**Rebecca thanks for following my blog!
I finally got some time to plant my strawberries! It is gorgeous out, and is just going to get better the rest of the week! Unfortunately, I have two night shift days to fulfill this week, so I'll be sleeping during several of these beautiful days.
I read a couple of sites that talked about how to plant strawberries that come in bundles. I read about crown depth, and how you have to plant them even with the soil. I'm hoping I did it right! The plants seem to be in pretty good shape. Lots of them have new growth showing, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes. I am NOT, however, looking forward to having to pinch off 2/3 of the blossoms this year (I have two types that are June-bearing, and one that is everbearing) plus five weeks worth of blossoms for the everbearing type. In retrospect, I wish I would have bought two everbearing, and one June-bearing type, but I can't change that now. It is going to be painful, but I know I'll get a stronger yield if I can just suck it up.
The peas are coming along. I have the first tendril that grabbed onto something, not quite the trellis, but it's still cool. I love seeing the way they do this!
Here are a few pictures of the turtles again :)
This is Nadine. She took off after I took this picture, carrot in tow. She was going to have her carrot, and no giant was going to take it from her!
This is Bernice. This is a VERY rare picture, and will be one of few I'll ever get of her. She is our shyest turtle by far, and we rarely catch a glimpse of her face.
Finally, I just thought I should share this. My only real neighbors are the two 60's ish women who live in the house that ours backs up against. I frequently share my love of gardening with them (and its produce!). One of them brought this to me while I was planting the strawberries, and said, "This is you, I thought you should have this!" I thought it was very sweet of her, and incredibly accurate! :) (You may have to double click on it to read it)
Hahaha! I love that comic! That's exactly how I feel at the first hint of Spring in the air. In case you couldn't tell from my recent rhapsodies over flowers...
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to put in a strawberry patch this year, I've just got a few plants in a big pot because I couldn't settle last year on exactly where I wanted a permanent bed! I'll try to stop dithering and get on that, the kids LOVE picking fresh strawberries. (who doesn't, right?)
How did your plants do in pots? I was in Home Depot yesterday, and had the urge to buy more. I don't have another spot for them, but was kind of curious how they'd do.
ReplyDeleteI've yet to pick fresh strawberries, so this will be a first! Your kids are way ahead of me! :)
Megan, I'm so happy you commented on my blog today. It led me to yours!
ReplyDeleteI never pick any blossoms from my strawberry plants. Just can't bring myself to do it. I really think it's a trade off....pick them off and you might get a few large berries, or don't pick them and get a bunch of delicious (but possibly smaller) berries. One man on GardenWeb last year did an experiment on two beds. He found the plants themselves got big and strong either way, and there was no difference in the size of the berries produced. The more important thing is to keep the runners all cut off for a while. After your June berries finish producing fruit, you can let some runners form to make new plants for that plot or a different place or container. I don't allow very many runners the first year on my everbearing, but let them do their thing the second year. Those runners will be my main plants the third year, in effect renewing the bed as I selectively remove the older plants as their production diminishes.
Granny, thanks for following my blog for one thing! That was a highlight to my day, and thanks also for the huge strawberry tip! I like that guy's experiment data! I really want to try some strawberries!
ReplyDeleteMegan, I put them in some 2 gallon pots and they overwintered just fine. I'm plotting a fruit bed as I type, with raspberries in the back and a strip of strawberries in front. That way I can throw a big piece of bird netting over the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Granny on not picking the blossoms off, just let them do their thing and enjoy!