THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST AND BEEKEEPER

Commercial Strawberry Growing
Manning Ells, Port Williams, N.S.

s TRAWBERRIES seen to fit in
well   with   oreharding. They
can be grown in the young or-
chard until the trees have been    out
some fifteen to twenty years and there
is no way in 'which a young orchard
can be grown so     cheaply as in  con-
junction with strawberries. With go'od
cultivation the strawiberry is practi-
cally a sure crop, aid under all condi-
tions of weather we have not had a
failure in ten years, the crop not vary-
ing more than a thousand boxes to the
acre one year with another. Some ob-
jection is raised that when growing
berries one fhas to wait two years be-
fore any returnrs come in. This is true
when starting a plantation, but where
planting is carried on every spring
you have a crop maturing every sum-
mer. Strawberries are the first crop to
be harvested on the farrn and bring in
some money at a time when other
sources of revenue are at a low    ebb.
Right 'here let me state that the man
with an acre of berries to harvest this
slmner has a small bonanza in      his
hands.
Growing strawberries presents no
greater difficulties and does not re-
quire any greater knowledge than is
needed in any other hoed farm or gar-
den crop. In starting a plantation se-
lect a piece of grofid  that has been
under cultivation for at least three
years. The June bug lays its eggs in
old sod and pasture land and the white
grub or young June bug is very fond
of strawberry roots and will soon fin-
*Extract from a paper read at the recent an-
eual convnion of the Nova Scotia Fruit

ish a new set plantation if there are
any in the soil. It takes three years be-
fore they are all out of an old piece of
sod. In this valley I think a loan   or
light loana is  the   most satisfactory
kind of land for berries, it being the
easiest to work and 'giving the highest
returns ibecause -the berries   will be
earlier than in heavier land. We want
to keep in mind that the early berry is
the one that pays. By raising early
berries the crop is out of the way be-
fore the 'haying seiason is on, quite an
important consideration if we are to
grow 'berries in a general way.
Preparing The Soil.
Prepare the land as for potatoes or
corn. We like to get the stable manure
on the fall or siunier before and plow
it in, plowing again in 'the spring as
soon as the land is fit to work. In
growing Dunhaps-and this is the only
variety we 'would grow on a commer-
cial plantation in the Annapolis Val-
ley-it is not necessary to set them ibe-
fore the first of June to get maxinum
returns. If the Dunlap has one fault it
is thiat it imakes too many runners, too
iank a growth when set early in the
spring on very good land. Later in
the season these runners pile over one
another and take root so thickly that
the  producing    plants   are   almost
smothered out. For the same reason,
strong nitrogenous   fertilizers should
be sparingly used    on   the  Dunlaps
when set early in the season. The best
crops I have ever seen were grown 'on
strong, well imannred  Lanrd when the
plants were set the last week in May.
On our own farm we begin to plant

as soon as the land is ready and con-
tinue as opportunity offers right into
June. We have a large plant business
to take care of, however, and have to
plant as soon as we get the time avail-
able. After planting it is most import-
ant that cultivation should take place
at once. Plants that are cultivated
within a week of planting will seem to
come right along and get a much bet-
ter start than  those   left  until the
weeds are showing above ground. If
cultivation is started early and kept
up once every. week or ten days until
the runners cover the ground the
heaviest part of the work is over. This
constant cultivation   gets  the weed
seeds all started to the surface and
sprouted so when the fall rains come
and the row's are nicely matted there
will be few  weeds   left to come  up
through the young plants.
To get the best returns it pays to
mulch the first winter. Use marsh hay,
meadow hay, rushes or     straw. The
oost of us will have to depend on oat.
straw and even at twelve dollars a
ton we covered the whole of our ten
acres with straw   this winter. Many
rnake the mistake of ,putting the mulch
on too heavy. All that is required is
enough to shade the plants; shake the
loose straw along the rows as thinly
as it can be spread, and from one to
two tons of dry oat straw will mulch
In acre. This muleh, when drawn be-
tween the rows as soon as the growth
starts in the spring, will help to keep
down weeds, will keep      the berries
clean and conserve moisture.
Up to picking time    any   ordinary
farmer can grow     several   acrys of
plants with no more trouble than with
the same acreage of turnips or pota-
toes, but the harvest is the limit.

'.4-
How would you like to pi'ntiuc, a crop of onions running i0 tons to the ae, -, like thjis one groovn on the  'a~oir4o Ranch, XKelowna, B.C.?'  Only
land rich in readily available plant food can give such yields.

March, 1919.