Does anyone else have strawberries

[garden5]

You guys are making me jealous (and hungry :p). I don't even have any plants in the ground, yet and a deer ate down my blueberry bush.

[gixxerific]

You guys are making me jealous (and hungry :p). I don't even have any plants in the ground, yet and a deer ate down my blueberry bush.

It will probably come back if you want to wait for it. I have had mine eaten to ground a few times on year it still came back but is still way behind.

[rainbowgardener]

My strawberries are covered in blooms and green berries. Yesterday I weeded out the strawberry patch, laid down compost top dressing, then peat moss, then straw mulch. Looks very pretty the green plants against the straw.

Today I have to get out in the rain and put the deer netting back up or critters will get all the strawberries.

[farmerlon]

If you remove blossoms this spring and early summer, you should be able to get a good crop in the fall of this year.

Good information; thanks.
I also found this at doityourself.com ... "There are many different varieties of strawberries; however, all fall into one of three categories: June-bearing, everbearing or day neutral. June-bearing strawberries produce a large, concentrated crop once a year during a three-week period, usually in June as their name suggests. Everbearing, also called ever bearing, strawberries produce two crops of strawberries, one in the spring and another in the late summer or fall. Day neutral are often considered new improved everbearers. They are capable of bearing fruit continuously from June through September. Day neutral strawberries prefer cooler temperatures, however, and will not flower or bear fruit during hot weather."

As you suggested, I think I will continue to remove the blossoms from my new planting of Everbearers, through the Spring and early Summer. Then, I will stop (maybe around July?), and wait to see if those Everbearers set a Fall crop.
FYI, I planted the "Tribute" variety of Everbearing strawberries.

[Ozark Lady]

The oddest thing:

A couple of weeks ago, the chickens were up on the strawberry tower. They left as I went to water. I thought cool they are eating the bugs. But, when I got to looking, they tore off the green strawberries and simply threw them down. There were over a dozen there, just torn off.

Okay, can anyone explain that?

I put chicken wire over the strawberry tower too, and now I see strawberries getting a decent size.

Surely chickens don't mistake strawberries for grasshoppers? And then spit them out? They didn't dig, scratch none of that.

[sleepawaycampr]

I've got some "Allstar" June bearing strawberries and I am wondering if I should be pinching the flowers off as they are now coming in. I live in an apartment so they are in a container and I don't know if it will be feasible to keep them after the growing season is over. Should I just allow them to flower and produce fruit now? (I'm new to the who veggie/fruit growing thing)

[Ozark Lady]

I wouldn't pinch any. I know the books all say to do that. But, I didn't and mine survived, set fruit, not a lot, but some, and still they made some runners.

I vote: Don't pinch, let them grow!

[nes]

You guys are making me jealous (and hungry :p). I don't even have any plants in the ground, yet and a deer ate down my blueberry bush.

Me too!

Plus my dogs ran over my strawberry seedlings I'd planted out, because they wanted to bark at the cows. I found the dried corpses the next day - I was NOT pleased.

[BrianSkilton]

Currently they are blooming! I can't wait until June or so to get some strawberries. I also have to expanded the bed though, they are growing out and around the bed (from last year). I too have to cover the bed to stop the thrushes from eating all the berries.

[sleepawaycampr]

Thanks OzarkLady! I will let them grow, its just me in this apartment so even if they don't set a lot of fruit I am sure I will still have plenty for myself!

[Ozark Lady]

I would let them set fruit, and then just be prepared to catch a few replacement plants when they throw runners. They will be pretty house plants, with all the babies hanging off of the big ones!

[tomf]

If you remove blossoms this spring and early summer, you should be able to get a good crop in the fall of this year.

I did not know that, next year I will give it a try, thanks alex.

I am thinking I would like to make my garden bigger next year and that would give me more room for more strawberries and corn.

[hendi_alex]

Personally I never pinch any flowers off of my first year strawberry transplants, unless the plant is struggling, and have never seen any adverse effect on vigorously growing plants. Last year my first year everbearing plants gave a light crop in the spring and a much better crop in the fall. I was just responding to the previous poster who is removing blossoms [this first spring/early summer] and agreed that the plants should give a pretty good fall crop. But is my opinion that the plants should give a decent crop this fall whether the blossoms are pinched or not.

[farmerlon]

Personally I never pinch any flowers off of my first year strawberry transplants, unless the plant is struggling, and have never seen any adverse effect on vigorously growing plants.

In the past, I did not pinch the first-year plants either.
But, I've read that the second-year crop will be much more prolific if the blossums are pinched the first year. So, I thought I would try it this time, to make a comparison.

However, since this is an Everbearing variety, I am going to modify my plan a bit... I am going to pinch in the Spring, and then see if the plants will set a nice Fall crop of berries.
I've got another Strawberry crop that is full of berries right now; so that's why it doesn't "pain" me to pinch the blooms off of this second "experimental" planting. I like to tinker with it .

[applestar]

Great! Then let us know what you find out.

[applestar]

Kisal posted an interesting link about strawberries [url=http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=134091&highlight=strawberries#134091]here[/url].
Someone else -- I'm sorry I've forgotten who -- posted this link: http://www.nal.usda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/book/bokelev.htm

These may explain the cultural differences in pinching/not pinching blossoms and varying successes.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Here is my little side by side experiment. Two 20ft strawberry rows. One with plastic and one without. Both are planted with SeaScape, day neutrals. Same type of soil and fertilizer regiment.

[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC02178.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC02179.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC02181.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC02175.jpg[/img]

So far I've noticed, Earlier fruit on the plastic covered row, but bigger healthier plants on the non-plastic row. I believe if I also covered the plastic mulched row, I probably would have ripe fruit by now. I will finsh building the low tunnels to prolong production into the fall.

[gixxerific]

Three years in with little to no fruit, meaning maybe a handful all season.

Something happened to my strawberries over the winter because there is a bunch of berries out there right now. I picked one a few day's ago but tossed it because something else was nibbling on it before I got there. But there are a bunch of half ripe ones just waiting to pop. Maybe if the sun will come out they will do something.

[outsourcethis]

California here. I have about 10 planets and I'm getting about 6 ripe strawberries a day right now. My little girl is eating most them before we get them to the house!

They are super sweet and very good.

[Ozark Lady]

Okay, I had a mystery. After the chickens took the berries still green off of the plants and dropped them, right where they picked them.

I put chicken wire over the rock tower that my main strawberries are in. But the cages were not a perfect fit. They were good enough to keep chickens and birds out though.

I had 2 berries, good sized ripening, and I was planning on getting them the next day. I count my strawberry harvest by the berry, 2 would be a big year! Usually slugs get them, but too dry this spring for them. So, I was excited! I went out there, nothing, I mean notta. The stems were neatly sliced! Grrr. I asked everyone if they got my strawberries. Nope.

So I waited and watched, nothing unusual. And the strawberries are still covered with green ones, a few showing pink.

I read in another forum of mystery disappearances of strawberries.
There are lots of critters that like them. Of course, we know of slugs, and my chickens, birds, and get this... squirrels. The little rascals, I know that I have several living in an old tree beside the garden. It never even occured to me that they would steal my berries. But, when I look at how the cage doesn't completely meet... perfect for a squirrel to climb in. Then just bite the stem, berry in mouth and back out... no footprints, since it could climb on the inside of the wire!

I have everbearers, so all is not lost! I will simply have to squirrel proof. Then they also mentioned that mice will steal them too. Sheesh, how does one mouse proof... hardware cloth or screen wire?

No wonder, once the blackberries get loaded I get more strawberries, the little guys have been stealing them! I am not being mean here, I have 3 beds of them! I will share, but I want one of the three!

[The Black Thumb]

I started 3 plants this year and the plants look good and I have a few blooms that have tiny green berries in them. I don't expect we will be eating any before mid june

[BrianSkilton]

Just blooming and starting to form fruit, shouldn't be long now!

[tomf]

Ddog is there a difference between production with the plastic and the hay covered berries?

[applestar]

I have a couple of rows of strawberries under these:
[img]http://demandware.edgesuite.net/aabf_prd/on/demandware.static/Sites-Gardeners-Site/Sites-GSC_Products/default/v1273845137210/Products/37-439.jpg[/img]
http://www.gardeners.com/Insect-Netting-with-Hoops/37-439,default,pd.html

It's supposed to keep out insects, but it also holds the heat in. I left the end/ends open until the berries started to ripen -- now the robins get bold enough to hop into the tunnel, so I have both ends closed and I'm planning to make new tunnels out of chicken wire based on Ozark Lady's design.

ANYWAY. The ones in the tunnels have been giving us a handful of berries for almost a week now while the uncovered ones are just starting to blush.

[DoubleDogFarm]

tomf,

Ddog is there a difference between production with the plastic and the hay covered berries

I'll have to tell you at the end of the season. This is my first year with plastic. It has definitley cut down on the weeding.

I'm thinking it will increase the production by earlier fruiting and extending the season further into the fall.

I'm welding up rebar low tunnels, black water pipe hoops and covered with deer fencing. These will be covered with greenhouse plastic in the fall.
[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Metal%20Work/DSC01677-1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Metal%20Work/DSC01680.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Metal%20Work/DSC01624.jpg[/img]

I've already made six of theses for my brother.

[Ozark Lady]

The tunnels that I make are easy, I just measure some flexible pvc the length that I want, usually my beds are 4' so I just measure so I have a nice arch there. Then cut up the whole roll into those lengths.

Then I get chicken wire, some in 24" and some in 36" lengths. I simply weave the flexible pvc through the chicken wire, one pipe on each end, and have tunnels. I do have to cover the ends of a few. My beds are 8' so I use two 36" panels and one 24", or just all 4 as the 24" ones.

But, they are light weight easy to move, and I find they even stand well on plain ground not in the beds. But I can also add legs to them for height later in the season... all removable for storage!

I am finding them difficult to attach plastic to, though, have to think on that one some more. But for shade, just throw an old curtain over one and you are done, same works with frost protection in the fall, I throw a tarp over the panels and have a covered bed. Just haven't figured out how to make them a cold frame with plastic on them yet.

[somegeek]

tomf,

Ddog is there a difference between production with the plastic and the hay covered berries

I'll have to tell you at the end of the season. This is my first year with plastic. It has definitley cut down on the weeding.

I'm thinking it will increase the production by earlier fruiting and extending the season further into the fall.

I'm welding up rebar low tunnels, black water pipe hoops and covered with deer fencing. These will be covered with greenhouse plastic in the fall.
[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Metal%20Work/DSC01677-1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Metal%20Work/DSC01680.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Metal%20Work/DSC01624.jpg[/img]

I've already made six of theses for my brother.

Those are nice lookin!

somegeek

[DoubleDogFarm]

Well thank you, thank you very much, That's my best Elvis

[sjohnson9206]

We put together this bed for some of our strawberries. This is on the south side of the house.

[img]http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/sjohnson9206/Garden/2010-04-20/downsized_0420000722a.jpg[/img]

My dormant roots from Gurneys finally came in after a month
and my husband planted without me being there... which means that what I had hoped to have as an everbearing bed is now a mix of everything.

[img]http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/sjohnson9206/Garden/2010-05-18/downsized_0518000732.jpg[/img]

They're starting to come to life! Sorry for the blur, it was misting outside and the camera didn't like that.

[img]http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/sjohnson9206/Garden/2010-05-18/0518000731a.jpg[/img]

I also have 1 of these coming.
http://gurneys.com/complete-strawberry-bed-special-/p/14074/

and I think we'll be putting in a large raised bed in the front of the house for the rest of the plants.