SELBYVILLE, DELAWARE 
13 
Qrowing Strawberries IS Profitable 
Past history of the industry in this coiin- 
try is convincing evidence. We are grow- 
ers of good Strawberry plants, backed by 
forty years’ experience as commercial 
growers, having grown Strawberries for 
marketing purposes at least twenty years 
before entering the nursery business. 
Those in charge of this business now are 
the second and third generations of our 
family, the first generation being the first 
to grow Strawberries in this section of the 
country. During this period of time we 
have had much experience in Strawberry 
culture, and any information that we have 
is yours for the asking. Address your 
correspondence to the personal attention 
of our Mr. G. E. Bunting, a senior mem' 
ber of this firm. 
CULTURAL HINTS 
TIME TO SET PLANTS. Each year we are 
surprised that so many people think you can post' 
pone setting Strawberry plants during Spring 
months, expecting to make up lost time by setting 
them in the Summer or Early Fall; it cannot be 
done successfully. Early Spring is the ideal time to set 
Strawberry plants, depending upon your locality, just, as 
soon as the weather permits preparing the ground. In the 
Southern states! we recommend February and March; in the 
Central states, March and April; in the Northern states, 
April or as early in May as possible. Be sure to allow 
enough time to receive plants wher> ready for them. You, 
when stopping to think the thing through, will realize it 
requires some time for your order to reach the nursery after 
it has been placed in the mails, and it’s true the nurseryman— 
while thoroughly organized to handle all business received 
promptly—has disappointments such as weather conditions, etc., 
which hold up digging and packing of plants. Generally 
speaking you are safe in judging that plants will be shipped 
in about two to three days after your order is received. Then, 
in addition to this, allow ample time for them to reach you. 
PREPARING SOIL AND APPLYING NECESSARY 
PLANT FOOD. Prepare soil same as for truck or garden 
crops. Lay out rows, usually 3 feet 6 inches to 3 feet 10 
inches apart; set plants about 15 inches apart in the row. Do 
not use commercial fertilizer at the roots. Ground animal 
bone is fine to use at the roots; however, it should be thorough' 
ly mixed with the soil in the bottom of the furrow before the 
row is made up. The spreading of good barnyard manure on 
the land before plowing is fine, and always profitable. Should 
your soil be very fertile, then we do not recommend using any 
type of. fertilizer when planting. Potash at the rate of ten 
pounds to a hundred yards of row space, applied during the 
month of September, will have its effect on the quality of the 
fruit the following season. It makes it firm, and gives it a 
fine, waxy appearance, both of which are necessary for the 
fruit to command best prices in the market. We recommend 
applying Potash as outlined above, and consider it the secret 
of success in commercial Strawberry culture. During very 
early spring, or we’ll say 1 from four to eight weeks before 
growth starts, a good grade of commercial fertilizer carrying 
an analysis of say 5 per cent Ammonia, 6 to 8 per cent 
Phosphoric Acid and 10 per cent Potash, should be broadcast 
on the row of plants at the rate of fifteen pounds per hundred 
yards of row space. 
When making the September application of Potash as referred 
to above, it should not be thrown directly on the foliage; 
instead, carefully broadcast along each side of the row of plants, 
and immediately cultivated in. It is well to select a day without 
much wind, and with a dry atmosphere to avoid burning the 
plants. . .. 
CULTIVATION. Soon after plants are set in the spring, 
cultivation should ■ begin. Keep rows free of vegetation during 
the entire summer months, and to do this successfully some 
hand work is necessary, also the use of a hoe at intervals 
during the entire growing season. The production of a field 
of Strawberry plants for fruiting purposes can be much less 
Buntings’ 
Experience 
Helps You Get 
Yields Like This 
expensive if the location for planting is made by selecting a 
plot of soil which is free as possible from weed and grass 
seeds. Should you have a plot of land which you contemplate 
setting to Strawberries, you should keep the crop free from 
vegetation or as nearly so as possible during the year previous. 
Or, if the land has been lying idle, plow late in the summer be- 
fore the weeds and grass develop seed to maturity, thus eliminat' 
ing a crop of weeds and grass the next season, and at the 
same time you are making the soil more fertile by turning 
under a crop of green vegetation which is valuable in adding 
humus to the soil. This cover crop, whether it be weeds, 
grass or otherwise, when turned under green helps to retain 
moisture during the growing season. A cover crop which has 
been allowed to grow to maturity, and dry out is of little 
benefit. It is well to be remembered that Strawberry plants 
are not like trees.- They are small and do not root deeply in 
the soil; moisture is essential. Therefore, select a soil springy 
in nature, if possible, but be sure it is well drained. Heavy 
crops of Cow Peas, Soy Beans or any other crop including 
weeds, if plowed under in later summer while green will fill 
the soil with humus which makes it loose and porous; therefore, 
the more retentive of moisture. 
There is much that could be said about the culture of 
Strawberries. Different types of soil in different locations 
make it almost impossible to give any definite set of rules. 
Yet it’s very true the information we have given, if followed 
closely, should bring the best of results. 
SETTING PLANTS. Clip the roots if they can’t be planted 
without doubling; we do not recommend this otherwise. The 
size of the plants will govern whether or not they should be 
clipped some before planting. Some varieties naturally grow 
smaller than others, and they do not as a usual thing require 
dipping. Spades, trowels, or dibbles are commonly used in 
setting plants. A horse-drawn planter is sometimes used in 
large commercial plantings. However, to plant with such a 
machine, skill and experience is necessary to do the job proper- 
ly. The plant should be set with the crown about even with 
the soil after itr has been thoroughly firmed around the plant. 
PROFITS. There have been exceptions during the past three 
years. We claim a profit ranging from $100.00 to $300.00 
per acre a fair profit. Yet it’s true in many instances the figures 
just referred to here are doubled when conditions are most 
favorable! We try to be conservative when making statements 
about yields and profits resulting from growing Strawberries, 
also the quality of our plants which we claim to be as good 
as anv on the market. 
