19 



WHAT CARE DO PLANTS NEED? They should 

 be set promptly on arrival if possible. Dip the roots 

 in water and keep them protected when taken to 

 the garden or field for setting. A hot day is bad 

 for setting strawberry plants. A hot windy day is 

 terrible. A cool cloudy day is fine. Sometimes 

 plants must be kept a while because the ground is 

 not ready or for some other reason. Small lots of 

 plants can be kept in excellent condition for many 

 days in the family refrigerator if there is room. 

 Burying the crate or package for a while in a 

 snowbank is O. K. 



The very best way to hold plants for a while is 

 in cold storage at 32 Degrees F. If such storage is 

 not available, open the bundles and spread the 

 plants in thin layers along a V-shaped trench about 

 four or five inches deep. Cover the roots with two 

 or three inches of soil, leaving the buds exposed. 

 Wet the soil and plants thoroughly. A light cover- 

 ing may be necessary. 



Incidentally, there is one way to play safe. If 

 you have cold storage available order your plants 

 shipped in March while they are still thoroughly 

 dormant. Even moderate delays in transit won't 

 hurt them at that time and they will keep per- 

 fectly in cold storage at 32 degrees F. until plant- 

 ing conditions are just right. 



HOW FAR APART SHOULD PLANTS BE SET? 

 In general, we recommend setting plants 18 to 20 

 inches apart in rows 3*/2 to 4 feet apart. This 

 requires about 7,000 plants per acre. (See table). 

 Somewhat closer planting is satisfactory in small 

 gardens where space is limited, for the hill system 

 as with everbearers, or for late setting where a 

 good stand is uncertain. 



For the small garden order 7 plants for each 10 

 feet of row you want to set or figure 1 plant for 

 each 5 square feet. Thus for a plot 10 x 10 ft. you 

 would need about 20 plants. 



WHAT IS THE BEST METHOD OF SETTING 

 PLANTS? Any method is good which leaves the 

 roots reasonably straight down in the soil, spread 

 some if possible, with the soil pressed firmly 

 against the roots and the bud just at the surface 

 of the packed down soil. A good garden trowel 

 is the best tool for the work in small plots. Others 

 are a spade, dibble, paddle, a big spoon or in 

 larger fields a horse drawn transplanter. With 

 plants that have very long roots clipping them off 

 to about 4 or 5 inches in length will make it easier 

 to get a good job of setting. It will not hurt the 

 plants. No matter how long or how short the leaf 

 stems, fruit stems or roots may be at time of setting, 

 the bud must be just at the surface. (See picture.) 



HOEING, CULTIVATING AND TRAINING. Fre- 

 quent hoeing and cultivating make larger, stronger 

 fruiting beds and a better crop of berries. The 

 purpose is to keep down weeds and grass and to 

 keep the top soil loose. Loose top soil helps con- 

 serve soil moisture and makes it easier for new 

 runners to take root. Shallow cultivation is best — 

 1 to 1 Vz inches deep with the hoe or slightly deeper 

 with horse cultivator. 



There are three other important jobs to be done 

 along with the hoeing work. 



(1) Uncover the buds. At the first or second hoe- 

 ing any of the plants' buds which have become 

 covered with packed or caked dirt must be uncov- 

 ered. Neglect in this is often the greatest single 

 cause of a poor stand. The outside leaves may 



remain fresh and green for some time but if the bud 

 is smothered the whole plant will eventually die. 



(2) Cut off the blossoms at each hoeing. The 

 vitality necessary to mature a cluster or two of ber- 

 ries is needed by the newly set plant to make a 

 strong, vigorous plant growth. Blossoms may be 

 left on plants of Everbearing varieties after July 20th. 



(J) Most of the training of new runners is done 

 at hoeing time. A well spaced matted row is the 

 best system for getting the largest crops of the 

 best berries. It will not pay to be too fussy about 

 exact spacing distances but it should be kept in 

 mind that 4 to 8 plants per square foot of fruiting 

 bed is plenty. Any excess is no better than weeds. 

 Train the first strong, new runners out like spokes 

 from a wheel and root them until a fruiting row l ! /2 

 to 2 17 2 feet wide has been formed. When that has 

 been done as many as possible of the later runners 

 should be pulled off or cut off. 



PLANTS FOR VARIOUS PLANTING DISTANCE 



Rows 



In tli 



e row 



Total per acre 



3 ft. apart 



18 i 



nches 



9,680 plants 



3 ft. " 



24 





7,260 " 



3V2 ft. " 



18 





8,297 " 



3V2 ft. " 



24 





6,223 " 



4 ft. " 



18 





7,260 " 



4 ft. " 



24 





5,445 " 



3 ft. 8 in. " 



20 





7.128 " 



OO SHALLOW 



IS MULCHING NECESSARY? Mulching is necessary 

 for winter protection in all the Northern States and 

 would be helpful in many fields as far South as 

 Virginia and Kentucky. In addition to giving protec- 

 tion from ccld, mulching helps to keep down weeds 

 and grass, to conserve soil moisture and to keep the 

 fruit bright and clean. 



The mulch should be applied in the fall after frost 

 and light fraezes (25 to 28 degrees F) have occurred but 

 before hard freezing (20 degrees F or lower). It should 

 be removed (at least partly) soon after growth starts 

 in the spring. 



Wheat straw and marsh grass are considered the 

 best materials. Rye straw, pine needles, coarse strawy 

 manure and various kinds of hay are satisfactory. Use 

 whatever you have or can buy at a reasonable price. 



WILL IRRIGATION PAY? If you have irrigation, it 

 will certainly pay to use it for strawberries, especially 

 just before fruiting time. However, irrigation is not 

 necessary. Most of the fine berry crops in this country 

 are produced on good strawberry soil that holds mois- 

 ture well because stable manure and green crops have 

 been added. 



DO STRAWBERRIES NEED SPRAYING? When good 

 varieties are selected and clean healthy plants are 

 used, strawberries do not need spraying as a rule. If 

 insect or disease troubles should appear, our FREE 

 circular on STRAWBERRY INSECTS AND DISEASES may 

 be helpful in identifying the cause and applying the 

 remedy. 



