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 





3 



ft. apart 



3 



ft. 



" 



3»/2 



ft. 



" 



3V2 



ft. 



" 



4 



ft. 



" 



4 



ft. 



" 



3 ft 



Sin. 





In the row 



Total per acre 



18 inches 



9.680 plants 



24 " 



7.260 " 



18 " 



8.297 " 



24 " 



6.223 " 



18 " 



7.260 " 



24 " 



5.445 " 



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 or 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.) 





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 3V2 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. 



