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“Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did.” These words about strawberries were quoted three hundred years ago by Izaak Walton in The Complete Angler.

Unfortunately, many have never eaten a really good strawberry, the kind Izaak Walton had in mind. Instead their mouths were probably puckered by a bright red fruit which they were told was a strawberry but actually wasnt even a shadow of the real thing. I know of no other fruit which can vary so widely in quality.

If you want to taste the true strawberry flavor, dont expect to find it in a commercial berry. Picked green colored but not ripened in shipment, and abused all the way to market, these bare imitations of a strawberry bought at the corner store are hardly worth the effort of eating. To really enjoy strawberries, you must have the home-grown product, allowed to reach full maturity on the plant and then eaten as soon as ripe.

Despite its delicacy, the strawberry is the easiest of all fruits to grow. It is the one berry which does not demand a separate fruit garden but can be grown with vegetables if need be. The rows can be made continuous with the rows of vegetables, so they can be hoed at the same time. If necessary, the bed can be moved every year. Best of all, the strawberry is one fruit that does well from Florida to Minnesota.

Strawberries will grow in any soil that has grown good vegetables or flowers, whether it be a light sandy loam or a heavy clay; but they grow best in a well-drained loam that contains a fair amount of organic matter.

Prepare the soil just as you would for annuals or vegetables. Dig or rotary-till it to a depth of several inches. Since strawberries like a loose, fluffy soil that holds water well, work in some organic matter such as compost, peatmoss or rotted manure. Also add some commercial fertilizer such as 5-10-5 at the rate of 25 pounds per 1,000 square feet or later, work in a small handful around each plant.

There are two things to avoid when selecting a spot for a strawberry bed. First. never choose a spot where deep rooted perennial weeds such as Canada thistle or quackgrass are growing. These prove to be serious pests in a strawberry bed for it takes a few years to get rid of them. Second, avoid a spot that has been in sod within the last two years. White grubs, usually occupying sodded land, will cause serious damage by nibbling the roots of the strawberry plants. If there is no choice and land once sodded must be used, treat the soil.

If you get the urge to plant strawberries, you wont have to wait long to begin. There are several planting seasons, each having advantages.

Commercial growers set plants out as early in the spring as the soil can be prepared; in areas north of the Ohio River this is usually in April. Early spring planting saves the grower the expense of protecting the plants during the first winter. Though very early spring planting is generally recommended to home gardeners, fall planting is also possible; those plants and house plants which live through the winter will out bear those set the following spring.

During October and November it is sometimes difficult to obtain plants, but some specialists do offer them. The perfect way, if you can stand the higher costs, is to buy potted plants to set out in late July or early August. Ever bearing varieties handled in this way will bear a small crop in the fall of the same year.

Plants are often sold in lots of twenty-five and can be obtained from your local garden center or from mail-order nurseries. If planting in hills, buy one plant for each foot and a half of row. If using the matted row system, buy one plant for each foot to foot and a half of row. Once the strawberry plants are established in your garden, their rooted runners will furnish all the new plants youll need. They can be transplanted at almost any time during the growing season. Many home gardeners find this a good way to establish a new row, spreading the work over a long period.

When planting, set the plants so that their crowns are just at the soil line. Brush away any soil that may be covering the crowns. Also be sure that soil doesnt work in between the leaves for this will cause rot. Keep a can filled with a captan solution handy, so the plants may be dipped and shaken dry before planting. This solution can be made by dissolving 6 teaspoonfuls of captan in 1 gallon of water. I also like to pour about a 1/2 pint of starter or transplanting solution in the planting hole before filling with soil. This is made by adding 2 to 3 ounces of 5-10-5 to a gallon of water and stirring vigorously.

There are several systems of growing. The one I like best for the home garden is the hill system. By this method plants are set from 15 to 18 inches apart in rows 18 to 24 inches apart; to keep the plants in neat looking hills, cut off all runners except those wanted for a new row. The most satisfactory program is to keep three rows going: one will be in fruit, the second will bear the following year and the third, which is made up of newlyset runners, will bear in two years. The fruiting row can be destroyed after the crop is picked, in the case of June bearers, or in late fall in the case of everbearing varieties. Some experienced gardeners find that it pays to cut off the foliage as soon as the crop has been gathered; then they spray the plants with captan to discourage fungus.

The matted row system is another method of planting. Usually, however, the home gardener finds that this system does not produce as big berries as the hill system. One advantage of the matted row system is that it gives heavier yields since more plants can be crowded in a specific area. By this system the plants are set from 12 to 15 inches apart in rows spaced 42 inches apart. The plants are then allowed to form a solid mat of runners; between rows the runners are trimmed to allow for a foot-wide path. A matted row is difficult to renovate and is best dug up after one full crop has been produced.

Plants set in October or November should be mulched immediately after planting; established plants should be mulched after the ground forms a hard crust.

Everbearers are a must for the home gardener who cant bear to see the last of the fresh berry season. These varieties produce a fair crop in June and scattered fruit through the summer and early fall. When ordering everbearing varieties, increase the order by a half since they do not produce heavily at any one season. Since the flavor of a fresh berry is so superior to that of any frozen berry, it is always worthwhile to devote any extra space to everbearers. This is true even of the varieties that lose sweetness toward the end of the season.

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