Profitable

by Kate V. Saint Maur

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 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 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 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.