After the berries are picked the third year, dig the plants
under, and occupy the ground with something else. On light soils,
and where the plants are grown in beds instead of narrow rows, new
beds should be set out every alternate year.
In order to have an abundant supply of young plants it is only
necessary to let one end of a row or a small portion of a bed run
at will. Then new plants can be set out as desired.
While more strawberries are planted in spring than at any other
time, certain advantages are secured by summer and fall setting.
This is especially true of gardens wherein early crops are
maturing, leaving the ground vacant. For instance, there are areas
from which early peas, beans, or potatoes have been gathered.
Suppose such a plot is ready for something else in July or August,
the earlier the better. Unless the ground is very dry, a bed can
be prepared as has been described. If the soil is in good
condition, rich and deep, it can be dug thoroughly, and the plants
set out at once in the cool of the evening, or just before a
shower. During the hot season a great advantage is secured if the
plants are set immediately after the ground is prepared, and while
the surface is still moist. It is unfortunate if ground is made
ready and then permitted to dry out before planting takes place,
for watering, no matter how thorough, has not so good an influence
in starting new growth as the natural moisture of the soil.
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