0
About the Author:
By Don Keller
It is possible to mulch all the ground where strawberries are growing with medium grade sedge peat to the depth of at least an inch. This should be applied immediately after planting in August, and if the soil and the weather are dry, it is as well to soak the peat thoroughly first. No cultivations are then done because the peat smothers the annual weeds and prevents them from growing. (No gardener will, of course, plant strawberries on land where there are perennial weeds.) Because the worms will pull some of the sedge peat into the ground, a further application may be necessary the following April or early May, the idea being to keep the level of the peat at about an inch.
The bushes are fed through the straw. A fish manure with a 5 per cent potash content will be given at 4 oz. to the sq. yard, say, in February, and a second application at a similar rate immediately the fruit has been picked. The straw is not disturbed when the organic fertilizer is applied: this is allowed to wash through naturally when it rains.
The result is, the roots of the canes and bushes are able to develop in the top few inches of soil where there is the biggest bacterial activity. Because they are never disturbed by hoeing or forking, they are extremely happy, with the result that very heavy crops of particularly well-flavored fruit are produced.
There may be gardens situated in our cities or towns where it is not easy to get hold of straw or where this commodity is extremely expensive, and I am therefore asked what the ideal substitute might be. Some have used old sawdust for the purpose. This should be stored for about a year in the open before using, preferably in a three-sided bin made of planks of wood. It could be 4 feet by 4 feel or as big as 8 feet by 8 feet.
A layer of sawdust should be put into position at the bottom of the bin, 8 inches deep. This should then be sprinkled with fish manure at 4 oz. to the sq. yard. Another layer of sawdust should be put on, another sprinkling of fish manure, and so on, until the required height is reached.
When propagating runners the young plants strike readily into the sedge peat, and one can obtain new healthy stock as a result in August, and thus get the planting of the new beds done at the right time.
The bushes are fed through the straw. A fish manure with a 5 per cent potash content will be given at 4 oz. to the sq. yard, say, in February, and a second application at a similar rate immediately the fruit has been picked. The straw is not disturbed when the organic fertilizer is applied: this is allowed to wash through naturally when it rains.
The result is, the roots of the canes and bushes are able to develop in the top few inches of soil where there is the biggest bacterial activity. Because they are never disturbed by hoeing or forking, they are extremely happy, with the result that very heavy crops of particularly well-flavored fruit are produced.
There may be gardens situated in our cities or towns where it is not easy to get hold of straw or where this commodity is extremely expensive, and I am therefore asked what the ideal substitute might be. Some have used old sawdust for the purpose. This should be stored for about a year in the open before using, preferably in a three-sided bin made of planks of wood. It could be 4 feet by 4 feel or as big as 8 feet by 8 feet.
A layer of sawdust should be put into position at the bottom of the bin, 8 inches deep. This should then be sprinkled with fish manure at 4 oz. to the sq. yard. Another layer of sawdust should be put on, another sprinkling of fish manure, and so on, until the required height is reached.
When propagating runners the young plants strike readily into the sedge peat, and one can obtain new healthy stock as a result in August, and thus get the planting of the new beds done at the right time.
About the Author:
Fertilizer can be given to the fruit trees in your garden after the roots are established.
Post a Comment