a V-shaped trench about four or five 
inches deep. Cover the roots with two o1 
three inches of soil leaving the buds ex- 
posed. Wet the soil and plants thor- 
oughly. A light covering may be neces- 
sary. 
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. 
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 clearly that any- 
one who cannot normally set plants by 
April 15th could confidently expect much 
better results with stored dormant plants 
than with freshly dug ones. 
WHAT IS THE BEST METHOD OF SET- 
TING 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, dribble, 
paddle or in larger fields a horse or trac- 
tor-drawn transplanter. With plants that 
have very long roots clipping them off to 
about 4 to 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.) 
HOW FAR APART SHOULD PLANTS 
BE SET? In general we recommend set- 
ting plants 18 to 20 inches apart in rows 
3¥%2 to 4 feet apart. This requires about 
7,000 plants per acre. (See Table.) Some- 
what closer planting is satisfactory in 
small gardens where space is limited, for 
the hill system as with everbearers, or 
for late setting where a good stand is un- 
certain. Closer setting is suggested also 
for varieties that make few plants. With 
the new virus free stock of vigorous grow- 
ing varieties somewhat wider setting will 
usually give a satisfactory fruiting row. 
For the small garden order 7 plants for 
each 10 feet of row you want to set or 
26 
figure 1 plant for each 5 square feet. Thus 
for a plot 10 x 10 you would need about 
20 plants. | 
High yields can be had from small plots 
by using the hill system where all run- 
ners are cut off. Use planting plan sug- 
gested for everbearers on page 30. 
There are many variations of the hill 
system. One of the most practical looking 
is to use a double hill row with plants 12 
inches apart in the row and 30 inches 
between each double hill row. This plan 
makes possible economies in cultivation 
and runner cutting. All hill system plans 
require extra plants. 
HOEING, CULTIVATING AND TRAINING. Fre- 
quent hoeing and cultivating make larger, stronger 
fruiting beds and a better crop of berries. The pur- 
pose is to keep down weeds and grass and to keep 
the top soil loose. Loose top soil helps conserve 
soil moisture and makes it easier for new runners to 
take root. Shallcew cultivation is best, 1 to 1% 
inches deep with the hoe or slightly deeper with 
horse cultivator. 
(1) Uncover the buds. At the first or second hoe- 
ing any of the plant buds which have become 
covered with packed or caked dirt must be un- 
covered. Neglect in this is often the greatest single 
cause of a poor stand. The outside leaves may re- 
main fresh and green for sometime but if the bud is 
smothered the whole plant will eventually die. 
(2) Cut off the blossoms at each hoeing. The 
vitality necessary to mature a cluster or two of ber- 
Ties is needed by the newly set plant to make a 
strong, vigorous plant growth. For exceptions see 
page 31. 
(3) Most of the training of new runners is done at 
hoeing time. A well spaced matted row is the best 
system for getting the largest crops of the best. 
berries. It will not pay to be too fussy about. exact 
spacing distances but it should be kept in mind that 
4 to 8 plants per square foot of fruiting bed is 
plenty. An excess is no better than weeds. Train 
the first strong new runners out like spokes from a 
wheel and root them until a fruiting row 1% to 
2¥2 feet wide has been formed. When that has 
been done as many as possible of the later runners 
should be pulled or cut off. 
WEED KILLERS. Crab Herbicide No. 1 is the 
most promising material to date for control of sum- 
mer weeds and grass in strawberries. Apply just 
after cultivation. It prevents germination of weed 
seeds—does not kill established weeds. Apply 
rate of 2-3 lbs. per acre in 40 gallons of water. 
Cover soil surface. Each application will check 
weed growth for 3-5 weeks. No injury to plants 
unless very hot weather. To control winter and 
spring growth of chickweed apply chloro IP.C. 3 
lbs. per acre in 50 gallons of water. For us one ap- 
plication in either November or the first half of 
December has been effective. We doubt if chemical 
weed control is practical or necessary on very 
small plots. 
Geese are helpful in controlling crab grass, They 
do not eat weeds. Use about 4 geese per acre; 
get goslins or young geese, 5 to 6 weeks old. 
They eat more and trample less than old geese. 
The field must be fenced in. Supply shade, water, 
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