very small strawberries!

[RuHappy69]

I have one of those Topsy Turvey things where I planted strawberries. They seem to be doing OK (I think I planted too many but that's another story). I started picking some red strawberries but they are TINY.. I mean like 1/2 inch tiny. Anyone know why that may be?

[DoubleDogFarm]

The variety or not enough water. Just a couple guesses

[RuHappy69]

so that can't be it.

[applestar]

Do you KNOW what variety strawberries these are? Also, how do they taste?
Runnerless alpine strawberries are often recommended for container culture, and their berries are tiny about fingernail size or first joint of finger at most.

I have Virginia Wild Strawberries and these also have tiny berries -- first pickings being the size of tip joint of *my* thumb, and then getting smaller thereafter. We've always enjoyed them, but I thought my kids would like the larger commercial berries as well, so I planted 75 plants last spring, including Stark's Giant Red (others are Sweet Charlie and Tristar). Well, my kids still prefer the intense flavor of the wild strawberries. The other ones are difficult to pick at peak flavor (even then, they're inferior to the fragrance and intensity of the wild ones) -- too early and they taste like water, too late and they taste like vinegar. We're all turning into strawberry snobs.

[farmerlon]

I have noticed, on most varieties of Strawberry plants, the first berry (on each plant) of the season is the largest, and then the berries that follow tend to get progressively smaller until the plants stop fruiting.

[RuHappy69]

I pulled one of the plastic 'thingies' (very technical term) and it litterelaly said 'red strawberries'. Got them from a nursury also! Who knows.. Just bummed out. Nothing ever seems simple although, aside from what ever is eating my beans, the rest is thriving nicely. Ate my first piece of broccoli yesterday. My kids devoured the rest raw. Good for them!

[DoubleDogFarm]

I have noticed, on most varieties of Strawberry plants, the first berry (on each plant) of the season is the largest, and then the berries that follow tend to get progressively smaller until the plants stop fruiting.

This sounds like another experiment. If you take a row and remove the first berry from all of the plants, would this influence the rest.

[farmerlon]

I have noticed, on most varieties of Strawberry plants, the first berry (on each plant) of the season is the largest, and then the berries that follow tend to get progressively smaller until the plants stop fruiting.

This sounds like another experiment. If you take a row and remove the first berry from all of the plants, would this influence the rest.

You try it and let me know ...
that "first big berry" is always so nice, I don't think I could make myself snip it off early.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I thought we were talking Strawberries, not Razzberries

Can't make myself do it.