MULCHING 



187 



year. The ordinary cultivating tools are used. The weeds 

 should be kept down and the runners cut oft' as they appear 

 when they are out of place. 



The first season is the most critical time in the growth of 

 the strawberry. Tillage is very important in bringing the 

 plants through this crisis. The cultivation is valuable in 

 keeping a dust mulch on the soil and in preventing the loss 

 of water by evaporation. 



Fig. 85. — A pot-grown strawberry plant. 



Mulching. — In most of the northern states and in many of 

 the southern sections the strawberries should be mulched. 

 The best mulching materials are strawy manure with very 

 little solid matter, clean straw or hay free from weed seeds. 

 Occasionally other mulching materials such as leaves, pine 

 needles, marsh hay or cotton-seed hulls are used. The 

 mulch should be applied after the ground is frozen. If it is 



