are prolific daughter plant producers should 

 be spaced wide apart IN THE ROW, whereas, 

 less prolific varieties such as Earlidawn, Ozark 

 Beauty, Gem and Delite should be planted at 

 the closest spacing. If the hill system is used 

 with 2 or more "sub" rows of plants in each 

 "bed" or row, the plants should be spaced 12 

 inches apart in the "sub" rows and the "sub" 

 rows spaced 6 inches apart in the bed. Plants 

 in the "sub" rows should be alternated so that 

 the plants are not side by side but in be- 

 tween. This provides an actual plant spacing 

 of 6 inches between plants. Three such rows 

 provide a bed that is easy to pick and gives 

 excellent yields of high quality fruit. The most 

 desirable row spacing for the matted row 

 commercial planting is 31/2 feet. Most culti- 

 vating equipment is designed for this spacing. 

 This system provides a row width of 22-24 

 inches and a middle of 18-20 inches which ex- 

 perience has indicated to be the best overall 

 matted row system. 



For the small garden order 7 plants for 

 each 10 feet of Row. 



PLANTS FOR VARIOUS PLANT 

 DISTANCES 



Rows In The Row Total per acre 



3 ft. apart 18 inches 9,680 plants 



3 



24 



1) 



7,260 



» 



31/2 " 



18 



j» 



8,297 



55 



31/2 " 



24 



5> 



6,223 





31/2 " 



30 



»» 



4,978 





32/3 " 



18 



>» 



7,128 





4 " 



18 



" 



7,260 





4 " 



24 



»» 



5,445 





VARIETIES: The varieties planted are de- 

 termined by the customer's needs. The home 

 gardener who only wants fresh strawberries 

 for the table should select an early, midseason, 

 and very late variety, whereas, the individual 

 who wants to freeze part of their fruit in 

 addition to having fresh berries for the table 

 should consider ordering a larger quantity 

 of a single midseason variety, such as. Red- 

 chief, Midway, or Pocahontas so that he will 

 have a larger volume of fruit at one time. 

 Consideration should be given to red stele 

 and verticillium resistant varieties where these 

 two serious diseases are a problem. Large, 

 well flavored fruits that freeze well are im- 

 portant for the house garden, "Pick-Your- 

 Own" or retail outlets, whereas, varieties with 

 bright red, firm, tough skinned, as well as, 

 large fruit must be considered for the whole- 

 sale fresh market. Area adaptability is also 

 important. 



ORDERING PLANTS: This is an important 



phase of growing good strawberries. It is very 

 important that you order your plants EARLY 

 I and SPECIFY a DELIVERY DATE, as close 

 as possible to the intended planting date. 

 Plants dug while fully domant and held in 

 climate controlled storage until shortly before 

 planting grow much better than plants not 

 so handled. Plan on an early as possible 

 planting date and order well in advance, so 

 that we may have your order programmed 

 for shipment to you at the time that you 

 have indicated is the best for your situation. 

 TIME OF PLANTING: Early spring planting 

 is extremely important in growing good straw- 

 berries. They should be planted as early in 

 the spring as the weather will permit the soil 

 to be prepared. This usually means February, 

 March, and early April in the southern states 

 — March and April in the middle states; April 

 and May in the northern states. If planted at 

 this time, the plants will develop a good root 

 system with good water uptake capabilities 

 before hot, dry weather arrives. In addition 

 to being more vigorous and easier to grow the 

 early set plants will produce better fruiting 

 fields for the following year. 



CARE OF PLANTS: Plants should be set 

 as soon after arrival as possible. The methods 

 used to take care of plants when received 

 from the nursery varies with the amount and 

 facilities available. The home gardener can 

 insert the bundles of plants into a plastic bag 

 and keep them in the vegetable crisper of his 

 refrigerator for several days. If it is early 

 spring and he must keep them for an extended 

 period, he can dig a trench about 5 inches 

 deep, break the bundles and place the plants 

 in the trench so that the roots are covered 

 with soil but the crown exposed. Plants may 

 be placed close together but should not be 

 more than 2 plants deep and the soil should 

 be packed firmly about the roots to keep them 

 from drying out and also to exclude air pock- 

 ets. A cool, shady, well-drained but moist 

 site should be selected for this type of plant 

 holding. The commercial grower can handle 

 them as described above or place the plants 

 in a commercial cold storage. Storages in 

 which the temperatures drop below 28 °F or 

 above 34 °F should not be used. It is not 

 desirable to place live plant material in apple 

 storage rooms, as apples produce ethylene, 

 which is injurious to strawberry plants. 



SETTING: Any method is good which leaves 

 the roots reasonably straight down in the soil 

 and the crown or bud at the soil surface. It 

 is best if the roots are spread. The soil should 

 be pressed firmly around the roots to exclude 

 air pockets. If the plants have very long 



41 



