27 
applications 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, dried blood, etc., are safe to use. Any 
form of phosphorous is O. K. 
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 treatment is necessary. If growth 
is 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% of nitrogen, 6 to 10% of phos- 
phorus 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. 
WHAT ABOUT 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. 
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. 
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 ter- 
rible. 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 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 covering 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 perfectly in cold storage 
at 32 degrees F. until planting conditions are just 
right. If plants are dug after they have made lots of 
foliage and possibly blossoms, they should not be 
held more than a few days even in storage. 
U. S. Government and New York State experiments 
have shown that anyone who cannot normally set 
plants by April 15th, could confidently expect much 
better results with stored dormant plants than with 
freshly dug ones. 
PLANTS FOR VARIOUS PLANTING DISTANCE 
Rows In the row Total per acre 
3 ft. apart 18 inches 8.680 plants 
3 ft. " 24 " 7.260 " 
3V2 ft. " 18 " 8.287 " 
3»/2 ft. " 24 " 6.223 " 
4 ft. " 18 " 7.260 *' 
4 ft. " 24 " 5.445 " 
3 ft. 8 in. " 20 " 7.128 " 
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 
or tractor 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 oi 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.) 
mi 
jp 
'tiU'ik ,4 
1 
f t , , An*- '-.y ' 
TOO SHALLOW 
JUST RIGHT 
TOO DEEP 
HOW FAR APART SHOULD PLANTS BE SET? 
In general, we recommend setting plants 18 to 20 
inches apart in rows 3Vz 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 ever- 
bearers, 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. 
