BIG PROFITS FROM LITTLE PLANTS
(Page 2 of 5)
Trying to make such a choice from the lush descriptions and
pictures in a catalog is a real embarrassment of riches.
Fortunately for the beginning grower, the Rayner Bros.
Berry Book (available free from Rayner Bros.,
Inc., Salisbury, Maryland 21801) gives a very helpful box
score under the heading "Characteristics of Some Strawberry
Varieties".
RELATED CONTENT
The Rayner list rates various types of strawberries and
judges which are best for certain qualities: flavor and
excellence for general home use; goodness for freezing, and
for making preserves; firmness; large size; high yields;
vigor and growth in poor or dry land; suitability for cold
climates, and for the Southern States: resistance to red
stele, verticillium wilt and leaf troubles.
Surecrop was picked as the best variety for nine of these
twelve criteria, and Zoeller was tempted to order nothing
else. However, the neighboring berry producer—who had
grown strawberries for several seasons—was high on a
variety called Midway, and John ended up sending for plants
of both kinds.
Dormant stock—which suffers least shock when
transplanted—may be bought from many reputable
nurseries if the order is placed early enough in the year.
As the season progresses, however, plants awaken by
geographical area . . . early in the South, later in the
North. To be secure, Zoeller sent for his supply from a
grower in the shadow of the Straits of Mackinac Bridge in
northern Michigan.
With the order safely placed, John began to think about
planting. Space recommendations for strawberries vary as
much as politician's promises, but Zoeller decided on rows
42 inches apart with 22 inches between plants. That worked
out to something like 7,500 sets per acre . . . a grand
total of 18,000 for the planned area.
"Eighteen thousand individual seedlings . . . each of which
must be placed in its own hole!" thought John. "Wow. Even
if I waddle along like a tortoise and set every one of the
plants with one hand while I cover and irrigate it with the
other, it'll take me all summer just to put them in the
ground." Zoeller's tension was finally eased when a
neighbor loaned him the use of a tomato planter for the
job.
While he waited for his stock to arrive, John prepared the
bed carefully to give each of his purchases the best chance
for survival . . . and, because strawberries should go into
the ground as soon as possible after receipt, he made sure
everything was ready when the shipment rolled in.
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