310 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The best time. to fertilize a strawborrv ])lantation is before the phints 

 are set. Well rotted iiiaiinre, not infested with white fjrub and spread 

 on before the j^round is ])]owed is the best. This may be supplemented 

 with muriate of potash and acid phosphate, as suggested under '^Goose- 

 berries." If the soil is thought to be lacking in nitrogen, one hundi-ed 

 pounds of nitrate of soda may be applied on the young plantation twice, 

 just as the young plants become established and again three weeks later, 

 to hasten the growth of the plants. However, this is rarely necessary 

 if proper preparation has been given the soil. 



PLANTS AND PLANTING. 



The best plants are dug from one year old plantations that have not 

 borne fruit. Those dug from bearing beds are likely to lack in vigor. 



It is the best plan to have the field ready for setting as soon as the 

 plants are dug or received from the nurseryman. If it is necessary to 

 ''heel in" the plants, the bunches should be opened and the plants placed 

 in layers of about two inches thick. The soil should be firmly pressed 

 around the roots as high as the crowns and they should be watered as 

 necessary so that the roots will not dry out. If watered too much, 

 the plants will heat and be injured. 



Before setting, the roots should be trimmed back to about three inches 

 and all of the leaves but one or two of the youngest should be ])runcd 

 otf. It is quite essential to have the roots moist when setting and some 

 groAvers carry a pail partly filled with water in which they dip the roots 

 just before planting. The best tools for setting are a dibble or a spado, 

 either is i)ushed into the ground and then forced from side to side, 

 leaving an opening in which to place the plant. The dibble is handy if 

 one man is doing the planting but a spade is better where two men 

 work together and one man makes the holes and firms the soil around 

 the plants while the other trims and places them in the holes. In i>lanr 

 ing, the roots should be sj)reiul out and the soil firmly pressed around 

 them and the crowns should come even with the surface of the ground. 



CULTIVATION. 



The cultivation should be started very soon after the plants are set 

 and care must be taken not to cultivate too deeply nor to disturb the 

 roots or cover the crowns. Frequent shallow cultivation should be 

 practiced throughout the entire growing season, never allowing the sur- 

 face of the soil to crust over. The drver the season or location, the 

 shallower the cultivation should be and if the season or the location is 

 excessively moist the cultivation should be deeper. 



There are three distinct methods of culture of the strawberry, the 

 matted row, the hedge row and the hill system and there are also varia- 

 tions of these three types. 



The matted row is the most common method and it is the least in- 

 tensive. The wider the row the less intensive the method. Generally 

 the wide matted row is allowed to grow from one foot to one and one- 

 half feet wide with about one foot space between the rows for the pick- 

 ers. The narrow matted row is from six inches to one foot wide and 

 with a wider space between the rows. 



