How to Prune and Set Strawberry Plants 



PLANT-SETTING time has come 

 in the South, and only a few weeics 

 more will elapse before we of the 

 North will be in the fields engaged in this 

 most important work — important that it 

 be perfectly done if we are to secure the 

 big results that are possible in straw- 

 berry production. The purpose of this 

 article is to give our readers the plainest 

 possible instruction as to the way in 

 which to take care of their plants after 

 receiving them from the nursery, and the 

 illustrations herewith, showing how to 

 to prune the plants, the position in which 

 to hold the plant while setting; also the 

 way the plant should appear after being 

 set will aid very much in this direction. 



The first thing to do upon receipt of 

 your plants is to sort them over, putting 

 the bunches of each variety in a place by 

 themselves, seeing to it that before open- 

 ing the bunches you have them so identi- 

 fied and arranged that there may be no 

 possibility of mixing the varieties. Every 

 bunch of plants should contain a label, 

 giving the name of 

 the variety, also tell- 

 ing whether it is 

 pistillate or bisexual. 

 N ow if your 

 ground is not ready 

 for the plants, heel 

 them in. First dig 

 a V-shaped trench, 

 open the bunches 

 and spread them out 

 in the trench as 

 shown in Cut 6, be- 

 ing sure to put each 

 variety to itself and 

 put up a stake bear- 

 ing the name of that 

 particular variety. 



Then there will be no difficulty in getting 

 the variety you wish to plant first. As 

 fast as the plants are placed in the trench, 

 the dirt should be drawn up over the 



CUT 3— PLANT AFTER SETTING 



roots, and the plants should appear as 

 shown in Cut 2. 



If, however, the ground is ready take 

 the plants, proceed at once to prepare the 

 plants for setting. No plant is ready for 

 setting until its roots are trimmed back at 

 least one-third. This is done by taking 

 a full bunch and a pair of sharp shears as 

 shown in Cut 1. If you will note Cut 5 

 you will see just the position in which to 

 hold the plant while setting. The thumb 

 and forefinger are placed at the crown, 

 the hand lies flat on the surface of the 

 ground, and holds the crown at the sur- 

 face level, preventing the plant from go- 

 ing too deeply into the soil. After the 

 plant is set it should appear as in Cut 3. 



There are several advantages in prun- 

 ing the plants. In the first place, if the 

 roots are not trimmed, the man who is 

 setting the plants out is apt to double the 

 roots up, and when this occurs it requires 

 fully a week or ten days longer for the 

 feeding roots to start and the plants go to 

 feeding on mother earth. During this 



CUT 2-HEELING IN PROCESS COMPLETE 



Shows how the plants should appear after being heeled in. Note that the soil has been drawn into the trench 

 over the roots and that the foliage and crown appear above the surface. If it is to take some time to prepare 

 your soil, shade them lightly with straw. In doing this do not cover them so heavily as to bleach them. 



time it is using up the vitality that is 

 stored up in the crown of the plant. 

 When the roots are cut back, the wound 

 will callous and numerous little feeders 

 will start. These will immediately go to 

 feeding on the mineral elements of the 

 soil. This results in developing a much 

 larger root system, which in turn builds 

 up a larger crown, the results being a 

 heavier foliage and a more abundant 

 yield or strawberries. When the plant 

 is entirely dormant the pruning may be 

 done more closely than where the plants 

 are green. We have tested pruned and 

 unpruned plants side by side — the same 

 varieties and grown under the same con- 

 ditions — and the results invariably have 

 been in favor of the pruned plants, both 

 in vigorous vegetative growth and in the 

 production of fruit buds. 



Too much thouuht may not be given 

 to the method of arranging the plants so 

 as to secure proper pulienation. Be care- 

 ful to set one variety at a time. If, for 



Pa«e 51 



CUT I- PRUNING A BUNCH OF PLANTS 



instance, you are setting Warfields, mated 

 on one side with Texas, and on the other 

 with Dunlap, first setyour Texas, then skip 

 seven rows, three of which will be left for 

 Warfield and one for Senator Dunlap, to 

 be followed in turn 

 by three more War- 

 fields, when another 

 row of Texas will 

 be set out; and re- 

 peat until the field 

 is set. 



Then comes the 

 cultivator which 

 should follow im- 

 mediately after the 

 plants are set. If 

 this is not done, a 

 large quantity of 

 valuable moisture 

 will be wasted 

 through the tracks 

 made by the plant- 

 ers. We have found the best im- 

 plement for this purpose to be the Planet 

 Jr. twelve-tooth cultivator. If you would 

 secure the highest possible results culti- 

 vation should be repeated weekly through- 

 out the season, unless the ground is too 

 wet to permit it. 



And dcn't forget the hoe. All the 

 crust should be broken close up to the 

 roots of the plants. This prevents weed 

 seed from germinating, conserves moist- 

 ure and admits air to the bacterial germs. 

 The best time to kill a weed is before it 

 gets started, and the hoe is the most ef- 

 fective tool with which to. accomplish it. 

 After the plants receive one or two cul- 

 tivations and hoeings, they will start 

 blooming. The blooms should be picked 

 off at once. Full instructions concerning 

 this important work will be given in the 

 April issue of The Strawberrj', 



An important consideration in this 

 work is that of tools. The best device 

 that we ever have seen is the metal 



