LOVETT'S NURSERY, LITTLE SILVER, N .1 



5 



Fundamental Facts about Strawberry Growing 



You can never get the soil to yield more than is 

 in it Or put the other way, it you want the soil to 

 yield extra results, in either size of fruit, quantity 

 of it, or qualitv, you must give to the soil that 

 which will enable it to perform the expected dut> 



plants one foot apart in the row . In either case, cut oft 

 the runners as they appear. If to be grown in matted 

 rows, plant in rows three and one-half or four feet 

 apart and the plants a foot apart in the row, per 

 mitting the runners to grow at will 



As the Strawberry plant is an exceptionally heav\ 

 feeder, it is best to select a ricii piece ol ground for 

 the Strawberry bed. Any good garden soil liberally 

 enriched with well-rotted manure, humus, or other 

 decayed vegetable or animal matter, is ideal for the 

 purpose of growing line big berries in liberal quanti- 

 ties. Tlie ground should be spaded deeply , and 

 several applications of bone meal, scattered on the 

 ground and worked into the surface with a fine rake 

 should be very beneficial. A moist soil is preferable 

 to one inclined to be dry Soils with exceptional 

 drainage require frequent watering to enable the 

 plants to do their best Where manure is used in 

 liberal quantities fine sandy soils will bear wonderful 

 crops Strawberries should not be planted in a 

 location that does not get a minimum of six hours 

 of sunlight each day. They surely should not be 

 planted under trees or in other shady situations 



just previous to planting, dip the roots with 

 the adhering earth of each plant, one b\' one^ in 

 to a bucket of water. (See illustration on next 

 page.) The placing of a handful of straw, 

 grass, etc. (or berry basket) over each plant for 

 a few days, until the plants get "started," is a good 

 thing to do. Old stained baskets are as good as 

 any for this purpose. It is best to remove the 

 covering after three oi 

 four days: and do not 



j>ermit it to remain, m j;=ii=^-ii^.:r:::rrr^'"^"' ' ■" 



any event, for more 

 than a week 



For hill culture in 

 the family garden, set 

 plants in rows two feet 

 apart, and the plants 

 twelve inches apart in 

 the row; or if to be 

 worked by horse and 

 cultivator, have the 

 rows three feet and th€ 



Selection of Varieties 



The blossoms ol all cultivated Strawberries are 

 either bi-sexual (perfect) or pistillate (imperfect) 

 All the varieties offered in this catalog have perfect 

 blossoms and none, therefore, require the association 

 of another kind in order to be fruitful It is best 

 unless the ground to be planted is ot ver\ limited 

 extent, to plant at least three varieties (early, mid 

 season, and late), that the time ol fruiting ma\ 

 extend over a period of several week; 



The autumn, or everbearing, varieties usualls 

 begin to yield ripe berries in a month to six vveek^ 

 from date of planting and continue to do so until 

 late autumn. Never order less than a dozen plant.v 

 of a variety, as a proper test cannot be made witl: ^ 

 smaller number than this 



After-Culture 



This consists m keeping the soil mellow and free oi 

 weeds, by frequent hoeing or cultivation At the 

 approach of winter (as soon as the ground is frozen 

 sufficiently to support the weight of a horse and cart 

 cover the entire bed with salt-meadow h;i\ or othci 

 loose, light material Light strawy manure is 

 excellent for this purpose, as the soluble portion 

 leaches into the soil and affords nourishment to 

 the plants, while the 

 fibrous portion re 

 mains upon the surface 

 as a mulch. Evergreen 

 branches are useful for 

 holding the covering in 

 place and are them 

 selves a protection 

 When the plants start 

 growth in the spring 

 remove most of the 

 mulch and leave it on 

 the surface about the 

 plants this prevents 

 the berries from be-, 

 coming splashed 



