Even in the most favorable seasons,
hard, shallow soils give but a brief period of strawberries, the
fruit ripens all at once, and although the first berries may be of
good size, the later ones dwindle until they are scarcely larger
than peas. Be sure to have a deep, mellow soil beneath the plants.
Such a bed can be made in either spring or fall--indeed, at any
time when the soil is free from frost, and neither too wet nor
dry. I do not believe in preparing and fertilizing ground during a
period of drought.
We will suppose the work has been done in the spring, as early as
the earth was dry enough to crumble freely, and that the surface
of the bed is smooth, mellow, and ready for the plants. Stretch a
garden line down the length of the plot two feet from the outer
edge, and set the plants along the line one foot apart from each
other. Let the roots be spread out, not buried in a mat, the earth
pressed FIRMLY against them, and the crown of the plant be exactly
even with the surface of the soil, which should also be pressed
closely around it with the fingers. This may seem minute detail,
yet much dismal experience proves it to be essential. I have
employed scores of men, and the great majority at first would
either bury the crowns out of sight, or else leave part of the
roots exposed, and the remainder so loose in the soil that a sharp
gale would blow the plants away.
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