full of litter and only three to four tons 

 per acre are used. Excessive applica- 

 tions of poultry manure may cause 

 some burning, especially in dry sea- 

 sons. If used, apply poultry manure to 

 field or garden in the fall for spring 

 planting. 



For small areas a good guide in the 

 application of horse, cow, sheep or hog 

 manure is to figure one to two bushels 

 for every 100 square feet. Manure from 

 poultry and broiler houses either con- 

 tains chick weed seed from feed or 

 bedding or stimulates excessively the 

 growth of chick weed, which becomes 

 very serious in many strawberry grow- 

 ing areas. 



When Should Plants Be Set? 



The most important single thing in 

 growing strawberries successfully is to 

 set the plants EARLY. With no other 

 crop that you grow is early spring set- 

 ting so ALL IMPORTANT. With dormant 

 plants available, plants can be set 

 safely at least two weeks later than 

 with freshly dug stock. In the southern 

 states this means February, March and 

 early April; in the middle states, March 

 and April; in the northern states, April 

 and May. In all states it means just as 

 early as the weather permits you to get 

 the ground ready and the plants set. A 

 good stand" and growth are easy if 

 plants are set early so they can become 

 established while the soil is still cool 

 and moist. With late setting good re- 

 sults are very unlikely unless soil and 

 moisture conditions are entirely favor- 

 able. 



Should Chemical Fertilizer Be Used? 



On very fertile garden soils none is 

 needed. On most good soils fertilizer 

 will not prove beneficial if plenty of 

 stable manure of any kind has been 

 applied. On many soils chemical fer- 

 tilizers will be very helpful. 600 pounds 

 per acre of any fertilizer containing 3 

 to 6% of nitrogen and 5 to 10% of phos- 

 phorus may be used. This may be 

 stirred into the soil down the row be- 

 fore the plants are set or applied as a 

 side dressing in one or more applica- 

 tions after growth starts. Inorganic ni- 

 trogen like nitrate of soda or sulphate 



of ammonia should be used in these 

 applications only with great care, as 

 they will injure either roots or leaves if 

 they come in direct contact. Organic 

 nitrogen materials like tankage, fish, 

 dissolved bone, cotton seed meal or 

 dried blood are safe to use. Any form 

 of phosphorus is satisfactory. Potash is 

 not usually a limiting factor. However, 

 we sometimes use a fertilizer with 2 to 

 3% of potash just as insurance. 



Whatever the soil preparation and 

 earlier treatment, it is well to examine 

 the plant beds in late August or early 

 September. If the growth is satisfactory 

 and the leaves have a rich dark green 

 appearance, no further fertilizer is nec- 

 essary. If color and growth are not 

 satisfactory at that time apply as a top 

 dressing directly on the plant beds 

 about 600 pounds per acre of 6-8-2 or 

 any fertilizer mixture your dealer has 

 containing 4 to 6% nitrogen, 6 to 10% 

 of phosphorus and 2 to 5% of potash. 

 Apply only when foliage is thoroughly 

 dry and brush loose material off the 

 leaves at once. This is important to 

 prevent injury. 



An application of 600 pounds per 

 acre means about 1 pound for each 20 

 feet of row. 



PLANTS FOR VARIOUS PLANTING 

 DISTANCE 



Rows 



In the row Total per acre 



3 ft. apart 18 inches 9,680 plants 



3 ft. " 



24 



" 



7,260 " 



31/2 ft. " 



18 



,, 



8,297 " 



3V2 ft. " 



24 



a 



6,223 " 



4 ft. " 



18 



a 



7,260 " 



4 ft. " 



24 



a 



5,445 " 



3 ft. 8 in. " 



18 



a 



7,128 " 



What About Lime? If other crops, weeds 

 or grass have made a good growth on 

 the land you have selected for straw- 

 berries it does not need lime. However, 

 if you want to have your soil tested for 

 acidity 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. 



24 



