CULTURE DIRECTION S— ( Continued) 



such as Blakeniore, Dorsett and Fairmore. 

 The well spaced row will produce more and 

 better fruit. 



Removing Blossoms — Flower stems usually 

 appear on strawberry plants soon after they 

 are set in the field and as the production of 

 fruit is a severe drain on their vitality, the 

 flower stems should be removed as they ap- 

 pear. With the Everbearers the blossoms 

 should be removed until the plants are well 

 established ; this will usually require about 

 sixty days. 



Fertilizer and Manure — Well rotted stable 

 manure, compost or similar materials are very 

 good for strawberries, this may be applied 

 just before soil is prepared or if used on pre- 

 ceding crop results are practically as good. 

 Commercial fertilizers give good results and 

 are used by practically all the large growers. 

 Care must be taken in applying, to avoid in- 

 jury when applied before planting, work in 

 thoroughly and wait at least a week before 

 setting. In top dressing apply evenly and 

 brush off any that may be on leaves. Do not 

 apply more than 700 lbs. per acre per appli- 

 cation. Mixtures containing Nitrate of Soda. 

 Sulphate of Ammonia or potash salts, must 

 be applied very carefully as these materials 

 will injure plants and often kill them outright 

 if in direct contact with the roots. Straw- 

 berries require very little potash thus this 

 element may be omitted or used sparingly. 

 Chicken manure mixed two parts manure to 

 one part 16% superphosphate makes a satis- 

 factory material but should be applied care- 

 fully to avoid injury. Top dressing in late 



summer will usually increase size and yield 

 especially on thin soils. 600 to 800 lbs. per 

 acre of a commercial 5-10-4 mixture usually 

 gives good results. 



Mating Varieties — All the varieties we offer 

 are perfect flowering and will produce a full 

 crop when planted alone. 



Mulching — Mulch should be applied at the 

 rate of about three ton per acre or 2 inches 

 deep, just before the first hard freeze, if pos- 

 sible. Straw, strawy stable manure, wild hay, 

 marsh grass are materials commonly used. 

 Mulching will prevent winter injury and heav- 

 ing of the plants from freezing and thawing. 

 In the spring as growth starts rake mulch 

 into the alleys where it helps to keep the ber- 

 ries clean and also conserve moisture. 



Spraying and Dusting — As strawberries are 

 seldom subject to any serious damage from 

 disease or insects, spraying or dusting are 

 not commonly practiced. Setting healthy 

 plants of varieties immune or resistant to 

 disease is much more desirable. In sections 

 where the Weevil (Clipper) prevail they can 

 be controlled by dusting the beds just before 

 the first buds appear, and again about 10 days 

 later with a mixture of 85% Sulphur and 15% 

 Arsenate of Lead. 



Summer and Early Fall Planting — There 

 are two reasons why Summer and Early Fall 

 planting is seldom successful ; first, it is al- 

 most impossible to get good plants and second : 

 even if you get good plants they seldom, if 

 ever, give as good results as plants set in the 

 early spring. Don't put off your planting un- 

 til Fall. If you do you are almost sure to be 

 disappointed. 



Notes on Cold Storage Results 



As there were many indications that strawberry plants dug in the winter and stored at controlled 

 temperatures would give better results than freshly dug plants. The U. S. Department of Agriculture 

 set up an extensive experiment to determine the best time for digging plants for storage and the proper 

 temperatures to get the greatest benefit. This work was begun during the winter of 1937-38 and has 

 been continued until last year. We cooperated with the U. S. D. A. in this work and tests were con- 

 ducted on our farms. Much information was gained on proper storage practices and on the increased 

 vigor of the stored plants as compared to freshly dug plants, especially when plants were set later than 

 April 15th. As a result of this, for the past three years, whenever weather conditions delayed our 

 planting we have placed the plants in storage while still fully dormant (by Apr. 10th) and during 

 that time we have had as good stand from late set storage plants as from fresh dug plants set in late 

 March, and far better than from plants dug and set the same day in late April and early May. It has 

 been our policy to send our customers only fresh dug plants, however from the results of these carefully 

 conducted experiments it is clear that when plants are to be set in late April or May much better stands 

 and more rapid, vigorous growth will be had if plants are dug in late March or early April, while fully 

 dormant and stored at the proper temperatures until planted. 



The following chart clearly shows the great difference in growth and stand between freshly dug 

 and stored Premier plants. This is from the first experiment in 1938. Results since then have been 

 comparative to this. 



Plants Set Out March 21 stand leaves per plant runners per plant 



May 19 May 19 May 19 



Fresh Dug 100% 5.1 0.7 



STORED EARLY 100% 6.7 1.0 



Plants Set Out April 22 stand leaves per plant runners per plant 



June 22 June 22 June 22 



Fresh Dug 93% 4.9 0.2 



STORED EARLY 100% 8.1 0.2 



Plants Set Out MaV 19 stand leaves per plant runners per plant 



July 23 July 23 July 23 



Fresh Dug 63% 3.3 0.1 



STORED EARLY 100% 7:4 0.2 



As an added assurance of success, if conditions delay your planting we will place your plants in 

 storage at no additional charge. To get full benefit plants should be stored by April 10th. Unless 

 you request this service all plants will be strictly fresh dug. This is another of Rayner's plus services 

 to help our customers get the most from their berries. 



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