6 
J. W. JONES & SON, FRANKLIN, VIRGINIA 
How To Plant Strawberries 
Every year we have numberless requests for information on the best 
method of growing strawberries. Of course, every one recognizes that this 
is a very difficult question to answer, as conditions vary so greatly in diiTerent 
localities and on different soils. Nine-tenths of all berries grown, or even 
more, are grown by the matted-row system; that is, to leave about all the 
runners on the parent plants to take root 
and make a wide row, leaving room 
enough in the alley between the rows 
for the convenience of the pickers. 
The fundamental element of success 
in growing any crop is the selection of a 
soil. Strawberries need a strong, well- 
drained locat’on, but at the same time, 
the land should be as retentive of moist¬ 
ure as it is possible to have it. Straw¬ 
berries suffer more from dry weather 
than from any other cause and therfore 
a moist soil always contributes to success. 
Grow cowpeas or soybeans on land the 
previous year to planting strawberries 
if it is possible; where they are not prac¬ 
ticable, SOW’ rye in the early fall and plow 
under early the next spring, as straw¬ 
berries need a soil full of humus. It 
holds the moisture and makes them grow 
and bear much better. 
We always plow^ in the fall, but 
when that cannot be done plov\^ as early 
in the spring as possible. This is im¬ 
portant, as berry plants need a wel -com¬ 
pacted soil. Settling during the winter 
puts the soil in ideal condition for spring 
planting. 
r ibrous Roots Guarantee 
A Quick Start 
Make your rows 4 to 4 Vo feet apart 
and set plants from 15 inches to 3 feet 
apart in the rows, depending on the 
variety. Chesapeake, making but few plants, should be placed about 15 
inches. Heflin, a prolific plant maker, will get too thick quite often if set 3 
Joe, Sample and most midseason kinds will usually make a proper 
bed if planted 2 feet apart, Gandy, Lupton and Big Late 2 to 2 V 2 feet. We 
run our furrows with a double row marker, sow fertilizer down the furrow 
at the rate of 400 to 500 pounds to the acre, and then make a sharp list with 
a two-horse machine, striking down this bed nearly level of the field with a 
hoe or small drag and you are ready to set your plants. 
We desire to warn our friends against the too heavy application of 
commercial fertilizers to young Strawberry plants. It is dangerous in the 
plants have been injured and often killed outright, but 400 
or 500 pounds wi.l not hurt them, provided it is well scattered and then culti¬ 
vated m before setting the plants. We recommend raw bone meal as the 
best tor berries. 
There are many methods of setting the plants. No particular method 
has advantage over another except in the saving of labor. The important 
thmg IS to get your plants in the ground the same depth as they grew in the 
original bed, and to pack the dirt firmly around the, roots. This done there 
