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more valuable for the strawberry crop if 

 plowed under while still green. 



2. Early fall sowing of rye or wheat to 

 give a heavy sod to be plowed under in 

 late winter or very early spring. This 

 will be easier to handle if disced up 

 thoroughly before plowing. 



3. Applications of horse, cow, hog, or 

 sheep manure at the rate of 5 to 20 tons 

 per aci'e. This is the best of all prepara- 

 tions for a fine crop of berries. Results 

 are almost equally good if one of these 

 applications has been made for the pre- 

 vious crop. For small areas a good guide 

 in the application of manure is to figure 

 one to two bushels for every 100 square 

 feet. 



PUTTING PLANTS IN GROUND. Any 

 method is good which leaves the roots 

 reasonably straight down in the soil. It 

 is best if the roots are spread with the 

 soil pressed tightly against them and the 

 bud just at the surface. With plants that 

 have very long roots, clipping them off 

 to about 4 or 5 inches, which will not 

 hurt the plants, will make a good job of 

 setting easier. 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. 

 As far as setting tools are concerned, a 

 good garden trowel is best for work in 

 small plots; in larger fields it is common 

 practice to use a transplanter. With a 

 transplanter it is very Important that the 

 setting depth of the plants be checked 

 behind the planter. 



. ^ 'ife..'-:. 



CHEMICAL FERTILIZER. On very fertile 

 soils none is needed. Have a soil test 

 made and follow the recommendation of 

 your local supplier or County Agent. 



LIME. If other crops, weeds or grass have 

 made a good growth on the land you 

 have selected for strawberries, it does 

 not need lime. 



A pH range of 5.7 to 6 is best; 5 to 7 

 is satisfactory if organic matter content 

 of the soil is fairly high. 



CARE OF PLANTS. Plants 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 settling 

 strawberry plants. A hot windy day is 

 terrible. A cool cloudy day is fine. If 

 plants must be kept a while, small lots 

 can be kept in the family refrigerator. 

 The very best way to hold plants is in 

 cold storage between 29 and 32°. — Never, 

 never put plants in a freezer where tem- 

 peratures will go below 28°. 

 CULTIVATING, HOEING and TRAINING. 

 Shallow cultivating and hoeing (not to 

 exceed two inches) kills weeds, conserves 

 moisture, and enables new runners to 

 take root. 



Uncover the buds, because neglect in 

 doing this will give you a poor stand. 



Most of the training of new runners is 

 done at hoeing time. Train the first strong 

 new runners out like spokes from a wheel 

 and root them until a fruiting row IV2 to 

 2V2 feet wide has been formed. 4 to 8 

 plants per square foot of fruiting bed is 

 enough and when possible later runners 

 should be cut off. 



MULCHES. Mulching is necessary for 

 winter protection in all the northern 

 states and would be helpful in many 

 fields as far south as Virginia and Ken- 

 tucky. In addition to giving protection 

 from cold, mulching helps to keep down 

 weeds and grass, to conserve soil mois- 

 ture, and to keep the fruit bright and 

 clean. 



The mulch should be applied in the 

 fall after frost and light freezes (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 con- 

 sidered the best materials. Rye straw, 

 pine needles, coarse strawy manure and 

 various kinds of hay are satisfactory. 

 In some sections, sawdust has been used 

 with good results; also buckwheat hulls. 

 Use whatever you have or can buy at a 

 reasonable price. 



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