SETTING OUT PLANTS
We may secure good plants of the best varieties, but if we do not set
them out properly the chances are against our success, unless the
weather is very favorable. So much depends on a right start in life,
even in a strawberry bed. There are no abstruse difficulties in
properly imbedding a plant. One would think that if a workman gave five
minutes' thought and observation to the subject, he would know exactly
how to do it. If one used his head as well as his hands, it would be
perfectly obvious that a plant held (as in Figure _e_) with its roots
spread out so that the fresh, moist earth could come in contact with
each fibre, would stand a far better chance than one set out by any of
the other methods illustrated. And yet, in spite of all I can do or
say, I have never been able to prevent very many of my plants from
being set (as in Figure _a_) too deeply, so that the crown and tender
leaves were covered and smothered with earth; or (as in Figure _b_) not
deeply enough, thus leaving the roots exposed. Many others bury the
roots in a long, tangled bunch, as in Figure _c_. If one would observe
how a plant starts on its new career, he would see that the roots we
put in the ground are little more than a base of operations. All along
their length, and at their ends, little white rootlets start, if the
conditions are favorable, almost immediately. If the roots are huddled
together, so that only a few outside ones are in contact with the
life-giving soil, the conditions are of course most unfavorable. Again,
many planters are guilty of the folly illustrated in Figure _d_. They
hastily scoop out a shallow hole, in which the roots, which should be
down in the cool depths of the soil, curve like a half-circle toward or
to the very surface.
In the most favorable weather of early spring a plant is almost certain
to grow, no matter how greatly abused; but even then it does far better
if treated properly, while at other seasons nature cannot be stupidly
ignored. It is almost as easy to set out a plant correctly as otherwise.
[Illustration: WRONG METHODS OP PLANTING]
Let the excavation be made deep enough to put the roots, spread out
like a fan, down their whole length into the soil. Hold the plant with
the left hand, as in Figure _e_. First, half fill the hole with fine
rich earth with the right hand, and press it firmly against the roots;
next, fill it evenly, and then, with the thumb and finger of both
hands, put your whole weight on the soil on each side of the plant--as
close to it as possible--and press until the crown or point from which
the leaves start is just even with the surface.
If you can pull the plant up again by its leaves, it is not firm enough
in the ground. If a man uses brain and eye, he can learn to work very
rapidly. By one dexterous movement he scoops the excavation with a
trowel. By a second movement, he makes the earth firm against the lower
half of the roots. By a third movement, he fills the excavation and
settles the plant into its final position. One workman will often plant
twice as many as another, and not work any harder. Negro women at
Norfolk, Virginia, paid at fifty cents per day, will often set two or
three thousand. Many Northern laborers, who ask more than twice that
sum, will not set half as many plants. I have been told of one man,
however, who could set 1,000 per hour. I should examine his work
carefully, however, in the fear that it was not well done.
[Illustration: THE PROPER METHOD]
If the ground is so flat that water lies upon it in wet seasons, then
throw it up into beds with a plow, thus giving the plants a broad,
level surface on which to grow; for I think the best success will
generally be obtained with level culture, or as near an approach to it
as possible.
Always make it a point to plant in moist, freshly stirred earth. Never
let the roots come in contact with dry, lumpy soil. Never plant when
the ground is wet and sticky, unless it be at the beginning of a
rainstorm which bids fair to continue for some time. If sun or wind
strikes land which has been recently stirred while it is too wet, the
hardness of mortar results.
In spring it is best to shorten in the roots one-third. This promotes a
rapid growth of new rootlets, and therefore of the plants. In the
summer and fall the young plants are not so well furnished with roots,
and usually it is best to leave them uncut.
[Illustration: ROOT PRUNING]
It often happens that during long transportation the roots become sour,
black, and even a little mouldy. In this case, wash them in clean water
from which the chill has been taken. Trim carefully, taking off the
blackened, shrivelled ends. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoonfuls of fine
bone meal immediately about the plant after setting, and then water it.
If the weather is warm, soak the ground and keep it moist until there
is rain. Never let a plant falter or go back from lack of moisture.
How often should one water? Often enough to keep the ground _moist all
the time_, night and day. There is nothing mechanical in taking care of
a young plant any more than in the care of a baby. Simply give it what
it needs until it is able to take care of itself. The plant may require
a little watching and attention for a few days in warm weather. If an
opportune storm comes, the question of growth is settled favorably at
once; but if a "dry spell" ensues, be vigilant. At nine o'clock A.M.,
even well-watered plants may begin to wilt, showing that they require
shade, which may be supplied by inverted flower-pots, old
berry-baskets, shingles or boards. A handful of weeds, grass, or even
of dry earth, thrown on the crown of the plant in the morning, and
removed by five P.M., is preferable to nothing. Anything is better than
stolidly sticking a plant in the ground and leaving it alone just long
enough to die. Many, on the other hand, kill their plants with
kindness. They dose the young things with guano, unfermented manure,
and burn them up. Coolness, moisture, and shade are the conditions for
a new start in life.
As has been explained already, pot-grown plants, with a ball of earth
clinging to their roots, can be set out during the hot months with
great ease, and with little danger of loss. At the same time, let me
distinctly say that such plants require fair treatment. The ground
should be "firmed" around them just as strongly, and they should be so
well watched as to guard against the slightest wilting from heat and
drought.
In ordinary field culture, let the rows be three feet apart, and let
the plants stand one foot from each other in a row. At this distance,
14,520 are required for an acre. When land is scarce, the rows can be
two and a half feet from each other. In garden culture, where the plow
and cultivator will not be used, there should be two feet between the
rows, and the plants should be one foot apart as before. With this rule
in mind, any one can readily tell how many plants he will need for a
given area.