The everbearers are so exceedingly productive and their fruiting season
covers such a long period that it is absolutely necessary that the soil
contain an abundance of plant-food and berry building material.
A heavy dressing of manure should be plowed under and thoroughly worked
into the soil before plants are set and a top dressing of manure applied
soon after setting, spreading the coarse material close around the
plants under the foliage to serve as mulching when they begin fruiting.
The season the plants are set, all blossoms should be removed from
Superb and Peerless until the latter part of June and from Perfection
and Progressive until the early part of July, after which they may be
allowed to fruit to full capacity. They should then fruit heavily until
freezing weather. The following year they will fruit abundantly from
early summer until late fall with the exception of a short rest period
during July.
The everbearers may be grown either hill, single-hedge or double-hedge
row system, but the hill system has proved the most profitable. It is
unnecessary to mow the foliage off the everbearers although this may be
done if desired the second year after the early summer crop has been
picked, when the plants enter their rest period. If this is done prepare
the bed the same as for standard varieties.
If these simple instructions are followed, the everbearers will prove
exceedingly profitable either for home use or market.