VARIOUS SPECIES OF FRUITS 



191 



Fig. 128. Setting a runner Strawberry plant in a 

 flowerpot 



July first or even later, 

 because this tends to 

 strengthen the plants for 

 fruit production (Fig. 126) . 



From the very start 

 keep the ground loose, 

 open, and free from weeds, 

 by weekly hoeing or 

 wheel hoe, (horse culti- 

 vation in a large patch). 

 Avoid cultivating more 

 than two inches deep and 

 very close to the plants 

 because of the shallow 

 roots. By keeping the 

 surface inch dusty, by frequent tillage, moisture will be held below 

 where needed and weeds will not have a chance to grow. Never 

 cultivate while the soil is wet. 



Strawberries do best in rich, fairly moist soil and in cool seasons. 

 In the North, plants started from runners in flowerpots may be set in 

 July, August or September, but generally the runners are taken from 

 the old plantation in Spring and planted where they are to remain and 

 fruit the year following. For the home garden where only a few 

 score plants need be handled, the pot method is specially desirable 

 because the plants should bear a very fair crop the following Summer 

 and still be in good condition for another season's crop. 



If well-rooted runner plants (Fig. 129) can be secured in July, or 

 early August, and transplanted just before a good rain, or each plant 

 given a pint or so of water, held in a little basin of soil around it, often 

 as good results may be secured as from potted plants. It may be 

 necessary in case of a dry spell to water the plants two or three times. 

 Such watering should always be in little cup-like hollows of soil with 

 the plants as the centers. After the water has seeped down and the 

 soil has lost its paste-like appearance, some loose, dry soil should 

 be drawn over the wetted earth to form a dust mulch and check 

 evaporation. 



In order to get potted plants (Fig. 128) all that is necessary is to 

 sink 2, 2}^ or 3-inch pots, rim deep and filled with soil, in the beds. 

 The runners still attached to the parent plants are placed with their 

 rosettes of leaves immediately over the pots. A clod or a pebble will 

 hold the rosette in place until it has developed roots. In two or three 

 weeks the pots should be "full of roots" (Fig. 130) and the plants may 

 be set in the beds. 



