At Tenth Street Orchard, Jonathon Conrad received a $5,898 NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to assess the viability of a combination of plasticulture and matted-row system for strawberries, comparing it to traditional annual plasticulture methods. The study focused on evaluating yield, berry size, and soil health across different treatments.The project aimed to assess the viability of a combination of plasticulture and matted-row system for strawberries, comparing it to traditional annual plasticulture methods. The study focused on evaluating yield, berry size, and soil health across different treatments.
Project Overview
The orchard tested a two-year strawberry production system, starting with plastic mulch in the first year and transitioning to matted rows in the second year. Within the second year, two treatments were compared: one in which all plants were retained with runners removed (crown treatment) and another in which plants were alternately removed, allowing runners to fill in (runner treatment). The study found that the crown treatment yielded the highest overall production and berry size. Soil organic matter remained consistent across treatments, and soil respiration and health scores improved over time, with the annual treatment showing the highest soil respiration by the end of the project.
Conrad's Strawberry Recommendations
- The combination production method can be beneficial, especially during poor growing seasons, as it allows growers to recoup some of their investment in the second year.
- Additional labor is required for summer weeding and row maintenance when using this method.
- Strawberry varieties differ in their runner production, which can impact the effectiveness of the runner treatment.
- To manage exposed soil in areas with slow runner establishment, consider adding a light layer of straw mulch or delaying the removal of plastic mulch until later in the summer to help suppress weeds and reduce labor costs.
"The grant has been a learning experience that has had a positive impact on our operation," said Conrad. "The data that has been collected has been useful to determine how our management practices are impacting soil health. We would encourage farmers to consider that different methods of strawberry production methods could be viable and that long-term thinking about soil health may be important to consider when deciding which production methods to implement."