145 



Alabama the average planter will usually get the best results 

 by planting in February or early March. Plants set at this 

 time will attempt to bear a few berries, but there will not be 

 enough to be of value, and it is better for the vigor of the 

 plants to cut off the flower stems and thus prevent fruiting 

 entirely for the first season. The ripening of even a few fruits 

 is a heavy tax on the vitality of a newly set plant that is not 

 yet well rooted. 



Cultivation and Mulching. • 



The cultivation required for strawberries is very simple 

 and may be made much like cotton, except that more hand 

 work will be required after the runners begin to grow and 

 take root. The main requirements are, first, that it be shallow 

 so as not to disturb the short fiberous roots ; and, second, that 

 it be frequent enough to keep down all weeds and grass, and 

 to prevent undue evaporation by a mulch of loose surface 

 soil. Some five-toothed cultivator like the Planet Jr. is usu- 

 ally used for working between the rows, though good work 

 can be done with the ordinary cotton sweep by setting the 

 wings flat to throw as little dirt as possible. The big eye hoe 

 used for chopping cotton is not adapted to hoeing strawber- 

 ries. A light garden hoe should be provided and it should be 

 used with a shuffling motion, cutting out any small grass and 

 weeds with the forward stroke, and leveling and fining the 

 earth with the back stroke. In working around the plant the 

 hoe should always be tilted a little so that the corner next the 

 plant does not penetrate more than a fourth of an inch. Deep 

 hoeing that disturbs the roots in hot dry weather is almost 

 surely fatal. Such careless, improper work kills more plants 

 than any other one cause. For the same reason big weeds- 

 should not be pulled up from among the plants in a dry time- 

 Either wait for a rain or cut them out with a knife or 

 chisel. 



Some growers follow the plan of stopping regular culti- 

 vation about mid-summer and allowing the crab grass to grow 

 up between the plants, only going over occasionally to chop 

 out any big weeds that appear. If the grass does not come 



