Clinton News-Record, 1983-04-27, Page 47Page kt
New "Sweetheart" straw' -Tries, grown from seed, are perennial everbeairers. They
BlIty be overwintered for production in the second year. This new variety also
provides fresh, tasty fruit from sumer to frost. (Pan- American Seed Co. photo)
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New 'Sweetheart'
strawberries, the first
medium-sized variety that
can be grown fruin seed, pro-
vide a bountiful harvest of
fresh fruit all suiiuner long.
This year, for the first
time, home gardeners will
be able to buy strawberry
plants grown from seed by
Ontario's greenhouse
growers, says John Hughes
of the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and F'ood's plant
industry branch.
This variety may be
planted in the garden at the
same time as other spring
plants. It may also be grown
in hanging baskets a great
way for 'highrise' home
gardeners to harvest their
own fresh strawberries, he
says.
Best of all, potted
strawberry plants from seed
produce fruit in the first
year, providing the runners
(side shoots) are removed as
they develop. Traditionally,
strawberries are propagated
from mother plants and can
be harvested only after a
one-year waiting period, to
allow the roots and plant to
develop.
Hughes says 'Sweetheart'
strawberries produce better
and have less chance of
developing disease problems
if grown in a well -drained
area, in full sun. Before plan-
ting, incorporate about 50
grams (1.76 ounces) of
granular 10-10-10 fertilizer
per square metre of ground
area. Do not overfertilize.
Too much will produce
large, lush plants with little
fruit.
Plant berries at the level
they were growing in the
bedding plant pots and press
the soil firmly around each
plant. Spacing vanes depen-
ding on whether the runners
are allowed to fill in the row.
You need about one metre
seed
about one y ard a between
rows to allow fur easy ac-
cess. Try using a mulch w
conserve soil moisture and
protect the fruit from being
splashed with water and soil.
'Sweetheart' strawberries,
developed by Pan American
Seed Company, are peren-
nial ever -bearers. They may
be overwuitered for produc-
tion in the second year. For
carrying over, cut off the
foliage about four cen-
timetres ( 1.5 inches) above
the crown after fruiting. Pro-
vide a complete fertilizer at
the same rate used at pre -
planting and narrow the row
back with a hoe.
Hughes says the
'Sweetheart' strawberry has
a tendency to be a little
softer than familiar
strawberries. It also pro-
duces a smaller berry than
other varieties, but the fruit
is quite sweet.
Fertihie in the fall
by R.W. Sheard
University of Guelph
In the first sunny days
each spring, home owners
rush out to rake, roll and fer-
tilize grey -brown lawns
devastated by the winter
snows. They want lawns as
green as when the snow first
fell in the fall. Recent
research at the Ontario
Agricultural College sug-
gests you can significantly
improve spring growth and
color by fertilizing in late
fall.
For a number of years, the
fertilizer industry rnarketed
a "Winterizer" turf fertilizer
recommended to improve
the winter hardiness of turf.
The fertilizer contained a
high proportion of potassium
relative to nitrogen. I pro-
posed, as a basis for my
research, that if the home
owner wanted a rapid spring
green -up of the lawn the
reverse proportion should be
used, that is, high nitrogen -
low potassium. Research
confirms the proposal.
Over the past two seasons,
ME GAN a IAN HERITAGE
IS REFLECTED IN
ROXTON SOUD MAPLE
FU NYRE
A FINE SELECTION AT
AT AFFORDABLE PRICES
HOURS: MON-TUES. 9 TO 5:30. WED. 9 TO
THURS. & FRI. 9 TO 9, S. T. 9 TO 5
characterized by relatively
low temperatures and
minimal snow cover,
research has been conducted
on a variety of ratios of
nitrogen to potassium ap-
plied in late fall. A marked
improvement in early
growth and color of
bluegrass two weeks after
snowmelt has been shown
where the ratio was high in
nitrogen. Subsequent growth
and color proved satisfac-
tory until at least early June.
With the heavier rates of ap-
plication, no further fer-
tilization was necessary un-
til the following fall.
I attribute the spring
green -up to fall storage of
nitrogen within each grass
tiller. The nitrogen is im-
mediately available for tiller
and root growth as soon as
the 24-hour air temperature
remains above freezing for a
few days, but before the soil
is warm enough to favor
nitrogen uptake by the roots.
Tillers removed from the
test plots in early April to a
growth chamber showed
greater tiller growth, initia-
tion of new tillers and roots,
and root growth where late
fall nitrogen was applied.
Potassium, however, failed
to improve any of the
characteristics measured.
Timing the application is
important. In the Guelph
area, the best time is the last
week of October or first
week of November. In the
Windsor area the best date
may be a week later, or in
North Bay area a week
earlier. A good guide on a
well-managed lawn would be
to make the fertilizer ap-
plication a week after the
last mowing of the grass.
The fertilizer should con-
tain approximately four
parts of nitrogen to one part
of potassium. On many
lawns a pure nitrogen fer-
tilizer may be used. The
nitrogen may be in a slow-
release form or as a
water-soluble material
such as urea or ammonium
nitrate. The slow-release
Turn to page 23 0
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