32 



E. W. TOWNSEND & SON— SQUARE DEAL NURSERY 



CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 



Strawberries will thrive in almost any 

 soil that is not too dry or water-soaked, and 

 no crop will respond more quickly to good 

 cultivation than the Strawberry. Straw- 

 berries require a great deal of moisture, es- 

 pecially at fruiting time. 



PREPARING THE SOIL.— Strawber- 

 ries should follow some truck crop if possi- 

 ble. We do not recommend planting 

 strawberries after an old sod has been turn- 

 ed under, too many grubs are likely to des- 

 troy the plants. All sod land should be 

 plowed at least a year in advance and sow- 

 ed to some v'ne crop and manured the fall 

 or winter before planting to strawberries, 

 and then thoroughly worked up in the 

 spring, where it is possible; land that has 

 been manured a year in advance makes the 

 best strawberries. We do not recommend 

 heavy application of manure immediately 

 before planting, and under no circum- 

 stances do we recommend the use of com- 

 mercial fertilizer, directly under the plants 

 when set. The fertilizer is likely to cause 

 the plants to die as soon as the sun gets hot. 

 If fertilizer is to be used, broadcast on the 

 land, thoroughly work in the land a few 

 weeks before ,=:etting plants. The finer 

 the condition of the soil at planting time 

 the better for the crop. If land is hard and 

 cloddy, better roll, also if very loose sandy, 

 it is best to roll, as this rolling holds the 

 moisture that is so much needed at this 

 time. 



TIME TO PLANT.— The fall from No- 

 vember 1st to March 30th in the South 

 plants may be set any time. In the Mid- 

 dle States, March and first half of April. 

 In the North, as early in the Spring as the 

 ground can be worked, the sooner the bet- 

 ter. Northern customers should always 

 order their plants shipped at least two 

 weeks before they expect to set them out. 

 The plants should be healed in a V-shaped 

 trench after they have been unpacked and 

 untied, bunches opened and roots dipped 

 in water. Cover with a board to shade the 

 plants and tliey will keep several weeks and 

 be in fine condition to plant when the prop- 

 er day arrives. We ship most orders to the 

 far North during the last half of April. But 

 some of our wisest customers order plants 

 shipped during August and September, we 

 have as good plants at this time as any one 

 in the business, but we cannot recommend 

 the planting at this time, and do not see 

 where the gain is in August planting in the 

 North. Everbearing plants set in April 

 will fruit just as quick as the August and 

 September plants, and much less trouble 

 and expense. 



SETTING PLANTS AND MARKING 

 OUT THE ROWS. 



After ground is in perfect condition mark 

 rows out with any kind of light marker, that 

 will not make too much of a sink in the 

 ground. 



IF HILL SYSTEM.— Mark rows 30 

 inches apart one way and fifteen inches the 

 other and set plants in the check with a 



spade or trowel, being sure to get roots 

 down straight and fan shaped, firming 

 ground around plants hard with the hand 

 or foot. Some customers write us they 

 water the plants when settin'g them. Don't 

 Do That! Nothing could be more injur- 

 ious to the strawberry plant. Under this 

 system, all runner plants are kept cut off 

 and only the plant you set is allowed to 

 grow. Plants grown this way grow to be 

 very large and usually meet the 15 inch 

 way, and produce more quarts of berries 

 per acre than the latter named system. It 

 is easy to grow one quart of berries per 

 plant under this system. Fruit will aver- 

 age twice as large and sell for more money 

 in the markets. We recommend the hill 

 system, as so many of our customers have 

 reported such large yields from their fields. 



SINGLE HEDGE ROWS.— Mark rowa 

 thirty inches one way, and set plants twen- 

 ty inches apart and allow each plant to 

 make about two to four plants. Some 

 very fine berries can be grown this way. 



DOUBLE HEDGE ROWS.— For dou- 

 ble hedge rows, mark rows thirty-six inches 

 one way, two rows of plants are set zig zag 

 fashion, and each plant is allowed to make 

 only a few plants. The object of the dou- 

 ble hedge row is to get more fruit to the 

 acre than by the single hedge row. The 

 center of the bed is kept open so as to give 

 the plants air and sun. This is one of the 

 intensive systems and requires much more 

 work than the other ways, and should not 

 be practiced on a large scale. 



THE NARROW MATTED ROW.— 



Mark rows forty inches apart one way, set 

 plants eighteen to twenty-four inches apart 

 and allow to grow until row is as wide as 

 desired and then keep down by cutting 

 runners off the balance of the season. Usu- 

 ally ten inches is the desired width. This 

 is probably the most common system of 

 growing berries in the large commercial 

 growing sections, where fancy fruit is not 

 the particular object. Too many plants 

 should never be allowed to mat in the bed 

 as their growth is only at the expense of 

 the former plants and when such crowd- 

 ing is allowed small berries and small yields 

 may be expected. One acre grown in the 

 proper way is worth at least two grown 

 the wrong way. It takes a strong robust 

 plant to make a productive plant, it must 

 have plenty of room and moisture, 'f the 

 roots are crowded moisture will be lacking. 

 If one is not particular about neither qual- 

 ity or quantity, strawberries will generally 

 grow with as little attention as any other 

 crop. But we always contend that any- 

 thing that is worth growing is worth grow- 

 ing right, and advise our customers to get 

 all there is in it by using the proper meth- 

 ods. The large crops are produced when 

 grown in hills and cultivated each way, one 

 way with horse, if in commercial lots, and 

 the narrow way with hoe or wheel hoe. If 

 for garden purposes, plants may be set 12x24 

 inches and worked with wheel hoe and give 

 the largest yield. 



