The Tingle Nursery Co., Pittsville, Md. 23 



SETTING THE PLANTS 



Plants should be protected from the wind and sun 

 when planting, and never let the roots become dried out. 



Where commercial fertilizer is used, the rows should 

 be run out three to four inches deep and the fertilizer 

 drilled into these rows and thoroughly worked in so 

 that the plant roots will not come in direct contact with 

 the fertilizer. This is important. 



A trowel, dibble or spade are the most important 

 tools for setting plants. The plants are set in the row 

 with the roots down and the crown level with the sur- 

 face of the ground. If the roots are not planted straight 

 down the hoe or cultivator will probably work the plants 

 up. It is also important to see that the ground is press- 

 ed firmly around the pJant and that enough soil is filled 

 in near the crown so that the top of the roots will not 

 be exposed. 



If you broadcast your fertilizer do not use any 

 when planting, the rows can be laid off with a marker 

 and the plants set down the marked row. 



DISTANCE TO PLANT 



For the matted row system the rows should be from 

 three and one-half to four feet apart with the plants 

 set from 15 to 24 inches in the row, according to the 

 varieties set. Heavy bedding varieties such as Blake- 

 more, Dorsett and Premier should be set farther apart 

 than varieties like Chesapeake and Mastodon and other 

 varieties that make very large plants but not so many 

 of them. You can usually tell by the size of the plant; 

 a big, heavy plant should be set closer than a small one. 



If you use the hill system the rows should be about 

 30 inches apart one way and 12 to 15 inches the other 

 way with the plants set in the check. All runners 

 should be kept cut off. Under this system the berries 

 will be much larger than if grown in the matted row, 

 but it requires much more labor to grow them this way 

 and this is the reason most commercial plantings are 

 grown the matted row way 



HOEING AND CULTIVATING 



Begin hoeing and cultivating soon after the plants 

 are set. With first hoeing be sure to uncover the bud 

 of all plants that may have gotten covered when setting 

 or cultivating. Cultivate and hoe enough to keep the 

 ground from crusting and to keep the weeds and grass 

 down, but do not cultivate or hoe deep enough to dis- 

 turb the roots. 



When hoeing be sure to see that the plants do not 

 become too thickly crowded in the bed. There is not 

 much trouble this way except with varieties that are 

 heavy plant makers. Where the rows are SV 2 feet 

 apart we recommend a bed 15 to 20 inches across. We 

 do not recommend too wide beds as they are much 

 harder to pick and the berries are not usually as large. 



REMOVING BLOSSOMS 



All strawberry plants begin to bloom soon after 

 being set in the spring and if the fruit is allowed to 

 ripen the plants will be greatly weakened, therefore all 

 blossoms should be removed. This is very important 

 as it may mean success or failure. On everbearing 

 varieties the blossoms should be removed until about 

 the first of July, other than this the everbearers are 

 given the same care as the standard varieties. This is 

 one thing that should not be neglected. We also advise 

 the hill system for the everbearers. 



