JONA878 wrote:Get a large pot and just plant them in the pot in a bunch. Then keep them somewhere that's just frost free for the few weeks needed.
They'll be fine
I've been thinking about this. I imagine I have enough sterile potting soil around here to fill at least a good-sized pot. If I shook them out so they weren't one huge clump and planted them so I covered the surface, I could put them inside, perhaps close enough to my light table that they would benefit from the light.
If it weren't that they are Ft. Laramies, I would cut my losses and buy strawberry starts locally at the end of May. The price was good, and I wouldn't be out a lot of money.
However, you can't find a Ft. Laramie in Wyoming to save your soul, well, except for the obvious: the city after which they were named. I ordered early to make certain I could get some because I have seen them sell out quickly in past years.
In all fairness to Gurney's, they sell incredibly healthy bare root plants. Those apple trees I bought from them, the ones I had to hill, bloomed the year I planted them, and one of them actually produced a single apple. I've never seen anything like that before. I am confident these strawberry plants will be equally healthy.
Thanks for the good advice, JONA878. I might try all three approaches, just to see what happens: 1/3 in the fridge, 1/3 in the bed, and 1/3 in a pot. I grew these before, decades ago, and they send out tons of runners. Even if I lose 2/3's of them, I'll have a full bed by next year
Hey, here's another idea: Could I trim the roots enough to pot them individually in 4" square nursery pots? Then they could have their own trays right on the light table.