Cultural Directions for Strawberries 



PLANT SELECTION. Perhaps the most important task of 

 all is the correct selection of varieties for the particular terri- 

 tory in which they are to be planted. A careful study of the 

 variety recommendations in this catalog, and personal com- 

 munication with the Townsend Nurseries will eliminate the 

 possibility of the buyer purchasing varieties which have not 

 the greatest profit-making possibilities in his territory. 



SOIL PREPARATION. In the first place, 

 be sure that the land is reasonably fertile 

 and as nearly as possible free of weeds 

 and grass. Plow the land to be used care- 

 fully in the fall (this is much preferable 

 to spring plowing) and spread a liberal 

 coat of barnyard manure over the plot 

 during the winter or early spring. Potato 

 fields, tomato or cow-pea plots, or any 

 site where the land has been enriched by 

 growing truck crops makes an ideal plot 

 for the strawberry patch. 



If manure is not available, broadcast 

 a heavy application of commercial fertil- 

 izer over the plot just before the plants 

 are set in the spring. (Two or three 

 weeks in advance is just about right). 

 Sheep manure or a mixture of 1500 

 pounds of tankage and 500 lbs. of acid 

 phosphate is good, distributed at the rate 

 of 1000 lbs. per acre. Raw bone meal will 

 not injure the plant roots and is the only 

 fertilizer recommended for use directly 

 under the plants. 



The soil should be worked up into as 

 good condition as possible before setting 

 the plants. If the ground is manured, 

 drag the soil level, marking the rows with 

 a light marker, setting the plants on the 

 side of the mark, using the same side of 

 the mark on each row for equal width. 



SETTING THE PLANTS. For large plant- 

 ings, a horse drawn transplanter is good 

 to use if a good operator is available. For 

 small plots, or in stumpy new land, the 

 garden trowel is best to use. On stony 

 soils use a spade. Set the plant roots 

 straight down without crowding and pack 

 the earth firmly around them. 



CARE OF PLANTS ON ARRIVAL. Town- 

 send's plants come to you properly clean- 

 ed and bunched ready to set. 



If the roots are too long to set in a 

 stony soil, clip off a portion of them 

 cleanly. 



If the plants are received before the 

 soil is ready, open the boxes and take 

 the plants out, dampen the roots up to 

 the string, redampen the moss and repack 

 in the same box, place in a cool cellar 

 and the plants, if still dormant, will keep 

 from 7 to 10 days without injury. Heel- 

 ing in is permissible, if done by an ex- 

 perienced man but it is slow and tedious 

 and the tops and crowns may get wet. 

 The first method is best. 



PLANTING DISTANCE FOR MATTED 

 ROW SYSTEM. Generally, the matted row 

 system is considered the best and most 

 practical. Plant rows 3/2 to 4/2 feet 

 apart, depending on varieties used. A 

 matted row should be 3 feet wide when 

 the plants are laid by, and sufficient 

 room should be left for the pickers. Keep the space between 

 the rows cultivated as long as the runner plants form. Plants 

 should be set 15 to 24 inches apart. Good, rank growing 

 varieties like the Premier, Aberdeen, Blakemore, Dunlap, 

 Howard Supreme and Jupiter should be set 24 inches apart 

 in "trie row, with rows 4 feet apart. 



EVERBEARING IN HILL SYSTEM. The hill system is the 

 only way to grow everbearing strawberries successfully. Keep 

 the runner plants cut off, not allowing more than five or six 

 well-spaced runner plants to form. This produces large, vig- 



orous plants, each plant often yielding a quart of berries 

 during the summer and fall. Space these rows 30 inches apart 

 to allow for horse cultivation. The two rows in the bed are 

 spaced 12 inches apart, and the plants set 18 inches apart 

 down the rows. With this spacing, 16,000 plants will set an 

 acre. Such spacing allows room to work with a hoe around 

 the plants at all times. Plant food can easily be applied as 

 the cultivation continues through the 

 summer months. Feeding the plants while 

 they are fruiting is easily done without 

 injury by broadcasting fertilizer or chick- 

 en manure around the plants. Cultivation 

 is easy, as such spacing affords sufficient 

 room around the plants to keep down all 

 grass and properly mulch by shallow work- 

 ing with the hoe during dry weather. 



CULTIVATING. Tillage in newly set 

 strawberry fields should be thorough in 

 the early part of the season, in order to 

 preserve moisture so that plants can be- 

 come established thoroughly in the soil 

 and later in the season to conserve mois- 

 ture so that the plants can develop run- 

 ners. Weeds and grass should be kept out 

 of the fields at all times, as they will take 

 the moisture needed by the strawberry 

 plants. Most successful growers use the 

 cultivator as often as once each week 

 throughout the first growing season, and 

 during periods of drought even more fre- 

 quently. Hoeing should be done as often 

 as it is found necessary to clean out all 

 weeds and grass. Cultivating should be 

 shallow near the plants, both because of 

 the danger of loosening them in the soil 

 and because if too deep the roots near 

 the surface will be broken. The teeth on 

 each side of the cultivator should be 

 shortened, so they will not stir the soil 

 near the row to a depth of more than 

 1 or 2 inches, as many kinds of weeds 

 continue to grow in late autumn and start 

 to grow in early spring. We advise work- 

 ing the plants until hard frosts occur. The 

 field will then be free from weeds, and in 

 the following year very few will have time 

 to grow before the harvest season. 



MATING VARIETIES. If you order all 

 perfect flowering varieties, plant them in 

 large plots just as they come. But, if you 

 order part imperfect flowering you should 

 plant every third or fourth row to some 

 perfect flowering sort of the same season 

 (and there are some mighty fine imper- 

 fect sorts that should not be overlooked). 

 We offer four imperfect flowering vari- 

 eties in our list, May Queen, Howard 

 Supreme, Townsend's Big Late and 

 Sample. 



Varieties that are not marked in our 

 price list like Premier, or Big Joe, need 

 no other varieties planted with them as 

 they are Perfect flowering varieties. Also 

 all the everbearing varieties listed are 

 perfect flowering, and can be planted 

 alone. 



Vigorous Plants the First Essential 



NUMBER PLANTS REQUIRED TO SET 

 AN ACRE 



Number 

 Plants 

 Strawberries, Field Cul- 

 ture 8000 



Strawberries, Garden 



Culture 



Everbearing Strawber- 

 ries, Field 8000 



Everbearing Strawber- 

 ries, Garden 



Everbearing, Double Row Hill System 



Blackberries 1 700 



Red Raspberries, Hedge Row 2400 



Red Raspberries, Hill System 1800 



Black Raspberries 1 700 



Dewberries, Solid Rows 2400 



Grapes 490 



Plant 

 Spacing 



3y 2 xiy 2 . 



21/2X11/2 

 3V 2 X1 1/2 



i y 2 xi 



16000 2/2x11/2x12 

 8x3 

 6x3 



Asparagus 3200 



5x5 



7x31/2 



6x3 



9x10 



7x2 



Complete Culture Guide on Small Fruits Will Be Sent Free to 

 Anyone Requesting This Booklet. 



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