92 Success with Small Fruits. 



hesitate to furnish their gardens as early in the summer as possible. To 

 wait two years of our short lives for strawberries because the plants 

 are a little cheaper in the spring is a phase of economy that suggests, 

 the moon. Such self-denial in a good cause would be heroic. 



If people will use a little forethought, they can practice summer and 

 autumn planting with double success, independently of the plant grower. 

 We have shown that there is no mystery in raising potted plants. More- 

 over, in the hottest summers there are showery, cloudy days when 

 ordinary layer plants can be set with perfect safety. If the field or 

 garden bed is near where the layer plants are growing, the latter can be 

 taken up with earth clinging to their roots, and thus have all the advantages 

 of potted plants. Even under the Southern sun, hundreds of acres are, in 

 this manner, set annually in the vicinity of Charleston. 



As the autumn grows cool and moist, layer plants can be obtained 

 from a distance and set out profitably in large quantities. The chief 

 danger in late planting results from the tendency of the plants to be 

 thrown out of the ground by the action of the frost, and a few varieties 

 do not seem sufficiently hardy to endure severe cold. I obviate this, 

 difficulty by simply hoeing upon the plants two inches of earth, just 

 before the ground freezes in November or December. This winter cover- 

 ing of soil enables me to plant with entire success at any time in the 

 fall even late in November instead of spring, when there is a rush of 

 work. The earth is raked off the plants in March or April, as soon as 

 severe freezing weather is over ; otherwise they would decay. Do not 

 first put manure on the plants and then cover with earth cover with 

 earth only, 



Thus it will be seen that each period has its advantages, which will 

 vary with different seasons. If drought and heat come in early May, 

 spring-set plants may suffer badly. Again, periods in summer and 

 autumn may be so hot and dry that even potted plants can only be kept 

 alive by repeated waterings. My practice is to divide my plantings about 

 equally between summer, fall, and spring. I thus take no chances of 

 failure. 



