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Aya
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Strawberries..

I'm sure this is pretty trivial, but the few strawberries I've gotten this year from my patch have been kinda skinny, and oblong shaped..and tiny. Shouldn't they be plump and juicy looking and sorta kinda heart shaped? Just wondering if its a variety thing or a maturation thing..or maybe just my plants. :lol:

ruggr10
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Depends on the type of strawberry. I'm waiting on my alpine strawberries to bloom and they will be small and skinny.

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Aya
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I'm not sure now what variety I bought, just that they were an ever bearing variety

JONA878
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One thing I would check Aya is that you have another variety there to act as pollinator.
Because of their late flowering everbearers can run our of other strawberries to cross pollinate with.
It also helps with them if you do not allow them to produce runners.

:?

Moley
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Strawberries are self pollinating...

JONA878
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I'm afraid that it has been found that some of the vars are far better if they have a pollinator planted with them.
Most commercial growers plant two vars together as some have a high percentage of male sterility.

JONA878
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I would add here that I am talking about late vars like Pandora....were Sophia is recommended as a pollinator.

Moley
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Learn something new everyday, I was unaware of such issues.

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Aya
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Huh! I always thought strawberries were self pollinator's as well. I'll also cut back the runners tomorrow and see if that helps :)

Thanks for the advice!

JONA878
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Oh Aya
It may well be a much simpler thing then after all that.
How old are the cropping mother plants on your patch.?
If they are old plants and still pushing out runners they may well just be exhausted.
Young plants and old plants ( over five years ) are best de-runnered to give them a chance to produce well.
In fact its not a bad idea to keep all your plants under five years old.
:?

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Aya
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This is a first year patch. All 8 of my plants were transplanted from seedlings I bought at a nursery. I've gotten maybe a total of 5 berries so far in total, not per plant :? But the birds or something always get to them before I can harvest them...

I cut back some runners today, and noticed a few of them already had new plants with roots growing.

JONA878
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If they are on their first year Aya then you should keep a control of the runners on them. I know it is the quickest way to fill the patch up...but it is a big drain on small crowned plants if they are allowed to runner as well as produce fruit.
If a strawberry has a choice in reproduction...it seems to find runners quicker than fruiting....so uses its strength up in that direction.
Next year you should be in full production. just give them a good feed this year to build up their crown size.

:?

Texas.girl
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I have been building a raised bed for the strawberry plants I purchased a month ago, using rocks found on the property. The bed is partly sitting on a sheet rock. I am wondering how deep this bed needs to be. I have never grown strawberries before. Do you experts think this bed is deep enough? If no, how many inches tall should it be? Any other suggestions? This soil is garden soil I just purchased which was delivered by dump truck. Really good stuff, but is there anything I should do or add to the soil before planting? Thanks for any advice.

[img]https://aocommunities.org/DSCN1976.JPG[/img]

JONA878
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Hi Texas girl.
Considering Strawberries are quite happy in grow bags...I think anything around six inches or so is fine for them.
You will however have to remember to water regularly if you do have shallow soil as it will have no resevoir for the plants to tap into. Also a regular feeding to keep the nutrient level up.
As to planting..if the soil is fresh then just plant with a little slow release fert.
It might be a good idea if you did a check on the soil to find its Ph.
Straws do not like acid soils very much.
Good luck...

:?

Texas.girl
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thanks Jona for the advice.

Delvi83
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Here some info and photos about Strawberry :)

https://ilgustodellanatura-blog.blogspot ... sp_23.html



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