Strawberries
Gardening Reference » Gardening in 2006
by DeepCreekLake on January 15, 2006 09:59 AM
Dennis,
I plan on growing some everbearing- Day Nuetrals this season myself, have some on a Spring order from a catalog Nursery. The kind I am planting are called Tri Stars. From what I read in some of my fruit growing books, they recommend cutting off all blooms until June, for better crops, that will last until first frost. They also recommend cutting off all runners the first season as well. I plan on growing mine, in a fiber type strawberry pot, that can be brought indoors in the winter. From what I read they'll still continue to produce fruit, if kept in a sunny enough indoor location.
I plan on growing some everbearing- Day Nuetrals this season myself, have some on a Spring order from a catalog Nursery. The kind I am planting are called Tri Stars. From what I read in some of my fruit growing books, they recommend cutting off all blooms until June, for better crops, that will last until first frost. They also recommend cutting off all runners the first season as well. I plan on growing mine, in a fiber type strawberry pot, that can be brought indoors in the winter. From what I read they'll still continue to produce fruit, if kept in a sunny enough indoor location.
by beebiz on January 17, 2006 04:37 PM
Hey Dennis,
Here in West Tennessee, I've grown both the June bearing and the everbearing strawberries. I grew them in the same garden spot, separated by my tomatoes. No one said I had to separate them, I just did it that way. I cared for one the same way that I did for the other. There were only two differences that I noticed.
First, the June bearers (as their name indicates) beared the bulk of their crop at once... about June. The everbearers started bearing earlier and continued bearing until the first frost.
The other difference that I noticed was that the everbearers seemed to produce more runners than the June bearers. I suppose that it could have been the type that I had, but the everbearers did produce more runners.
The first season, the plants need to concentrate as much energy as possible on becoming established. So, like DeepCreekLake said, it is a good idea to remove the blooms from the everbearers until aroun June and to remove the first season runners.
Another thing that I tried with a new strawberry patch was to remove all runners and blooms the first year. My ag. extention agent suggested this and said it should cause me to have a better and larger crop of berries the next season. I don't know how I would determine for sure if pinching the blooms and runners the first season made a difference or not. But, I do know that the next season I had oodles and oodles of big, good tasting berries.
Good luck with yours.
Robert
* * * *
My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks
Here in West Tennessee, I've grown both the June bearing and the everbearing strawberries. I grew them in the same garden spot, separated by my tomatoes. No one said I had to separate them, I just did it that way. I cared for one the same way that I did for the other. There were only two differences that I noticed.
First, the June bearers (as their name indicates) beared the bulk of their crop at once... about June. The everbearers started bearing earlier and continued bearing until the first frost.
The other difference that I noticed was that the everbearers seemed to produce more runners than the June bearers. I suppose that it could have been the type that I had, but the everbearers did produce more runners.
The first season, the plants need to concentrate as much energy as possible on becoming established. So, like DeepCreekLake said, it is a good idea to remove the blooms from the everbearers until aroun June and to remove the first season runners.
Another thing that I tried with a new strawberry patch was to remove all runners and blooms the first year. My ag. extention agent suggested this and said it should cause me to have a better and larger crop of berries the next season. I don't know how I would determine for sure if pinching the blooms and runners the first season made a difference or not. But, I do know that the next season I had oodles and oodles of big, good tasting berries.
Good luck with yours.
Robert
* * * *
My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks
by Dennis on January 17, 2006 10:33 PM
Hi Robert,
Thanks for the information.
You mentioned removing all blooms and runners the first year but now I am wondering, where did all the strawberries come from the next year? They must have come from just the mother plant, but that seems like a lot of strawberries coming from each plant that was planted.
Did you let the runners develop the 2nd year?
Thanks,
Dennis
* * * *
Dennis
Thanks for the information.
You mentioned removing all blooms and runners the first year but now I am wondering, where did all the strawberries come from the next year? They must have come from just the mother plant, but that seems like a lot of strawberries coming from each plant that was planted.
Did you let the runners develop the 2nd year?
Thanks,
Dennis
* * * *
Dennis
by Oui on January 17, 2006 10:49 PM
I have a friend that grows everbearing strawberries as ground cover in her garden off her back patio..Every morning she has fresh picked strawberries. <<yummy>> Apparently they are easy to grow..Just have to keep them in a sunny area and keep insects and other pests off them. Keep the ground around them aerated and weed free..
Here is a link to The University of Maine's information about growing Strawberries.
http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/2067.htm
Here is a link to The University of Maine's information about growing Strawberries.
http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/2067.htm
by peppereater on January 18, 2006 02:22 AM
I have a different take on strawberries. I use mine as a groundcover in the SHADY part of my garden. I believe mine are all, or mostly, Quinault. They thrive in the shade, and keep that part of the garden less weedy. I don't do anything to maintain them, and they seem happy. I plan to replant some into tall, raised beds in the sun, but until I do, I can't bend over long enough to take advantage of all the fruit I get, and do the proper maintenance. I think they actually like the shade here because of all the 100 degree plus days we get here in the summer.
* * * *
Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
* * * *
Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!
by beebiz on January 18, 2006 08:43 AM
Hi Dennis,
You are right that all of the second year berries came from the mother plants. I can't remember for sure, but I believe that I started with either 100 or 120 plants.
I let all the runners develop the second year and tried to keep them "on the row" before they had a chance to take root. After they took root, I clipped them from the mother plant so that neither one would be a strain on the other. That fall, and well before the first heavy frost, I transplanted the "new" plants where I wanted them in the spaces between the mother plants. I even used several to give to my father, brothers, and friends. When I dug them, I made sure to get enough soil as to not disturb the roots. Strawberry plants don't have deep roots, so it was easy to do. But the roots are somewhat wide, so be careful. I figured that the less that I disturbed the roots, the quicker they would become established in their new home.
The following year I let the new plants develop berries and runners, and boy did I ever have strawberries!!!!! We put up gallons of them, I sold them, I gave them away, birds and squirrels got lots, and there were still some that went to waste in the garden!
Knowing that younger plants do better than old plants (info from my agricultural extention agent), I decided to start a new patch in the garden. That fall, I took about 100 babies from the mother plants, and started them in another spot in the garden. The following year, I pinched the blooms and runners from the "new" plants, but had scads and scads of berries from the old patch. That year, I also took new plants from the old patch to fill in the gaps in the new patch.
Late that fall, I tilled all of the old patch under. The following year, my new patch already had 100 two year old plants plus all of the babies that I had transplanted the previous fall. Again, I had more berries than you could shake a stick at!!
This was not a plan that I developed on my own. My agricultural extention agent suggested it. If we had continued living there, the next year I would have started a new patch where the original patch was and the process would have started all over again.
I know that the way I did it seems like a lot of trouble, but the quality and quantity of berries made it worth it. If you don't have enough space to rotate them, you might try something different. Each year, you could cull all of the 4 year old or older plants. By that age, their production has usually dropped off quite a bit. But, also remember that the strawberry plants put a strain on the soil when they are left in the same place year after year after year. Or, at least that's what my ag. ext. agent says. He says that is the reason why the local berry farms are constantly rotating their berry patches from one place to the other.
Again, good luck with your berries. And if you have plenty of berries, don't forget to make some strawberry freezer jam.... extrememly easy to make, delicious, and it's not just good on toast or biscuits.... it's about the best topping for vanilla ice cream that I've ever found!!!
Robert
* * * *
My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks
You are right that all of the second year berries came from the mother plants. I can't remember for sure, but I believe that I started with either 100 or 120 plants.
I let all the runners develop the second year and tried to keep them "on the row" before they had a chance to take root. After they took root, I clipped them from the mother plant so that neither one would be a strain on the other. That fall, and well before the first heavy frost, I transplanted the "new" plants where I wanted them in the spaces between the mother plants. I even used several to give to my father, brothers, and friends. When I dug them, I made sure to get enough soil as to not disturb the roots. Strawberry plants don't have deep roots, so it was easy to do. But the roots are somewhat wide, so be careful. I figured that the less that I disturbed the roots, the quicker they would become established in their new home.
The following year I let the new plants develop berries and runners, and boy did I ever have strawberries!!!!! We put up gallons of them, I sold them, I gave them away, birds and squirrels got lots, and there were still some that went to waste in the garden!
Knowing that younger plants do better than old plants (info from my agricultural extention agent), I decided to start a new patch in the garden. That fall, I took about 100 babies from the mother plants, and started them in another spot in the garden. The following year, I pinched the blooms and runners from the "new" plants, but had scads and scads of berries from the old patch. That year, I also took new plants from the old patch to fill in the gaps in the new patch.
Late that fall, I tilled all of the old patch under. The following year, my new patch already had 100 two year old plants plus all of the babies that I had transplanted the previous fall. Again, I had more berries than you could shake a stick at!!
This was not a plan that I developed on my own. My agricultural extention agent suggested it. If we had continued living there, the next year I would have started a new patch where the original patch was and the process would have started all over again.
I know that the way I did it seems like a lot of trouble, but the quality and quantity of berries made it worth it. If you don't have enough space to rotate them, you might try something different. Each year, you could cull all of the 4 year old or older plants. By that age, their production has usually dropped off quite a bit. But, also remember that the strawberry plants put a strain on the soil when they are left in the same place year after year after year. Or, at least that's what my ag. ext. agent says. He says that is the reason why the local berry farms are constantly rotating their berry patches from one place to the other.
Again, good luck with your berries. And if you have plenty of berries, don't forget to make some strawberry freezer jam.... extrememly easy to make, delicious, and it's not just good on toast or biscuits.... it's about the best topping for vanilla ice cream that I've ever found!!!
Robert
* * * *
My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks
by DeepCreekLake on January 19, 2006 08:52 AM
A trick you can use to keep your runners, as new plants or as transplants is to bury a small pot full of soil(can be cheap plastic pots) under the runner plant, and once it roots in the pot, clip it, and pull up your pot for use as you need it!
by beebiz on January 19, 2006 10:03 AM
Thanks DeepCreekLake! I didn't think of doing that. I just used a garden spade to lift them from the soil. But, I like your suggestion even better!! And, it would make it soooo much easier to share the plants with others... not having to worry about the root ball and such!
* * * *
My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks
* * * *
My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks
by Dennis on January 21, 2006 07:27 AM
Hi,
I want to thank all of you for your input and suggestions. You have been a big help. :-)
Dennis
* * * *
Dennis
I want to thank all of you for your input and suggestions. You have been a big help. :-)
Dennis
* * * *
Dennis
by beebiz on January 21, 2006 10:22 AM
You're quite welcome Dennis. And, if you need a good recipe for the strawberry freezer jam that I spoke of, let me know!
Robert
* * * *
My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks
Robert
* * * *
My New Web Site If you take a look, please sign my guest book so I'll know you've been there! Also, check out the new African Violet addition to my site! Thanks
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I'm from Maine and this spring I am planning on growing Everbearing strawberries.
Has anyone grown these? How much different is it to grow these as compared to regular strawberries, like June bearers?
Thanks for any information.
Dennis
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Dennis