How Early? 



Just as soon as weather permits getting ground 

 ready. In the South, February, March and early 

 April. In the middle states, March and April. 

 In the Northern states, April. Also, the first 

 half of May in late seasons and in states far 

 north. 



Why so Early? Experience has taught that 

 strawberries live better and grow better if they 

 can become established early in the spring while 

 the soil is still cool and moist. Late set plants 

 are more likely to run into hot, dry conditions 

 which make good results unlikely if not im- 

 possible. Furthermore, investigations have 

 shown that runner plants made early are much 

 more fruitful than those made in late summer 

 or fall. Early spring planting, therefore, tends 

 to promote a larger percentage of highly pro- 

 ductive, early set runner plants. If ordering 

 plants be sure to order early enough so that they 

 can be at hand as soon as the ground is prepared. 

 Results of experimental studies on the growth 

 and development of strawberry plants near 

 Washington, D. C, published in 1930, showed high 

 growth rates for plants during days where 

 average daylight temperatures were from 68 to 

 75 degrees F., while lower or higher tempera- 

 tures slowed up the rate of growth greatly. 

 This checks with the experience of growers 

 who know that strawberry plants often start 

 out in spring and make a very rapid growth 

 until the first hot days of midsummer. Then 

 the growth is checked until the cooler days and 

 nights of late summer and early fall. This indi- 

 cates one more reason for early setting to give 

 the plants full advantage of the favorable grow- 

 ing temperatures of late spring and early 

 summer. 



Too shallow Just right Too deep 



Care of Plants 



Set plants on arrival if possible. It will help 

 if roots of the plants can be dipped in water and 

 allowed to "plump up" for some time before set- 

 ting. If plants have become quite dry and 

 withered in transit it will help to let them stay 

 in the water for two or three hours, perhaps 

 longer. When this is done, however, they should 

 be set fairly soon after being taken from the 

 water. At any rate have them thoroughly mois- 

 tened and plump when planting. If anything 

 prevents immediate planting and the weather is 

 cool, the top of the crate should be taken off 

 and the plants loosened in the crate, still keep- 

 ing the roots covered with the packing material. 

 Placed where it is cool, plants will keep like this 

 for two or three days on early shipments. When 

 plants are received late and lots of growth has 

 been made, or where longer delays in setting are 

 unavoidable, plants should be heeled in in some 

 shaded or protected place. Dig a V-shaped 

 trench, open the bundles, spread them out in 

 thin layers with buds just even with the surface 

 of the ground, then firm the soil back against 

 the roots of the plants. If necessary several 

 layers of plants can be heeled in the same place 

 with one or two inches of soil between each 

 layer. Wet the soil and plants thoroughly when 



heeling is done. A covering of straw or other 

 mulching material will protect these plants in 

 case it gets quite cold before setting can be 

 done. 



If cold storage facilities are available nearby, 

 plniit.s received early can be kept for several 

 weeks in excellent condition in case weather 

 conditions have prevented immediate setting. It 

 may be better to keep them this way and set 

 them when ground can be put in good condition 

 than to set them at once in land that has not 

 been properly prepared. A small lot of two or 

 three hundred plants could be kept in fine con- 

 dition for many days in the family refrigerator 

 or ice box if there is room. 



Clipping' the Roots 



Some growers clip the roots of strawberry 

 plants before setting. If not cut too short it 

 does no harm. However, it is not necessary nor 

 helpful if you can get the roots of the plants 

 in the soil without being doubled up. It is bet- 

 ter to clip the roots somewhat than to have them 

 doubled up in the ground. Where a horse-drawn 

 transplanter is used it is probably better to clip 

 the roots anyway to expedite handling the plants 

 unless they are very small. 



Distance to Plant 



We recommend setting plants in rows 3 1/4 to 4 

 feet apart, or even as much as 4^/^ feet if the soil 

 is very fertile. The plants should be set 15 to 

 30 inches apart in the row, depending on the 

 variety, the condition of the soil, earliness of 

 setting and the vigor of the plants used. If 

 these things are all favorable, free growing 

 varieties can be set safely at least two feet 

 apart, but if set late in the season when the 

 plants have become weakened with new growth 

 and blossoms, or if the soil is not in good con- 

 dition they should be set as close as 15 inches 

 to 18 inches apart to insure a good stand. 



In small garden plots or where the hill system 

 is used, distances can be varied to suit individual 

 plots. 7,000 plants per acre is a safe number to 

 calculate for larger plantings. 



Plants Required for Various Planting 

 Distances 



Row 



s 



In i 



he 



row 



Total per acre 



n ft. apart 



IS 



iiic 



lies 



9,680 plants 



3 ft. 





'24 





" 



7,2«0 



•» 



a 1/2 ft. 





18 





" 



8,297 



it 



31/2 ft. 





24 





" 



6,223 



a 



4 ft. 





18 





" 



7,260 



'< 



4 ft. 





24 





•* 



5,445 



a 



3 ft. 8 ill. 



« 



20 





" 



7,128 



a 



Methods of Setting* Plants 



Where commercial fertilizer is to be used under 

 the plants, rows snould be run out 3 or 4 inches 

 deep with a one-horse plow, the fertilizer drilled 

 into these rows and thoroughly worked in. Then 

 the soil should be thrown back into these fur- 

 rows and again leveled off. Where considerable 

 acreages are planted, a horse-drawn transplanter 

 such as is used for sweet potatoes, tomatoes, 

 tobacco, etc., is often used. To do a good job 

 this way, however, requires skill and experi- 

 ence, if the crowns of the plants are to be left 

 at the proper level with the roots extending 

 straight into the ground and not set on a slant, 

 oftentimes near the surface of the ground. This 

 method requires a driver, two operators and 

 another man to walk behind to fill in missing 

 plants, reset those too high or too low and to 

 firm the soil around the plants. A spade, trowel 

 or dibble are the tools most often used in setting 

 plants. Where one of these is used, they are set 

 down the prepared row with the roots of the 

 plants spread out as much as possible and the 

 bud of the plant just at the surface of the ground. 

 It is also important to press the ground firmly 

 against the roots and to see that dirt is filled 

 in near the crown of the plant so that the top 

 of the roots will not be left exposed. (See sketch 

 for proper depth of planting.) Where the fer- 

 tilizer is not put under the plants, the rows can 

 merely be laid off with a marker and the plants 

 set by any of the methods suggested down the 

 marked row instead of down the fertilized row. 



Ayoid Late Setting 



Late in the season plants have produced a 

 heavy foliage growth. This drains the vitality 

 from the roots and in hot, dry seasons especially 



25 



