STRAWBERRIES

"Strawberry"
Ozark Beauty
Fragaria

Strawberries, the most popular fruit crop among home gardeners, are easy to grow in all parts of the United States and southern Canada. The plants grow 6 to 8 inches tall in a thick central crown from which emerge dark green three-leaflet leaves and fruit-producing stems; each plant will spread about 12 inches across, but runners may extend several feet beyond.

Most varieties of strawberries are especially adapted to a local climate; thus it is important to choose the ones that will do best in your area. Strawberries are available in two types: June bearers and everbearers. The so-called June bearers, which include most varieties, produce one crop of fruit per year over a period of about two and one half weeks; they ripen in early to midsummer except in the cool coastal belt of California, where they produce fruit from April until November, and in Florida, where they ripen in midwinter. Although spring-planted June bearers produce blossoms their first summer, these are pinched off before they can set fruit, thus forcing each plant to use its energy to develop large amounts of fruit the following season. The plants will fruit well their third season, but lose their vigor thereafter and should be replaced.

The second type of strawberry, called everbearer, produces an early-summer crop and a fall crop, as well as some berries intermittently during the summer. When everbearers are planted in spring, the early-summer blossoms are removed that year only to prevent the plants from fruiting until fall; thereafter they will produce spring and fall crops each year until they lose vigor, usually after three years. Fall-planted everbearers begin to bear fruit in the winter or spring after planting; they too should be replaced after three years. In hot climates both types bear only one season and must then be replaced because they are debilitated by the heat.

Following are varieties recommended for home gardeners because of their particularly good flavor. They are listed by region in their order of ripening. In New York, New England and eastern Canada, good June bearers are Fairfax, Catskill, Surecrop and Sparkle; an everbearer is Ozark Beauty. Along the middle East Coast, recommended June bearers are Midland, Catskill, Surecrop and Vesper; an everbearer is Ozark Beauty. In the Southeast and along the Gulf Coast, a June bearer is Suwannee. In Florida, a recommended June bearer is Florida 90. In the South Central region, June bearers are Earlibelle, Pocahontas and Tennessee Beauty; an everbearer is Ozark Beauty. In the North Central states and south-central Canada, June bearers are Surecrop and Sparkle. In the Plains and Mountain states, June bearers are Cyclone and Trumpeter. In California and the Southwest, a June bearer is Tioga; an everbearer is Red Rich. In the Pacific Northwest, a June bearer is Marshall.

A single strawberry plant will provide about 1 pint of fruit per season.

HOW TO GROW:

Strawberries do best in a highly organic soil of pH 5.5 to 6.5 that has been supplemented with compost or manure. Do not plant them where any tomatoes, potatoes, okra, melons, eggplants, cotton or raspberries have grown within three years, since they may pick up soil-borne diseases remaining from such crops, and do not plant where grass has grown within the past year, since strawberries are harmed by grubs that may be present among grass roots. Work a 2- to 4-inch layer of well-rotted manure or compost into the top 8 inches of soil a few months before planting. Alternatively, apply a 2- to 4-inch layer of peat moss plus 1 1/4 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet and dig the soil over thoroughly.

When setting out a new strawberry bed, buy only certified disease- and virus-free plants; do not replant your own, as they may have contracted a root disease. Plant strawberries in early spring in most of the country, but in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, in the Southwest and in coastal areas of California, plant them in fall. Depth of planting is critical; the object is to set each plant so that about one half its crown is buried and one half is above the soil. Immediately after planting, feed each plant with 1 pint of liquid fertilizer diluted to half the strength recommended on the label.

The so-called hill system of planting strawberries, practical for both the June-bearing and everbearing varieties, results in large berries but calls for considerable work. Space plants 12 to 18 inches apart in both directions, making beds two rows wide; the beds should be raised about 6 inches above the garden level to afford good drainage. Cut off all runners wherever they appear, so that all energy will be channeled to fruit production.

In cool areas where spring planting is the rule, an easier method of growing June-bearing varieties is the "spaced-matted" system. Set plants about 2 feet apart with rows 4 feet apart. Each plant will send out numerous runners that take root to form new plants. Allow no more than six new plants to develop, spaced about 6 to 8 inches apart. Cut off all surplus runners throughout the first season. The following season the plants will produce their best crop of fruit and will also make many new runners. Cut these new runners off only where they extend into the space between rows. In the spring of the following year start a new bed in a different spot, and plow the old bed under after the berries are harvested.

Use a rake or tined cultivator to stir the top inch of soil regularly to keep weeds away. June-bearing varieties planted in spring should have all their flower buds picked off before they open the first season; they will blossom and bear fruit the following summer. With spring-planted everbearers, pick off blossoms the first year until late summer, then allow them to produce a fall crop of fruit. Thereafter, let blossoms mature for a spring and fall crop each year. Everbearers planted in fall begin to bear fruit a few months after planting; do not remove their buds.

In the late summer, scatter 10-10-10 fertilizer around the plants at the rate of 1 1/4 pounds per 100 square feet of bed area. Keep fertilizer off the leaves, for it may burn them. Scratch it into the soil, or if the plants are mulched, spread it on top and water it in.

In the North, mulch the strawberry bed with straw or salt-marsh hay to a depth of 3 to 4 inches in fall when average night temperatures fall below 20°. Pull most of the mulch into the space between plants in spring when the new growth begins, leaving some around the plants to keep the fruit from resting on the soil. In the South, mulching is done mostly to keep fruit clean. In the fall, shortly after planting, apply a 1- to 2-inch layer of cottonseed hulls, peanut shells, sawdust, bagasse (sugar-cane fiber) or pine needles to cover the soil, not the plants.

To protect the berries from birds, which may eat them as soon as they begin to turn red, erect a low tent of plastic netting over a frame of stakes.

To pick fully ripe average-sized berries without bruising them, slip your index and second fingers behind a berry with its stem between your fingers, twist the stem a bit and pull with a sharp jerk; the stem will snap off about 1/2 inch from the berry. If the berries are large and thick-stemmed, cradle each one in your hand and pinch off the stem between your thumbnail and index finger.