8 
HART’S NURSERY, SPENCER VILLE, INDIANA 
SECRETS 
We are glad to tell any one the things we have learned in growing small fruit. 
There is one point that has not been stressed by nursery men. Unless your ground is 
low, and a springy type of soil, your plants should be planted much earlier than is 
the usual practice. Heavy frosts will not hurt them and they will stand light freezes. 
A snow on newly set plants is of great benefit. The plants we set early in 1931 and 
1932 all went through freezing weather and a snow storm, and they were the best 
beds of plants we ever raised; while our late plantings were not nearly so good. 
Here is one question asked more often than any other: ‘ ‘ What shall I do with 
the blossoms that come on my newly set plants V’ Wait until about half the berries 
have begun to develop, then cut off the berries and remaining blossoms. You may 
have to go over them once more in about a week, but you will find it time well spent, 
as this is the most valuable time for the plants to develop runners, looking to a good 
crop the next spring. 
Do you have trouble getting sufficient plants to make a fruiting row? Straw¬ 
berry plants are made by the mother plant making new runners. If this new plant does 
not make roots soon after the new leaves are formed, the under side, where the root¬ 
lets form, becomes woody and no roots form. If the weather is damp or rainy no 
difficulty will be experienced, but if it is dry a little earth should be drawn to the 
plant and this difficulty will be overcome. These early plants are the most valuable 
plants for fruiting. 
ADVICE 
Now here is our advice: Never go into a business on a big scale that you know 
little or nothing about. Go slowly. We would much rather sell you 100 plants and 
see you make a success than sell you 10,000 plants and have you make a failure. 
If you have been unsuccessful with Mastodon Everbearer you will probably find 
the reason given below. 
1. Your ground was not suitable. I would not advise planting them on heavy 
clay ground, but only on loose loam or sand. 
2. You may have planted them too late. I would not advise planting later than 
May 1st. Plantings made in March and early April are best. 
3. You may have planted too near trees. Trees sap the moisture for great dis¬ 
tances. Capillary moisture is necessary to produce berries in dry weather. 
4. You did not give them proper cultivation. It is absolutely necessary to give 
Mastodon plants thorough cultivation and conserve every drop of moisture in the soil, 
especially in dry weather. 
5. You did not keep the blossoms picked off the newly set plants. It is abso¬ 
lutely necessary to pick the blossoms off until July 1st, so that the plants may throw 
out sufficient runners to make a good fruiting row. 
6. You did not have a good strain of plants. Occasionally there are Mastodons 
that seem to have lost their Everbearing qualities. Six years ago we planted Mastodon 
plants which were bought from two different nurseries; one lot produced abundance 
of berries while the others were almost a total failure. We produce every Mastodon 
strawberry plant that we sell and know that they are absolutely true to name and are 
the offspring of a mother plant that is a strong producer of berries. 
