Strawberry roots; what kind of yeild can I expect?

[garden5]

I saw the other day that walmart is selling bags of 10 strawberry roots for $3 ea. and was wondering what kind of first-year yield I could get if I planted a batch of 10. The two varieties are Allstar (I think) and Quinalt. I believe that one is June-bearing while the other is ever-bearing.

[kylie77]

Good question since I just bought some of those! My strawberry plants from last year don't seem to have come back. So I picked some up and wondered the same about yield.

[TZ -OH6]

I would say don't bother. It is very late in the season for buying those roots and they take a while to come out of dormancy. I bought two packs last year in early March (20 roots). I started them indoors under lights and about three came up quickly and about ten more eventually showed some growth but were barely alive. I don't even know if the strong ones ever flowered last year they were so far behind.

I ended up buying a flat of 18 nice strong plants at the local nursery at about this time and planted those to fill up the bed. They produced a half dozen berries each and then put out lots of runners. You can put them in the ground or in containers. You are supposed to pinch off the flowers to give them a better start the first year, but I wanted at least to taste some berries.

Be careful about what variety you choose. Many of the varieties out there are high producers, low flavor. Around here they sell Allstar and Seqouia which have good flavor, but there is also a lot of Honeoye for sale, which are described as having a flat, tart flavor.

[jal_ut]

My guess is the everbearers will give you a fall crop this year.
I wouldn't expect to get much from the June bearers this season. They will multiply though and give you a great harvest in June 2011.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Like Jal_ut said, you should get a crop from the Quinalt this year. The June bearing Allstar, should have the flowers removed the first year.

[garden5]

Thanks for the info, everyone !

TZ, that's good to know. I was kind of leery of the "roots-in-a-bag" concept to begin with, anyway.

So, you guys think that I will get a better first-year yield if I go with established plants rather than roots, eh? It sounds good. I'm now wondering how much they will spread. Will they totally take over my garden? Are they one of those impossible to remove types of plants.?

Thanks again.

[TZ -OH6]

They won't take over the garden because they are pretty wimpy and shallow rooted. But at the end of the first year they do put out enough runners to fill in the gaps between the original plants. I think the first year spacing is supposed to be something like 18 inches apart. You can dig the daughter plants up in the early spring and move them for better placement.

[!potatoes!]

i don't know if i'd ever refer to honeyoye being 'tart'.

[jonnydclark]

I agree with TZ-OH6 that buying good healthy plants would be the best choice. I know it is tempting but avoid letting any fruit develop the first season (unless you planted in the fall). Remove each blossom as soon as they become visible to keep the energy of the plant focused on building a root system. Any fruit allowed to ripen the first year will drastically reduce the next years production. Cut all runners as soon as they appear for the same reason. In the second season allow runners to grow roots before cutting the connection to the mother plant. This will help fill in your gaps and keep a percentage of young plants to bear fruit.

Strawberries will never overtake your garden (we could wish!). You can mow off the tops at about 4" to knock back the mature plants after a few years and let the younger ones pick up where they left off.

If you just have to pick some fresh strawberries this season find a "you pick" farm near you and you'll be able to pick gallons in a few short hours. Then you can eat, freeze or jam them to your hearts content. Where I live in North Carolina the farms are already open for picking.

[jal_ut]

Remove each blossom as soon as they become visible to keep the energy of the plant focused on building a root system.

Is this another myth? I am of the opiniion that the plant knows if it has the strength and vigor to bloom and produce fruit. If it wants to do so, I am happy to eat the fruit. I can see no detrimental effects to the plants from this practice. I planted some everbearers last year. They made a lot of new plants from runners, and also gave me several cups of nice berries. I have been growing berries for many years and have never picked off blossoms. I dare bet that both the runners and the plants I planted will give me a good crop this year.

Same goes for asparagus roots. I will harvest some the year after planting. Still, they continue to get bigger and better each year. The advice to wait 2 or 3 years for a harvest is nonsense. IMO

[TZ -OH6]

Re Honeyoye being tart:


I'm just going by flavor descriptions on websites. I have to worry when the big lists of recommended varieties actually describe flavors in such a way that I wouldn't want to eat them. Disease resistance,productivity, size, color, but not flavor are the selling points. When I bought Sequoia, I had a tough time even finding info on it because it was an older garden variety grown for flavor, and was soft and pretty much had to be eaten quickly, so like heirloom tomatoes it was displaced by bigger and "better".

[garden5]

Jal, I've always heard about both the asparagus and strawberry issues you've mentioned and I'd have to say that I agree with you. Nature always seems to know what it is doing (though we sometimes THINK we know better ) and, as you say, if the plants feel like setting fruit, then I don't think it will badly affect them.

I've heard about the "not-harvesting" of fruit from certain berry plants on the first year, but I've yet to find an actual study that tried it both ways and showed a dramatic difference the subsequent years. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that while it may benefit the plants somewhat, I don't think that there will be a dramatic difference between the two harvesting techniques.

Anyone else have any experience on this?

[DoubleDogFarm]

The removal of flowers on strawberries, I believe only pertains to June Bearing varieties. I have always harvested a good crop of strawberries, raspberries, etc from the first year of day neutrals. I planted Shuksans this year for the first time. Do I remove the flowers sound like the jury is still out on this one.

[Hispoptart]

They won't take over the garden because they are pretty wimpy and shallow rooted.

Are kidding? won't take over, straberries are weeds with a very yummy fruit, not wimpy at all, If not controlled they will take over everything, Here are some pics of our 3yr old patch, Trying to take over lawn and stone walkway. We are constantly digging them out. There was another one that is in an enclosed bed that found it's way under and into the lawn but DH dug it out and transplanted it before I thought to take a pic.

[TZ -OH6]

Correction, wimpy compare to things that put out underground stolons. like Oxalis, and things like Bermuda grass.

[garden5]

That in one delicious-looking patch of weeds ! What kind are they? Are they wild strawberries?

[Hispoptart]

It was 3 yrs ago we plant, I'm sorry but don't remember the name, some were roots and some were plants. They were also a mix of june bearing and everbearing. If i remember correctly the roots didn't do very well the first year so thats why we added the plants. Also I believe the june bearing pretty much took over so I believe thats all that is in there now.

[84pagirl]

Yes i bought a pak of each of those berries, the allstar didnt look good from the beginning i think they were actually dead but i wasnt sure. the quinalts look good 1plant has 2 flowers and a small berry. i put them in a strawberry pyramid. we'll see how they do.

[applestar]

I also have tulips as well as other spring bulbs planted with strawberriesl. They seem to co-exist quite happily.

I never worry about picking off the flowers either. If letting them all flower and bear fruit in the same year as the spring they were planted was supposed to stunt their growth, they didn't get the memo.

And June bearers ARE stronger spreaders. Once their fruit production is done, they are pretty single-minded about taking over the world. So, if you're concerned about strawberries spreading too much, then -- well, what I have experience with is -- Dayneutral Tristar is the way to go. I don't know if it's still true that Tristar is the better choice for mid-Atlantic/Northeast as compared to Tribute for the western states, but that was the assessment years ago. Other varieties of Dayneutrals have been developed since. You get MORE berries all at once with June bearers so it works out better to plant both, but in separate beds.

[gixxerific]

I would have to go with NOT wimpy myself. I removed my strawberries in one section of garden that I tilled up since it was newer. They are coming back though. Guess I should have said I thought I removed them all.

I have another bed at the base of my willow trees. There is a 2-3 ft rock wall they have found a way to go down underneath that wall and are growing in my yard now. One other thing my neighbor behind me has a 8x20 approximate bed that was for strawberries and veggies last year this year it is 100% strawberries. It was about 50% or less last year they have been slowly taking over.

Of course I planed at the same time he did and mine are not near that productive yet. This is the first year I think i will get anything worth talking about. I never worried about picking off the flowers cause there were hardly ever any.

[garden5]

I hope your neighbor likes strawberries because with a patch that size, he'll be in for a real harvest.

Thanks for tipping me off, all, about the spreading differences between the June-bearers and the ever-bearers.

[Cagolddigger]

Interesting... about picking the flowers or not.
I always do on first year plants. My great-grandfather, grandfather, & mother always did it and I followed suit. I may have to do some comparisons to see if there is a difference.

As far as buying root stocks or established plants, I would always go for established plants. The last two years I have tried both. I have never got the roots to establish 100%. I bought 10 roots last year and only 3 made it. Of the 6 established plants I bought, all six made it. Plus, the established bought plants look much better and produce more fruit.

You really have to keep up with the runners on strawberries or they will take over. I keep an eye on them and only let two runners per plant go. I wait for them to start rooting and them transplant them.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I just want to clarify, we are talking bare root crowns, Yes Most nurseries offer them in 25 plant bundles. I don't purchase anything from Walmart, but that's a different thread.

My brother purchased 1200 bare root crowns from a reputable nursery. 600 Seascapes and 600 Shuksans. I planted 100 of each in my raised beds. I think I've only lost a couple. Had to replant some the ducks pulled out.

[Kelly_Guy]

Years ago before my gardening hiatus, I bought a 25 bare root crown bundle from a local nursery. I don't remember losing a single plant, and got a great crop the 2nd year.

This year, I mail ordered a 25 pack from a big name mail order place, and bought 24 established plants in 6 packs from a local nursery. Regarding the bare root pack, I got 22 usable plants and a few of them might not make it. Overall, they are ok but don't' compare to the healthy plants I bought locally years ago. I don't expect to lose any of the established plants.

I think healthy bare root plants are quite fine if you are going to pull blooms off anyway. If you want a few late strawberries from everbearing plants the first year, buy established plants and pull blooms until mid June or so.

I agree with buying both everbearing and June bearing and keeping them in separate beds.

Kelly

[Kelly_Guy]

I just want to clarify, we are talking bare root crowns, Yes Most nurseries offer them in 25 plant bundles. I don't purchase anything from Walmart, but that's a different thread.

My brother purchased 1200 bare root crowns from a reputable nursery. 600 Seascapes and 600 Shuksans. I planted 100 of each in my raised beds. I think I've only lost a couple. Had to replant some the ducks pulled out.

Wow, 200 plants...nice.

Kelly

[DoubleDogFarm]

Well I have to let you in on a little secret, but don't tell everyone.

Those 1200 plants cost about $6.00 per 25 bundle. My brother pots them up (4" pots) and resell them at $1.00 each. So that becomes $25.00 minus the .04 cents each, to fill with purchased compost.

I have a feeling that most of the local nusery do this.

Last Saturday at the Farmers Market. He delivered 108 of each variety, 216 total. 6 flats of each. I think he sold most of the Seascapes and about 1\4 of the Shuksan.

[applestar]

The bareroots I ordered on-line mostly came with 6~8" roots. It was hard work planting them during the mid-March chill in thawed and ready to dig in but still cold earth. I finally gave up and potted up the last dozen or so (I ordered 3 bundles of 25) in 4" pots. They had the shortest roots and wimpiest growth and I still had to cut off the roots to make them fit. Out of THOSE potted ones, I might have lost 3 or 4. Everybody else grew great.

[jonnydclark]

I just did a search and most of the recommendations for flower removal on berries the first year are geared toward June bearing as suggested. Here is a quote from the University of Illinois Agriculture Extension.

Blossom Removal
During the first growing season, remove flowers of June-bearing strawberries as soon as they appear. Removing the flowers promotes root and runner development thereby insuring a large crop the following year.

For everbearing and day-neutral strawberries, remove the flowers until the end of June and then after that date allow the flowers to remain to set fruit for a summer/fall harvest.

I also saw a study that showed no real difference in crop weight of day-neutral varieties when planting with "plugs plants" but mentioned using the dormant plants required more time for the roots to develop.

Cheers
Jon

[jal_ut]

I never worry about picking off the flowers either. If letting them all flower and bear fruit in the same year as the spring they were planted was supposed to stunt their growth, they didn't get the memo.

I love it!