STRAWBERRY CROPS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 105, 6 May 1933, Page 19 (Supplement)

STRAWBERRY CROPS

PREPARING THE SOIL. The final breaking up and preparation of the ground for the planting out of fresh plots if plantations of strawberry plants should be completed as soon as possible. If full advantage has been taken of the dry weather for working, manuring and sweetening the soil, it should easily be broken down and brought into fine tilth for planting as soon as the soil is sufficiently moistened. It is an advantage to get the plants in as soon as possible, in order that they may become as well established as possible before the winter. Plants which barely have time to become well rooted and established before winter cannot be expected to withstand the cold severe season as well as those put in early. The rapidity with which the plants break away in the spring has a lot to do with the ultimate yield of the bed. There are two important factors, the first being the extent of growth made before the wet weather, and the second the condition of the drainage of the bed. In cases where the soil is of a heavy retentive nature—and it is in soils of this type which much of the best fruit is produced by our local free drainage for the outlet of superfluous moisture is even more important, so that the plants should be encouraged to make as much headway as possible before being called upon to withstand the more trying winter conditions. Selection of Runners. In selecting the plants it is only natural the strongest and best of the young runners should be chosen. The first and second runners that -form nearest the old plants have invariably

the strongest crown and have the best root system, and will produce ~the best results. The plants should be set about ten to twelve inches apart in the row, the rows being arranged from twenty inches to two feet apart, according to the nature of the soil. Varieties, too, may vary in strength and habits of growth, and should be arranged accordingly. It is desirable that root development should be encouraged as much as possible before the winter, and for this purpose a half teaspoonful of superphosphate may be worked into each hole before the plants are put in. This fertiliser is not applied with the sulphate of potash as it is in the immediate vicinity of the roots that the phosphate is most effective. Care in Setting Plants. Careful planting is an important factor in strawberry culture, as the depth to which the plant is set has more than a little influence on the success attained. The base of the crown should be kept slightly above the surface of the soil, for if the crown is even partly submerged, the plant development is retarded. Another thing that should be watched is the amount of pressure used when the plants are being placed in the soil. Particular attention should be paid to this matter in the case of clay soils, as the solid compressed soil is almost sure to hinder free root action during the wet winter months. Application of Manure. If stable or other animal manure has been worked into the soil preparatory to planting, this will supply ample nitrogenous food, so that this element should be left out of fertilising mixtures applied. Phosphorus and potash are the two elements that will be supplied by a mixture of sulphate of potash and superphosphate or bonedust. ’The bonedust will invariably bo the more lasting of the two; but it should be the best material procurable. This may be used in conjunction with the sulphate in the proportion of two parts bonedust to one of sulphate. The mixture should be applied at the rate of lAoz. per square yard and worked into the soil.