Strawberries

[Monroe]

My strawberries suck! This is the 2nd year for these plants and they are lroducing tiny mishapen fruits! The fruits they produced last year were bigger and more regular shaped! Ive been watering them twice a week since we hadent been getting much rain and it hasnt been making any difference! Help!

[applestar]

Strawberry fruits could be frequently misshapen from two causes. One is a tiny black bug that feeds on the blossom. The other is lack of boron. If you live east of the Rockies, soil tends to lack boron.

One other possibility is that they are not getting sufficiently pollinated - incomplete pollination ... are you seeing bees and other pollinators in your garden?

[Monroe]

Not seeing bees, had a friend who had a hive here but it died out over winter. I don't know much about bees but am thinking anout a hive myself. My Neighbors garden and mine are about 20 yards apart and past his garden he has aroind 15 apple trees, a hive would be nice.

[rolayla]

Lack of calcium is a common problem. I heard that using Gypsum is a good solution.

[jal_ut]

"I don't know much about bees but am thinking anout a hive myself."

I keep bees. They are an interesting hobby themselves and can make you some honey which can be sold for some money. The equipment costs some up front but lasts a long time. Bees come and go. I can buy packages in the spring. Yes it is good to have bees near your garden for pollination.

[Gary350]

Lack of calcium is a common problem. I heard that using Gypsum is a good solution.

Gypsum does work in place of calcium but it causes food to be gritty like very fine sand particles in food, it is very noticeable in tomatoes. You can ruin a good crop of tomatoes with gypsum.

[jal_ut]

Get a good book about beekeeping and read it.

abc and xyz of bee culture 41st edition pdf