Cultural Directions for Strawberries 
PLANT SELECTION. Perhaps the most important task of 
all is the correct selection of varieties for the particular terri¬ 
tory in which they are to be planted. A careful study of the 
variety recommendations in this catalog, and personal com¬ 
munication with the Townsend Nurseries will eliminate the 
possibility of the buyer purchasing varieties which have not 
the greatest profit-making possibilities in his territory. 
SOIL PREPARATION. In the first place, 
be sure that the land is reasonably fertile 
and as nearly as possible free of weeds 
and grass. Plow the land to be used care- 
fully in the fall (this is much preferable 
to spring plowing) and spread a liberal 
coat of barnyard manure over fhe plot 
during the winter or early spring. Potato 
fields, tomato or cow-pea plots, or any 
site where the land has been enriched by 
growing truck crops makes an ideal plot 
for the strawberry patch. 
If manure is not available, broadcast 
a heavy application of commercial fertil¬ 
izer over the plot just before the plants 
are set in the spring. (Two or three 
weeks in advance is just about right). 
Sheep manure or a mixture of 1500 
pounds of tankage and 500 lbs. of acid 
phosphate is good, distributed at the rate 
of 1000 lbs. per acre. Raw bone meal will 
not injure the plant roots and is the only 
fertilizer recommended for use directly 
under the plants. 
The soil should be worked up into as 
good condition as possible before setting 
the plants. If the ground is manured, 
drag the soil level, marking the rows with 
a light marker, setting the plants on the 
side of the mark, using the same side of 
the mark on each row for equal width. 
SETTING THE PLANTS. For large plant¬ 
ings, a horse drawn transplanter is good 
to use if a good operator is available. For 
small plots, or in stumpy new land, the 
garden trowel is best to use. On stony 
soils use a spade. Set the plant roots 
straight down without crowding and pack 
the earth firmly around them. 
CARE OF PLANTS ON ARRIVAL. Town¬ 
send's plants come to you properly clean¬ 
ed and bunched ready to set. 
If the roots are too long to set in a 
stony soil, clip off a portion of them 
cleanly. 
If the plants are received before the 
soil is ready, open the boxes and take 
the plants out, dampen the roots up to 
the string, redampen the moss and repack 
in the same box, place in a cool cellar 
and the plants, if still dormant, will keep 
from 7 to 10 days without injury. Heel¬ 
ing in is permissible, if done by an ex¬ 
perienced man but it is slow and tedious 
and the tops and crowns may get wet. 
The first method is best. 
PLANTING DISTANCE FOR MATTED 
ROW SYSTEM. Generally, the matted row 
system is considered the best and most 
practical. Plant rows 31/2 to 4i/ 2 feet 
apart, depending on varieties used. A 
matted row should be 3 feet wide when 
the plants are laid by, and sufficient 
room should be left for the pickers. Keep the space between 
the rows cultivated as long as the runner plants form. Plants 
should be set 15 to 24 inches apart. Good, rank growing 
varieties like the Premier, Aberdeen, Blakemore, Dunlap, 
Howard Supreme and Jupiter should be set 24 inches apart 
in the row, with rows 4 feet apart. 
EVERBEARING IN HILL SYSTEM. The hill system is the 
only way to grow everbearing strawberries successfully. Keep 
the runner plants cut off, not allowing more than five or six 
well-spaced runner plants to form. This produces large, vig¬ 
Vigorous Plants the First Essential. 
orous plants, each plant often yielding a quart of berries 
during the summer and fall. Space these rows 30 inches apart 
to allow for horse cultivation. The two rows in the bed are 
spaced 12 inches apart, and the plants set 18 inches apart 
down the rows. With this spacing, 16,000 plants will set an 
acre. Such spacing allows room to work with a hoe around 
the plants at all times. Plant food can easily be applied as 
the cultivation continues through the 
summer months. Feeding the plants while 
they are fruiting is easily done without 
injury by broadcasting fertilizer or chick¬ 
en manure around the plants. Cultivation 
is easy, as such spacing affords sufficient 
room around the plants to keep down all 
grass and properly mulch by shallow work¬ 
ing with the hoe during dry weather. 
CULTIVATING. Tillage in newly set 
strawberry fields should be thorough in 
the early part of the season, in order to 
preserve moisture so that plants can be¬ 
come established thoroughly in the soil 
and later in the season to conserve mois¬ 
ture so that the plants can develop run¬ 
ners. Weeds and grass should be kept out 
of the fields at all times, as they will take 
the moisture needed by the strawberry 
plants. Most successful growers use the 
cultivator as often as once each week 
throughout the first growing season, and 
during periods of drought even more fre¬ 
quently. Hoeing should be done as often 
as it is found necessary to clean out all 
weeds and grass. Cultivating should be 
shallow near the plants, both because of 
the danger of loosening them in the soil 
and because if too deep the roots near 
the surface will be broken. The teeth on 
each side of the cultivator should be 
shortened, so they will not stir the soil 
near the row to a depth of more than 
1 or 2 inches, as many kinds of weeds 
continue to grow in late autumn and start 
to grow in early spring. We advise work¬ 
ing the plants until hard frosts occur. The 
field will then be free from weeds, and in 
the following year very few will have time 
to grow before the harvest season. 
MATING VARIETIES. If you order all 
perfect flowering varieties, plant them in 
large plots just as they come. But, if you 
order part imperfect flowering you should 
plant every third or fourth row to some 
perfect flowering sort of the same season 
(and there are some mighty fine imper¬ 
fect sorts that should not be overlooked). 
We offer four imperfect flowering vari¬ 
eties in our list, May Queen, Howard 
Supreme, Townsend's Big Late and 
Sample. 
Varieties that are not marked in our 
price list like Premier, or Big Joe, need 
no other varieties planted with them as 
they are Perfect flowering varieties. Also 
all the everbearing varieties listed are 
perfect flowering, and can be planted 
alone. 
NUMBER PLANTS REQUIRED TO SET 
AN ACRE 
Strawberries, Field Cul¬ 
ture . 
Strawberries, Garden 
Culture . 
Everbearing Strawber¬ 
ries, Field . 
Everbearing Strawber¬ 
ries, Garden ... 
Everbearing, Double Row Hill System.16000 2i/ 2 xl i/ 2 x12 
Number 
Plant 
Plants 
Spacing 
8000 
3y 2 xiy 2 
21/ 2 xll/ 2 
8000 
31 / 2 x 11/2 
1 l/ 2 xl 
Red Raspberries, F 
Black Raspberries 
Dewberries, Solid F 
Grapes . 
1700 
8x3 
2400 
6x3 
1800 
5x5 
1700 
7x31/2 
2400 
6x3 
490 
9x10 
3200 
7x2 
Complete Culture Guide on Small Fruits Will Be Sent Free to 
Anyone Requesting This Booklet. 
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