12 Strawberry plants

[gary350]

My neighbor that lives up the road 1/2 mile brought me 12 of his strawberry runners that he started in pots. Dig a small hole next to old plants, put a 4" pot in the hole then fill pot with soil. Put 1 runner in each of the pots allow them to grow until pot if full of roots. After runner plants have a good root system in the pots cut the runners from the mother plants. You can start a new row of strawberries from old plants every year. Neighbor has been doing this for 40 years. He does not remember the name of these plants. Neighbor has a 40 ft row of strawberry 18" between plants that produces 5 gallons of berries in 1 month very years. He picked ripe strawberries from about May 15 to June 15. After he gets a new 40 ft row of strawberries planted he tills up the old strawberry row.

Yesterday after neighbor went home black clouds are getting closer I hurried to get my, string, rake, shovel, before it storms. Sky is rumble rumble rumble from thunder several miles away. Just as I finished planting the last plant it started to ran. It rained hard for 20 minutes. Strawberry plants are in garden row 7 planted 24" apart. Next summer transplants go in row 6, then a year later row 7 again. There should be enough rummers next year to start 2 or 3 rows of strawberries. I'm glad it rained it helps me to see if plants are high up enough above the water level of the garden. We have 60% chance of rain in our forecast every day for a week.

Allstar strawberry plants are $25 for 25 plants on ebay. I still might buy 25 more runner plants to start more strawberry plants in garden row 16. Still trying to decide what to do. 25 + 12 = 37 plants that will be a nice crop of strawberries May 15 next year.

Allstar Junebearing Strawberry Plant (Lot Of 25 Plants) | eBay

Allstar Strawberry Plants (Lot Of 25 Plants). Plant so that crown is just above soil level. Type June-bearing; perennial in zones 4 to 9.

www.ebay.com

I planted some of MY small new potatoes in row 21 last week new plants are coming up already.

 

[YumYum]

I put in 6-8 live Arkansas Beauty strawberry plants last year. They grew well last year and I got a few strawberries. This very early spring I dug up about 5 times the original plants from runners this spring and gave them away. There was literally half a chicken feed bag full of healthy plants.

This late spring the plants gave me tons of strawberries but they had severe anthracnose fruit rot so I only got a few berries. Total bummer. I tried mulching them with pine straw but it was too late. Now the plants haven't even started running yet for some reason. Not sure the cause.

To me strawberries are hard to grow in the ground because of the weeds and disease. I want to move them somewhere else besides the ground and start fresh but I don't know what. I thought about using rain gutters and potting mix but I'm afraid the soil will stay dried out so bad that I cant keep up with them. I assume the soil would also freeze deeper and quicker but I don't know if that would kill the roots or no. There is also the problem of trying to reproduce with the runners in hanging gutters. I thought about skipping a row of gutter to lay the runners in so the strawberries could be reproduced. Sure can't afford to buy strawberry plants every year.

 

[gary350]

I put in 6-8 live Arkansas Beauty strawberry plants last year. They grew well last year and I got a few strawberries. This very early spring I dug up about 5 times the original plants from runners this spring and gave them away. There was literally half a chicken feed bag full of healthy plants.

This late spring the plants gave me tons of strawberries but they had severe anthracnose fruit rot so I only got a few berries. Total bummer. I tried mulching them with pine straw but it was too late. Now the plants haven't even started running yet for some reason. Not sure the cause.

To me strawberries are hard to grow in the ground because of the weeds and disease. I want to move them somewhere else besides the ground and start fresh but I don't know what. I thought about using rain gutters and potting mix but I'm afraid the soil will stay dried out so bad that I cant keep up with them. I assume the soil would also freeze deeper and quicker but I don't know if that would kill the roots or no. There is also the problem of trying to reproduce with the runners in hanging gutters. I thought about skipping a row of gutter to lay the runners in so the strawberries could be reproduced. Sure can't afford to buy strawberry plants every year.

Do a few experiments and grow several varieties of strawberries to learn what works for you and your geographical location. When you find something that works better than you were growing stick with it.

Years ago I tried all the gimmicks, raised bed and all the other things, mother nature is smarter than ME. Raised beds were too much work, too expensive, hard to weed, too dry, had to water every day. I bite my tongue people need to learn for them self. Some people love raised beds & have good luck with them, it must be there weather & location is better than mine.

 

[Susan BBPM]

We've spent a small fortune on strawberries but it always ends in disaster.

The first year I bought bare root crowns for a very reputable supplier. I planted them all up in hanging baskets - they were definitely showing signs of life at that point. By Spring it was clear they were all dead as doornails.

So that spring (last year) we went out to the garden centre and purchased loads of strawberry plants. We potted them up in various containers - figured we'd hedge out bets. We got a few nice ones, but most looked and tasted very wrong. We kept the plants over winter, but by spring when it came to potting them up they were all infested with vine weevil.

We had a second attempt at bare root crowns, followed instructions meticulously. By spring we had two survivors out of 12.
So, we entered the season with two of the bare roots and 4 salvaged from the vine weevil. Not many decent strawberries (I suspect they're drying out too quickly in pots), but we have enough runners to fill a raised bed. If that fails - I'm done with strawberries.

 

[gary350]

We've spent a small fortune on strawberries but it always ends in disaster.

The first year I bought bare root crowns for a very reputable supplier. I planted them all up in hanging baskets - they were definitely showing signs of life at that point. By Spring it was clear they were all dead as doornails.

So that spring (last year) we went out to the garden centre and purchased loads of strawberry plants. We potted them up in various containers - figured we'd hedge out bets. We got a few nice ones, but most looked and tasted very wrong. We kept the plants over winter, but by spring when it came to potting them up they were all infested with vine weevil.

We had a second attempt at bare root crowns, followed instructions meticulously. By spring we had two survivors out of 12.
So, we entered the season with two of the bare roots and 4 salvaged from the vine weevil. Not many decent strawberries (I suspect they're drying out too quickly in pots), but we have enough runners to fill a raised bed. If that fails - I'm done with strawberries.

I learned my lesson many years ago, no raised beds, no pots, no baskets, no buckets, I NEVER remember to water plants if that does not kill them they are not attached to the soil so earth is not keeping them from freezing to death. Mother nature is smarter than WE so I do as mother nature does.

 

[Susan BBPM]

I live in the West of Scotland where *normally* it's very wet (although we've had 2 uncharacteristic dry seasons). This means that slugs are a major problem. I know people manage to grow lettuce, strawberries in the ground around here, but I hate the idea of things that aren't being cooked being so close to those slugs!!

Additionally, we have heavy clay soil. In a typical year a raised bed stays moist and prevents waterlogging. But I'm starting to wonder if we're going to get any more 'normal years'!! LOL

But yes, my initial love affair with container gardening has well and truly worn off for the reasons you describe!

 

[gary350]

I live in the West of Scotland where *normally* it's very wet (although we've had 2 uncharacteristic dry seasons). This means that slugs are a major problem. I know people manage to grow lettuce, strawberries in the ground around here, but I hate the idea of things that aren't being cooked being so close to those slugs!!

Additionally, we have heavy clay soil. In a typical year a raised bed stays moist and prevents waterlogging. But I'm starting to wonder if we're going to get any more 'normal years'!! LOL

But yes, my initial love affair with container gardening has well and truly worn off for the reasons you describe!

Everyone that gardens has to learn what works for them. I am in United States 30 miles south of Nashville TN we have lots of rain 6 days a week January to April. This year we had 47" of rain in 3 months. When rain stops then we have almost no rain and desert for 4 months. If I get every thing planted and growing good before rain stops plants grow with no help from me but if I water every day plants do much better.

Any plants that need to grow year round needs to be hilled up above the swamp or they rot. When I plant potatoes I make 40 row that is hilled up 2" above where water will be in Spring. Then March 1st I put potatoes with eyes on the hill surface so its is above the water. I have several bucked of dry soil inside the work shop so it can not get wet, I pour dry soil over the potatoes to cover them up 1". When rain stops & water goes down I can shovel more soil on potatoes. Potatoes wont grow plants until end of April our last frost is April 20 and first frost is Nov 5. This summer we had 2 months of 100°F weather.

When I planted strawberries I pulled a string and used a string level to make sure plants are 2" above the spring swamp.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

If you take all the flowers off new strawberry plants the first year they produce enough in the second year to make up for it and more.
Plants start producing fewer strawberries after three years.
My method is to have four rows of strawberries going. Each year I plant a new row and take all the flowers off and dig up the oldest row the other side so that I have three rows producing and the block moves slowly across the garden into fresh earth.

 

[Susan BBPM]

Excellent idea! We're about to plant our strawberries into a bed, so I think we'll give this a go. This will even let strawberries fit into our crop rotation. Love it!!