THE W. F. ALLEN CO., SALISBURY, MD. 



Setting the Plants. Just before planting, the ground should be harrowed and 

 made as level as possible. Then mark out the rows and you are ready to plant. 

 There are a number of different methods of planting, but an ordinary garden 

 trowel or a flat dibble are the best tools to use. Whatever tool is used try to have 

 the roots of the plant spread out fan-shaped, and be sure to have the crown at the 

 surface of the ground — not below nor above. Clipping the roots is not necessary 

 nor helpful if you can get openings deep enough to have the roots straight when 

 setting. It is better to have roots clipped a little rather than have them doubled up 

 in the ground. 



Manure and Fertilizer. The old saying "Tillage is Manure" holds true for 

 strawberries. Thorough cultivation is essential. 



Barnyard manure is the best thing to use for Strawberries. If used heavily on 

 a crop just preceding strawberries, they get a maximum benefit for the residual 

 manure. It is fine to use broadcast on the land and disced into the ground before 

 the plants are set. Coarse manure is also fine to put on fruiting beds in fall to act 

 as both mulch and fertilizer. Green crops turned in help where manure is not 

 available. 



Commercial fertilizer for starting young plants (either broadcast before plants 

 are set or thoroughly mixed with the soil in the drill) should have 2-3% of available 

 nitrogen and 5-10% or more available phosphoric acid. If put in furrow under 

 plants it is likely to injure the plants unless moderate amounts are used and that 

 thoroughly mixed with soil. As a top dressing for fruiting beds in spring a 7-6-5 or 

 4-8-4 fertilizer is most generally used in this section, although it has never been 

 definitely shown that the crop is benefited by the potash. 



Perfect and Imperfect Varieties. Perfect flowering varieties planted alone 

 will mature a crop of perfect fruit. Imperfect flowering varieties should have per- 

 fect varieties planted with them, at least one row for every five or six. When two 

 varieties are used in equal amounts, they are often alternated three or four rows 

 of each. In our price-list, perfect flowering varieties are followed by "per" — imper- 

 fect varieties by "imp". 



Mulching. A mulch is applied for one or all of three reasons: First, to protect 

 the plants from freezing and thawing of the soil in winter; second, to keep the soil 

 cool and moist during the season when fruit is being produced; third, to keep the 

 berries from being spattered with dirt by rain during fruiting season. 



The mulch should be applied in the fall. In the spring when plants begin to 

 start this is raked to the center of the rows and there serves the purpose of retard- 

 ing the growth of weeds and grass, keeping the ground loose and moist and the 

 fruit clean. Use coarse manure, marsh grass, rye straw or similar material. 



Green Manure Crops. In many sections where stable manure used to be plen- 

 tiful and reasonably priced, it is now scarce and high priced. Green manure crops, 

 properly handled, will take the place of stable manure very successfully. Sow soy 

 beans or cow peas in late spring or early summer. We prefer broadcast sowing of 

 these crops. Even though it takes more seed than row planting you do not need to 

 cultivate and you get greater, finer and more evenly distributed crop of humus, 

 including both tops and roots. Plow under in early fall and plant rye, wheat, or 

 some other crops to hold the soil in winter. This fall sown crop should be plowed 

 and disced very early in spring, however, to make room for early planting. 

 Buckwheat in late summer makes lots of humus. Alfalfa, sweet clover, or in 

 fact almost any crop that makes lots of humus, turned into the ground sometime 

 ahead, leaves the soil in excellent condition for strawberry plants. 



How Far Apart. We recommend setting plants in rows Zyi or 4 ft. apart. Set 

 the plants from 18 to 24 inches apart in the row. Free growing varieties like 

 Missionary, Dunlap, Marvel, Paul Jones, etc., should be set 24 inches apart. 

 Varieties like Chesapeake, Marshall and others that do not make plants freely 

 should be set only 18 or 20 inches apart in the row. 



