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Strawberries

patrick

patrick

I know we have some folks around here who are good at growing strawberries. I've tried a couple of years now with very little success. I'm getting ready to try again, can someone help stop my frustration? Thanks!
 
Strawberries are wonderful.....I grow to types the Ever-bearing which gives you a small but continual harvest....the birds also like that........... :eek: ........yikes!
The other type produces larger fruit around early June and maybe a small bumper crop later in autumn. Patrick what I find is that the vines are very invasive and need to be devided almost every spring. The plants grow well when given adequate space and plenty of full sun. Some folks grow them in hanging baskets as a cascading visual. There's nothing comparable to a 1st pick berry. I slice some up and when I pour the pancake batter in the pan I lay slices in the batter then flip the pancake when ready. My wife loves the surprise of the berries when she's not expecting it

Greg
 
Honestly I just put them in the ground and they took off!!the first plants that were put in about 2 yrs ago and they are the furthest at the top the middle of the patch is the vines that reached out and the newest I planted are at the bottom
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I used to have a patch but I rarely got any berries from it. It was a wandering thing for sure. I have a 4' diameter kiddie pool that I'm hoping to set a few plants in. Think that would work?

Greg is there anything you don't grow?

Is now a good time to set them out? I'm hoping for a cooler day, we hit 90 again today, so the sun doesn't melt me while I'm planting them.
 
you will need drainage in the kiddy pool. hell I have seen berries grow trash bag with soil in it.
I noticed that I start getting berries when the temps reach 75 day and 50 night
 
the wife has been trying to grow them,ive yet to eat one! we do have several black berry bushes in the back pasture that throw a few out. every time im bush hoggin or just back there i grab me a hand full. nothing like getting off the tractor and having a few berries.
 
I've used the topsy turvey strawberry hanger and pretty good success with it. The Vines hang and creep they do get very long - I was happily surprised that the plants I left in there over winter have sprouted growth last month - I wouldnt call call it expertise I just watered and they did the rest
 
I usually get 4-6 quarts a year out of a 4'x8' raised bed of everbearing berries. My trick has been to lay a heavy cover of 6" of straw on top of them before the first freeze in winter and pull it back off when I start seeing the leaves poking through. I throw all of my leftover fertilizer from bottom watering peppers into the bed throughout the winter and spring. My plants are in full bloom right now due to the amazing weather.
 
My strawberries do best when I thin out the dead leaves and stems in the Spring. In fact, it's about time to do that now. The key here in WA is to control the slugs BEFORE they do any damage. New growth on the strawberries seems to make them come out from everywhere. A good barrier of slug bait keeps them away and allows the little fruits to grow. Also, make sure to pick the strawberries and don't let them rot on the vine. I fertilize with miracle grow and worm tea a couple times a season. If you live in an area that gets really hot in the summer, I would plant them in the shadiest spot.
 
Thanks everyone. I bought an everbearing plant that supposedly had 10 seperate plants in it and buried it to it's neck in the kiddie pool. The medium is left over pepper potting soil that has been composting for about three years. Layer of old soil, layer of leaves/grass then repeat several times. I checked it a couple of weeks ago and the top layer of leaves was gone so I figured it was time to use. Found a few night crawlers that I had tossed into it plus one June bug grub. The worms went back into the compost pile and sadly the grub didn't survive. Wish me luck.

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Future home of my strawberry garden--I hope.

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Compost pile where the dirt came from.
 
Patrick,

I have not grown strawberries but last year my sister got permission from a friend to go pick them. It seems her friend and husband were going on vacation. Well she needed my neice and my help. Long story short, they can become a pain. They are prolific, time consuming in picking and tuff on your back. Don't have to worry this year as the lady's husband swears he won't go on vacation again during picking time. I only say this because I know your back gives you fits at times. Chat later my friend.
 
Patrick the strawberries should do really well for you in a kiddie pool. My brother gave me rooted cuttings from his 5yr old strawberry plant last year. I put them in pots to get larger then transferred to a kiddie pool. They were planted directly in the middle of the pool so you can see how many runners they sent out in the past year, should be completely packed with growth by the end of this season. I poked tons of holes in the bottom of the pool for drainage, did nothing for them over the mild "winter" we get here. Once it warmed up a little, I pruned all the dead leaves out and topped with fresh soil and organic bloom fertilizer. They have gotten a few compost teas and foliar sprays as well, it has at least 100 strawberries forming already. Should be a productive year. Good luck to you, hope you are succesfull this time around! :)

Melissa

My Pool
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Here are some new pots I started this season
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Fragoo White. Just bought this 6 pack yesterday at a nursery, and the large planter was only $9 at a local store. My brother has his mother plant in a planter like this so they should do well. I hear the birds stay away from the white varieties and this one had great reviews.
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I also have some different varieties of strawberry seeds getting cold treatment in the fridge. Can never have too many strawberries and luckily I have plenty of places to grow them!
 
Thanks for the advice and looking out for me Mike! By doing this in the pool all I need to do is sit in my gardening chair, perfect height for me, and reach out and pick. Shouldn't be too hard on me. :halo:

Melissa you've got it going on! Call you the strawberry queen!

I'm not really expecting too much fruit this season, just hoping to fill the pool with more plants. Next year is when I'll be looking for production. I may have to take the pool inside the garage this winter, not sure if it's deep enough for the roots to survive a harsh Nebraska winter.

Thanks again all for the help.
 
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