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 fresh- 

 ly 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, dibble, paddle or in larger fields a 

 horse or tractor-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 set- 

 ting. 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 setting 

 plants 18 to 20 inches apart in rows SVo 

 to 4 feet apart. This requires about 7,000 

 plants per acre. (See table.) Somewhat 

 closer planting is satisfactory in small gar- 

 dens where space is limited, for the hill sys- 

 tem as with everbearers, or for late setting 

 where a good stand is uncertain. Closer 

 setting is suggested also for varieties that 

 make few plants. With the new virus free 

 stock of vigorous growing varieties some- 

 what wider setting will usually give a satis- 

 factory fruiting row. 



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 you would need about 

 20 plants. 



High yields can be had from small plots 

 by using the hill system where all runners 

 are cut off. Use planting plan suggested for 

 everbearers on page 30. A variation would 

 be using rows SVij feet apart, set plants 12 

 inches apart with two runner plants, one 

 each way, from each mother plant set. 



HOEING, CULTIVATING AND TRAIN- 

 ING. Frequent hoeing and cultivating make 

 larger, stronger fruiting beds and a better 

 crop of berries. The purpose is to keep 

 down weeds and grass and to keep the top 

 soil loose. Loose top soil helps conserve soil 



26 



moisture and makes it easier for new run- 

 ners to take root. Shallow cultivation is 

 best. 1 to l^A inches deep with the hoe or 

 slight!) deeper with horse cultivator. 



There are three other important jobs to 

 be done along with the hoeing work. 



( 1 ) Uncover the buds. At the first or 

 second hoeing any of the plant buds which 

 have become covered with packed or caked 

 dirt must be uncovered. Neglect in this is 

 often the greatest single cause of a poor 

 stand. The outside leaves may remain 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 berries is needed by the newly 

 set plant to make a strong, vigorous plant 

 growth. 



( 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 reel and root them until a 

 fruiting row 1VL> to 2V1> 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. Crag Herbicide No. 1 

 is the most promising material to date for 

 control of summer 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 in- 

 jury to plants unless very hot weather. Con- 

 sult your County Agent or State Agricul- 

 ture Experiment Station for further details 

 about Crag or sprays to control winter 

 weed growth. We doubt if chemical weed 

 control is practical on very small plots. 



IS MULCHING NECESSARY? Mulching 

 is necessary for winter protection in all the 

 northern states and would be helpful in 

 many fields as far south as Virginia and 

 Kentucky. In addition to giving protection 

 from cold, mulching helps to keep down 

 weeds and grass, to conserve soil moisture 

 and to keep the fruit bright and clean. 



