GERMAN KALI WORKS Fertilizing Strawberries Published by German Kali Works , Incorporated v- 0-C FOREWORD THE object of this pamphlet, is to present to the reader, in a popular way, a few of the fundamental principles of strawberry growing which are advo- cated by the most successful growers in all parts of the country. The yield and profits from strawberries are varied, depending primarially upon the intelligence of the grower, the condition and preparation of the soil and the cultivation and attention given the patch. Methods of handling and marketing this crop must of necessity, vary with local conditions of soil, climate, market facilities, etc. No attempt is therefore made to give set rules to fit all conditions. A careful study of the information contained in the following pages should give the commercial grower, as well as the home gardener, many valuable and helpful suggestions relative to the culture and management of this most exten- sive and profitable branch of the horticultural industry. 3S0919 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES Intercropping Strawberries in an Irrigated Apple Orchard ADAPTABILITY TO SOILS In its native home the strawberry delights in a rich, rather moist soil and cool season. The wide adaptability of different varieties, however, makes possible its growth on many types of soils. Any soil which is suited to the growth of ordinary farm crops can be readily utilized for strawberry production. Since earliness of maturity is a desirable characteristic, loam soils or those containing a considerable amount of sand are regarded with favor by most growers. Commercial plantings are usually located on mellow and "quick" soils of a sandy or sandy loam type. On account of their desirable physical characteristics, such soils are 6 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES preferred to heavier types of greater potential fertility. Soils, deficient in plant food but in good physical condition, are easily and quickly brought to a high state of fertility under a system of management which includes the judicious use of manures and fertilizers. SELECTION OF SITE FOR COMMERCIAL PLANTINGS Strawberries are shallow rooted plants and do best in soils in which the moisture and plant food are near the sur- face. The more important factors to consider when selecting the site for a commercial plantation may be grouped under four heads as follows: (1.) Drainage and Retention of Moisture. — The soil selected should drain freely and quickly of all excess water, and at the same time be capable of the retention of sufficient moisture to properly mature a heavy crop of fruit. (2.) Available Plant Food. — The soil should be rich in ample amounts of available plant food, either naturally or artificially supplied. (3.) Altitude of Site. — Where there is danger of late spring frosts injuring the vitality of the delicate parts of the flower bloom, a site should be selected on higher land above the dead air level of low ravines and valleys. (4.) Choice of Slope. — The choice of a slope or the "lay of the land" becomes important from the standpoint of market considerations. A southern exposure hastens the ripening and marketing of the fruit, while a northern exposure lengthens the time of bearing and prolongs the season of late marketing. 7 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES PREPARATION OF THE SOIL The aim of all preparation should be to render the soil rich in available plant food, well drained, friable, sweet and free from injurious weed seed and insect larvae. The ordi- nary methods of preparation accorded general farm crops will not do and will surely result in disappointment. The small additional expense of a thoroughly prepared plant bed will be amply justified in greatly increased yields and fruit of superior quality. A piece of land that has been impov- erished by previous cropping, often requires several years of good management before it can be built up to grow strawberries profitably. Such soils are most quickly brought into condition through heavy applications of stable manure or the plowing under of green manuring crops, combined with the use of liberal amounts of commercial fertilizer. Sod land or soil that has been idle for several years is not desirable for immediate use. Such land is often infested with the White Grub (Lachnostera), which is very destruc- tive to newly established plantings. It is best to grow some crop that requires clean cultivation for a year or two preceding the strawberries, in order to eradicate noxious weeds and rid the soil of most insect pupae. Weeds and the White Grub constitute a constant menace to the economic production of the strawberry. Clearing an old established strawberry bed from weeds is an expensive operation, the cost of which can be materially reduced by proper precau- tions when preparing the soil before the plants are set. FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES Picking Berries at Charlevoix Michigan If the soil is not already well drained, moisture retaining, and as fertile as desirable, attention should be directed to its modification and improvement. Drainage may be improved by tiling but it is never desirable to select a soil which requires extensive artificial drainage in order to render it suitable to tillage within a short period after heavy rains. Berries draw heavily upon the supply of water and while the soil should be retentive of moisture, it should not be excessively wet. A plentiful supply of organic mat- ter is of importance in this respect — decaying vegetable matter not only improves the physical condition of a soil, but increases the available plant food by stimulating chemical 9 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES and bacterial action. The enrichment of strawberry land with vegetable matter is therefore a very important factor in preparation of the bed. For this purpose yard manure should be used whenever obtainable. Ten to twenty tons per acre should be applied, preferably in the fall of the year previous to the setting out of the plants in the spring. The manure should be well rotted, the idea being to destroy as many weed seeds as possible. When manure cannot be had, the soil should be supplied with humus through plowing under a green manuring crop. For this purpose clover, cow peas or soy beans will do well. In preparing the land in the spring, plow moderately deep; if in clover sod, plow in the fall and turn to a good depth. The land, after plowing and harrowing, should be rolled or dragged to settle the soil as deep as it was plowed, otherwise the capillary rise of water from the subsoil is retarded and the young plants will wilt during dry weather. It is essential to have the land in the best physical condition possible before the plants are set. As early in the spring as practicable, disk and harrow the land. The first operation is performed with the idea of breaking up the crust, and the second to secure a smooth, even, friable plant bed. The grower is now providing the best insurance possible against drought. By turning under clover or legumes, he has supplied the soil with a part of the nitrogen so essential to the prolific production of strawberries. The nitrogen is also in a relatively speaking, slowly available form, and hence 10 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES will supply the needs of the crop with a fair degree of uni- formity for the three seasons it would normally be expected to occupy the land. FERTILIZATION OF STRAWBERRIES While the use of manures and green crops is highly to be commended, one should not forget that the strawberry, like all other fruit crops, draws freely on the potash and phosphoric acid supply of the soil; nor should one overlook the fact that yard manure is not a well-balanced plant food, being deficient so far as the strawberry is concerned, in available supplies of both potash and phosphoric acid. Growers who resort to the use of green crops should bear in mind that, in a sense, they only turn over the mineral plant food supply of the soil, but do not add anything to the store of the mineral elements — potash and phosphoric acid. STRAWBERRIES USE LARGE AMOUNTS OF PLANT FOOD Conservative estimates indicate that two good crops of strawberries, including the production of the vine and the fruit, will remove, during the three years of growth of the crop, at least 223 pounds of nitrogen, 375 pounds of potash and 83 pounds of phosphoric acid per acre. Since the crop is generally planted on soils of a rather light character, they will, in most instances, not be naturally as well supplied with potash and phosphoric acid as soils of a heavier type and 11 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES A Properly Fertilized Plant which contain more clay. In fact, the experience of practical growers shows that the use of these elements in considerable quantities has been most helpful in improving the quality of the berries for shipping purposes. In other words, when potash and phosphoric acid are not supplied in sufficient quantities, either from the soil or from artificial sources, the berries do not stand up well, and many a grower has been disappointed at the market returns from his crop until he found out that he could improve the shipping quality of his berries through the judicious use of potash. From the foregoing, it appears that in a majority of instances, the use of a complete fertilizer will be found desirable. The year the plants are to be set out, however, the chances are that comparatively little nitrogen need be 12 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES used in the fetilizer formula. According to the figures presented above, through the three years which normally constitute the life of a strawberry bed it will require no less than 500 pounds of acid phosphate, 16% available, and 750 pounds of muriate or sulfate of potash to supply the mineral requirements of the crop. Such being the case, there should be applied to each acre, before the plants are set out, at least 300 pounds of sulfate or muriate of potash and 300 pounds of acid phosphate. On sandy, thin lands these amounts should be increased to 500 pounds in each instance, and there should be applied in addition, 100 pounds of dried blood and 100 pounds of sulfate of ammonia, or their equivalent of other nitrogenous materials. The fertilizer may be broadcasted or placed in a shallow furrow made by the turning plow directly in the line of the row where the plants are to be set. The furrows should then be drawn together and the plants set over the line of fertilizer but not directly in contact therewith. FERTILIZING ESTABLISHED BEDS In the spring of the first producing year, scatter uniformly over the rows about 400 pounds ol a mixture made up of 400 pounds Muriate or sulfate of potash, 1,200 pounds Acid phosphate, 14%, and 300 pounds Dried blood, 43%. The ingredients should be thoroughly mixed together, and when scattered on top of the mulch, will work their way 13 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES down and will become sufficiently mixed with the soil through the cultivation of the crop to answer every purpose. During the second producing year the same treatment is advisable. The experience of practical growers indicates that even on the best soils, as much as 1,000 pounds of a mixture similar to the above, can be used, and on thin soils as much as 2,000 pounds in the course of the three-year period under discussion. Some may prefer to apply the fertilizer on the basis of a formula containing definite percentages of plant food. In that event a mixture containing Potash - - - 9 to 10% Phosphoric acid, 6 to 8% Nitrogen - - 2 to 3% is advised, the rate of application per acre being the same. The higher percentages should be used on thin or sandy lands, and the lower percentages on the heavier and loamier soils. Those who desire to use sulfate of ammonia as a source of nitrogen, will probably find it well to lime their lands at the rate of one ton per acre, using the raw ground rock for this purpose. The lime should, of course, be put on some time in advance of applying the fertilizer. The farmer who depends on yard manure or a green crop, plowed under, as the sole source of his fertilizer, will be disappointed in the yield obtained from his strawberry bed, for even if he apply as much as ten tons per acre of manure which has not been exposed to the weather, he will only furnish the soil about 100 pounds of nitrogen, 70 pounds of phosphoric acid and 14 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES 100 pounds of potash. Compare this with the estimated amount of plant food removed by a crop in a period of three years and see how totally inadequate it is to supply its plant food needs. UNAIDED SOIL CANNOT SUPPLY ALL NEEDED PLANT FOOD Some will argue that the soil will yield up a large quantity of the mineral elements needed. While this depends much on its natural fertility, not over .25% of the total potash supply and 1% of the phosphoric acid contained to a depth of 18 to 24 inches will, according to the best authorities, become available to the growing crop, and this will only take place under the most favorable conditions of culture and management. Supposing a soil, therefore, contains as much as 100,000 pounds of potash, 250 pounds of this element might possibly become available in addition to that furnished by the manure. This would only supply 350 pounds per acre, where a conservative estimate says 375 pounds would be required. All authorities agree that not over 70% to 80% of the elements supplied to the soil in commercial form are assimilated, and it is likewise known that there is a con- siderable loss of plant food from all soils of a loose, mechanical character through leaching. These facts a-re presented to convince the doubtful planter that the idea of supplying min- eral commercial fertilizer in adequate quantity to his straw- berry patch is not based on theory alone, but on the discoveries 15 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES of man through a study of the relation of plants and soils to each other and to the economical production of crops. CONVINCING DATA FROM FERTILIZER TESTS That fertilizers can be used with profit for strawberry grow- ing is demonstrated by the data presented in the following table which illustrates the benefits which may be expected from the intelligent use of fertilizers. The figures are taken from an ex- periment conducted by Mr. C. F. Smith, of Cheboygan, Mich. Plat Fertilizer per Acre in Pounds Yield per Acre — -Quarts Increase over no Fertilizer — Quarts 1 No Fertilizer 980 2 100 Ibs. Blood 310 Ibs. Acid Phosphate 130 Ibs. Sulfate of Potash 1340 360 3 100 Ibs. Blood ' 310 Ibs. Acid Phosphate 1140 160 Three plats of one-tenth acre each were used in this test. The first received no fertilizer; the second, a ration of 100 pounds of blood, 310 pounds of acid phosphate and 130 pounds of sulfate of potash; the third, a ration of 100 pounds of blood and 310 pounds of acid phosphate. The increase over no fertilizer on Plat 3 was at the rate of 160 quarts per acre. At ten cents a quart this would pay a handsome profit per acre on the fertilizer. Where the com- plete ration, with potash, was applied there was an increase of 360 quarts per acre, which, at ten cents a quart, would be equivalent to $36.00. Notice that when sulfate of potash 16 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES was added at the rate of 130 pounds per acre, there was an increased yield of 200 quarts, equivalent, at ten cents a quart, to 320.00 per acre. This would indicate that the statements made with reference to the use of potash on soils devoted to the cul- tivation of strawberries were fully justified. These results were obtained in an extremely dry season when the yield of berries was much below the normal. From two to three times the increase indicated may be expected in an average season. The results of another demonstration which was con- ducted, however, in the South by Mr. Sargent Pitcher, Hammond, La., are also interesting and can best be pre- sented in tabulated form. YIELD, PER ACRE Value of Plat Fertilizer per Acre in Pounds Crop Cost of Fertilizer Crop Less Cost of Cases Value Fertilizer 3 3 3 1 800 Ibs. fertilizer generally used by growers analyzing: 8% Phosphoric Acid 2% Ammonia equal to 1.6% 158- J^ 158.33 8.00 150.33 Nitrogen 2% Potash 190 Ibs. Dried blood 16% 2 665 Ibs. Acid Phosphate 16% 265 Ibs. Muriate of Potash 245-^ 245.62 16.03 229.59 3 190 Ibs. Dried Blood 16% 665 Ibs. Acid Phosphate 16% 130 130.00 10.07 119.93 Increase in value of crop per acre, by using a well balanced complete fertilizer, over that generally used * $ 79.26 (2 over 1) Net profit due to Potash alone 109.66 (2 over 3) 17 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES With Potash Without Potash The fertilizer applied to Plat 2 was at the rate of 1,200 pounds per acre, and analyzed 2J/£% nitrogen, 9% available phosphoric acid and 11% of potash. The fertilizer on Plat 3 contained no potash whatever. The results show con- clusively that the fertilizer generally used by the growers does no give the best results. It contains too little nitrogen and much too little potash. In this test the fertilizer was applied on each side of the rows after the plants had been allowed a month's growth. The plants on Plat 2, which received a well-balanced ration, in addition to yielding the largest crop, looked superior throughout the season, as is well illustrated in the above photograph. THE CHOICE OF VARIETIES As with all other crops, much latitude must be allowed the grower in his choice of varieties. Soil and climatic 18 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES Imperfect Perfect conditions, the demand of the consuming market, the dis- tance the berries must be shipped and other factors will have much weight in determining the variety selected. Among the varieties which may be suggested as adapted to general cultivation are the Bederwood, Warfield, Senator Dunlap, Sample, Gandy and Brandywine. Three of these have proven especially valuable to growers north of the Ohio River, namely, the Dunlap, Warfield and Gandy. Senator Dunlap and Miss Warfield have travelled together through- out this entire territory and have proven a very congenial pair. The fact that they have remained long in localities where they have been established, is the best evidence of the satisfactory quality they possess. Since these varieties tend to produce a large number of* plants, it is probably better to set them in hedge or matted rows and fertilize 19 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES them very liberally so as to maintain their vigor. So far as the size, shape, color, texture and quality of the fruit is concerned, these varieties will be found very satisfactory. Some growers favor special types for planting, as for instance, the use of the Excelsior, which is an early bi-sexual, with Warfield, an early pistillate, and Senator Dunlap, a mid-season bi-sexual. Three rows of Warfield may intervene between the first and last named variety. By this method of planting, an abundance of pollen from the flowers of the pistillate variety, whether they open early or late, is provided. PLANTING STRAWBERRIES Time of Planting. — Plantings may be made in the fall of the year and are often successful, but spring planting, especially in regions of colder climate are less subject to failure. Early spring planting is preferred by most commer- cial growers who desire to produce a vigorous plant the first season so as to insure a maximum crop the second year. Method of Planting. — Several methods of planting straw- berries may be followed. Each method has advantages to recommend it under special conditions. There are two sys- tems of planting now in general practice, — the hill system and the matted row. The Hill System. — The hill system may be modified into several forms: — (1) the single hill system, where no plants are allowed to develop except the one originally set; (2) the single hedge row, where each plant set is allowed to mature 20 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES and form two additional plants, and (3) the double hedge row, where each parent plant is allowed to form several additional plants. In the hill system no surplus runners are allowed to develop and, in consequence, all growth centers in the original plants, causing them to throw out numerous lateral crowns at their own base. All the surplus runners in this system should be removed before they have grown out long enough to weaken the mother plant. The Matted Row System. — In the matted row system the plants are spaced fifteen to twenty-four inches apart, in either single or double hedge rows planted three to four feet apart. The distance of planting in each instance will depend on the character and richness of the soil. The plants in the double hedge row are set to alternate with each other, thereby giving better spacing between the individual plants and more room for development, the idea being to make each row a thorough mat of vines twelve to twenty inches in width. Plants allowed to grow in this way do not produce a large number of lateral crowns since all of their energy is expended in the production of runners and offspring plants. The hill system is the intensive method of planting and results in the production of a better grade and more fancy fruit. This method or one of its modifications appeals to the home gardener or grower for special trade; particularly is this true where labor is costly or difficult to obtain. The matted row system produces larger quantities of berries 21 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES but the quality is seldom equal to berries grown under the more intensive methods. The matted row system is now practiced by the majority of the larger commercial growers in the principal strawberry districts of the United States. Marking out the Beds. — It is important in both systems of planting that the bed be marked out with great care so that under the hill system the plants will check, and under the matted row system the rows will be perfectly straight and the plants properly spaced. This preliminary care materially facilitates after care and cultivation and lessens the necessity of hand weeding and hoeing, — two of the most expensive and troublesome items in the management of all small fruit plantings. Selection of Individual Plants. — The strawberry differs from other plants in its habit of propagation. As soon as the plant has produced a crop of fruit it sends out long, slender shoots or "runners," which take root at intervals and produce new plants. These new plants are the ones which should be selected for transplanting to the new berry field. Plants for transplanting may be obtained from reputable commercial growers or from old established beds near at hand. In the latter event, they should be selected with great care, only those free from disease and showing vigorous development being chosen. Medium sized plants are preferred since they are known to possess greater vitality. The strongest, most vigorous and healthy plants are those taken from beds where the parent plants have not been 22 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES allowed to produce a heavy crop of fruit the same season as the plants are set. It is a ^*V " poor and expensive pol- ^f_/ icy to set weak plants. j|jj|jl Preparation of the WMjr Plants Before Setting. Hp Wj' — Before planting, the W^^m/L~' roots, if long, should be shortened to four or five inches. In a newly set plant the ab- sorption of the water by the roots is very slow, but the loss of moisture through the leaves continues as be- fore transplanting. In a dry season, therefore, this loss should be reduced to a minimum by the removal of all leaves which are fully opened. Ordinarily no more than two leaves should be left when the plants are set. While transplanting, the plants should not be exposed unnecessarily to the drying effect of the wind and sun, but kept shaded and moist. SETTING THE PLANTS IN THE SOIL It is important to see that the plants are set at the proper depth and the soil firmly pressed about the roots. 23 A Properly Trimmed Plant— Both Root and Leaf FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES The stem of the straw- berry is quite short and if set too deep the crown may be care- lessly covered with earth, thus causing the terminal bud to rot, while if set too shallow, the roots at the surface will be ex- posed to the air and dry out, causing the plant to wither and die.The plants should be set so that the Setting Plants by Spade and Line Method roots are well covered with fine earth and the lower part of the crowns are level with the surface of the soil. The plants can be set with a hoe, a spade, a trowel, a dibble, or a furrow can be plowed and the plants set up against the land side and the soil filled in about them with a hoe. When a limited number of plants are to be set it is advisable to set them in a hole made by inserting the tips of the fingers into the mellow soil and pressing the earth firmly about the roots, using the knuckles and thumb. Any method that will insure the roots being spread and not twisted into a mass is considered satisfactory. 24 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES Watering at the time of planting as a rule is not advisable and should be avoided unless the season is extremely dry and the soil so thoroughly drained of water that there is danger of the plants dying. In some cases, however, it is necessary to use water in setting out the plants and in this case no bad effect need be experienced therefrom if the necessary precau- tions are observed. Care should be taken to cover the wet portions of the ground with a little dry soil in order to prevent too rapid evaporation or any tendency the soil may have to bake or form a little clod around the roots of the plant. From this treatment the plants are more likely to take a vigorous start and no bad after effect need be experienced if the idea of the dust mulch is carried out. SOIL MANAGEMENT AFTER PLANTING Cultivation the First Summer. — Frequent and shallow cultivation from the time the plants are set is one of the secrets of successful berry growing.. The wise grower does not wait for the weeds to sprout and the land to become infested before starting the cultivators. Anticipating the growth of weeds, he cultivates all the more. A good rule to follow is to cultivate often enough to keep a continuous dust mulch on the surface of the soil to conserve the moisture by preventing rapid evaporation. On ordinary soils and dur- ing average seasons, once each week or ten days will be found sufficient. During a drought period it will often be found necessary to stir the soil two or three times a week. Cultivate as close to the plants as possible without danger of injury to 25 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES A Well Cultivated New Strawberry Field at Three Rivers, Michigan the roots. Stir the soil after each rain to break the crust as soon as possible. Do not entirely discard the use of the hoe, which will be found of special value in keeping the runners and weeds out of the matted row. Thorough cultivation gives the following beneficial results: — It regulates the moisture supply through the formation of a dust mulch on the surface of the soil which breaks the capillary attraction existing between the lower and upper layers of the soil, it areates and sweetens the soil so that the plants have a healthier environment in which to live, it improves the physical character of the soil and stimulates chemical activity and the consequent liberation of available plant food and destroys noxious weeds and insects before they can damage the growing plants. Winter and Early Spring Management. — Before severe freezes occur in the autumn, it is advisable to mow or 26 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES otherwise remove the top leaf growth, cutting the stems one or two inches above the crowns to avoid injury to the body of the plant. In the late fall or early winter, a mulch of two or three inches of rather fine material such as cut straw, marsh hay, lawn grass, or other material free from weed seed, and which is not too expensive to procure and apply, should be spread in a blanket over the strawberry field. This mulch will furnish an excellent protection against injury to the plants from alternate freezing and thawing. If the area to be covered is considerable, the use of a manure spreader will be found to be the most economical way to apply this mulch. If the spring is late, it is often desirable to retard the blooming of the plants to avoid frost injury, by leaving the mulch undisturbed until all danger of killing frosts are past. After the danger of frost has passed rake the mulch to one side and let it accumulate in the middle of the rows; other- wise the tendency will be to smother the plants and retard normal growth. Remember to fertilize as indicated on pages 13-14. After cultivating the fertilizer in, the mulch may be replaced and left undisturbed during the fruiting season. Additional cultivations will not be necessary or advisable until after the gathering of the crop, except that all weeds should be held in check by hand hoeing or weeding. A light mulch left on during the fruiting season helps to con- serve the moisture at a time when cultivation is not advisable and smothers out most of the weeds. With the mulch, clean attractive berries can be produced. 27 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES For the purpose of stimulating the growth of the plants and increasing the number and size of the berries, the use of nitrate of soda as a top dressing is often advisable. The application should be made at the rate of 100 to 150 pounds per acre and put on previous to blooming time. Scatter the fertilizer lightly along the sides of the row away from the leaves to prevent burning and cultivate in lightly. The above amount can be made in two or three separate applica- tions to advantage. The excessive use of nitrate of soda may cause the berries to lose in firmness and quality if applied just previous or during the fruiting period. MANAGEMENT FOR THE SECOND YEAR As soon as the first year's crop has been harvested, the plants are again mowed down. All runners which tend to spread out in the row are removed no matter what method of setting has been followed. Cultivate vigorously and frequently throughout the remainder of the growing season. Keep the soil free from weeds and cultivate in a good application of fertilizer before the crop goes into winter quarters and is mulched for the second season. The second year management should be quite similar to that of the first year so far as the spring handling of the crop is concerned. Growers producing strawberries on a commercial scale or in the home garden, should arrange during the first year of bearing to select vigorous and hardy plants for setting out another planting so that a proper succession of fruiting beds may be had from year to year. 28 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES INSECT AND DISEASE PREVENTION If there is any evidence of disease or infestation by insects, the patch may be burned over after the berries are picked, but this should not be resorted to unless considered absolutely necessary. It is probably, however, a cheaper and more satisfactory method of protecting the patch from many fungus diseases and insect pests than is the use of sprays which are costly and troublesome to prepare and apply. Between a choice of the two, burning would seem to be the preferred practice and in the experience of many successful growers it has been found that when liberal fertilization and proper cultivation is pursued, the burning of the bed will hold in check most of the diseases and insect pests with which the strawberry grower has to contend and still not retard the healthy annual growth of the plants. Should spraying become necessary, the use of the Bordeaux mixture for leaf spot, powdery mildew and blight is recommended. For leaf eating insects, arsenate of lead, applied as a spray, at the rate of two pounds to fifty gallons of water will generally prove effective. These two sprays should not be combined, for the lime sulphur, as well as other fungicidal sprays must be used in such small quantities as to produce only a slight moistening of the leaves, while the arsenate of lead must be put on quite heavily if it is to prove effective. Sprays should be applied early in the spring after the new growth starts, but never during the fruiting season. 29 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES MARKETING THE CROP Where berries are grown on a commercial scale, the pick- ing, packing, handling and shipping become matters of primary importance. These, however, constitute problems which each individual owner must solve for himself, and an attempt to give directions is therefore inadvisable. Of course, only the choicest quality of fruit should be shipped, and it should be picked when in a firm condition so as to reach the market in the most attractive form. Much skill is required in the management of pickers and in the disposal of the crop, but each grower, must of necessity, work out his own salvation so far as these particular problems are concerned. 30 FERTILIZING STRAWBERRIES . :**;•* -. j, - CONCLUSION It may be confidently stated in conclusion that where strawberries are grown and managed as outlined in this little pamphlet, that the crop, one year with another, can be made highly renumerative to the grower. The initial invest- ment of capital required is not large, and hence many persons can engage in the business of cultivating this crop who might be prohibited from taking up other lines of fruit growing or trucking. It is to be hoped that a sufficient degree of attention will be centered on the cultivation of strawberries in the immediate future to enable every home to be supplied with a sufficient amount of this wholesome and desirable fruit at a reasonable profit to the producer and at a price which the consumer can afford to pay. The cultivation of the strawberry on small land areas in the vicinity of our towns and cities is especially commended to the attention of our school teachers, and through them to the thousands of boys and girls who need outdoor exercise and who, at the same time, can make a little pocket money out of an other- wise wasted opportunity. The German Kali Works acknowledges its indebtedness to the Fruit Grower y Farmer, St. Joseph, Missouri, for the use of several photographs appearing in this booklet. 31 ; Vf; S.,2 ? V *. JfERTJLiZING STRAWBERRIES Every farmer and fruit grower can obtain, free of charge, a copy of the following agricultural books: Potash in Agriculture Principles of Profitable Farming. Farmers Notizbuch Experiments with Fertilizers Truck Farming Farmers' Note Book Plant Food Fertilizing Peaches Muck Lands Potash Industry Orange Culture Cotton Culture Fertilizing Tobacco Potash Pays Strawberry Culture Fall Fertilizers Sugar Beet Culture Fertilizing Fruits Why the Fish Failed The Cow Pea State which one of the above-mentioned publications you desire, and it will be mailed to you free of charge. Address GERMAN KALI WORKS Incorporated 1901 McCormick Building 42 Broadway 1212 Empire Building CHICAGO. ILL. NEW YORK ATLANTA. GA. 260 Hansford Block Whitney Central Bank Building SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. NEW ORLEANS, LA. 32 YB 485C9 320919 CO 5> CO UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY