Re: 2012 pictures of Birth of new strawberry bed through 1st renovation

Gunny 2/24/2013, 11:42 pm

When you say heeled, what is that? I just stuck mine in according to instructions on the package and watered according to instructions which were to water to settle the roots. I have been watering every other day or so depending on temp and weather. They have been in for two weeks and no green yet. So what am I doing wrong? Please!

**llama momma** 2/25/2013, 6:44 am

Heeled in, describes a temporary planting in my case with strawberry starts, like I did in the garage. The other thing I was thinking Gunny, did your roots come with planting instructions? Even after I read the intructions I still lost a plant and blame myself for planting too deep or too shallow. There is a place on the plant that is right between the stem portion and root portion, believe its called the node. That part needs to sit at just above soil level as I recall. It was my first time planting strawberries and thought it was a little tricky to locate the right spot. If that is your issue then you should find online directions and pictures of proper planting levels that will help. I got my starts from Shumway, and they were very helpful in answering questions too.

CindiLou 2/25/2013, 7:27 am

Strawberries are picky little things. It doesn't take much to mess it up when planting. Node to high/low, to much/little water, to much/little sun, to cold/hot. They are just darn picky!

Gunny 2/25/2013, 10:11 am

The temps might explain my trouble here in my micro climate. They have been in the 30's in the predawn and in the high 70's in the afternoons. Strawberries I thought were good for a long lasting plant so I put them in my 3'x6' box a couple weeks ago. Got them at HD when I was shopping for the stuff for MM. Yes LL they came with instructions which I followed. I will check on the depth and raise a little as needed. The top layer drys out fast that is why I have been watering so frequently. On the bright side my spinach is sprouting lol!

GWN 2/25/2013, 10:15 am

Gunny
Did the roots look healthy when you got them? I got a few last year that were all dried out.
I think that you just need to wait a little longer, the roots have to really get started before they start sending leaves up. Have you tried using a magnifying glass to see is perhaps there is just a teensy bit of green Embarassed

I do that sometimes. That is what I am doing with my raspberries to see if there is a teensy bit of bud? Very Happy

Mine are all green now, but I think that is left over from last year, they have been under 3 feet of snow for months now

Gunny 2/25/2013, 11:02 am

The roots were dry and no sign of green on the Janet. I'll give the mag glass a try and see if I can spot anything.

GWN 2/25/2013, 11:08 am

maybe soaking them in water for a few days might help out the roots.

Gunny 2/25/2013, 11:16 am

Well that means taking them out of the bed, is that what you mean?

GWN 2/25/2013, 11:27 am

Well I guess not, just water them tons right now, and if there are in mels mix you will not need to worry about overwatering them.
Just make sure lots of water is available for the roots that are likely stuggling to re-establish themselves and that is likely why it is taking so long for the leaves to begin to grow.

Gunny 2/25/2013, 11:38 am

Thanks and will do. Or as we say in milspeak Wilco.

Triciasgarden 2/26/2013, 2:23 am

I love these posts!

**llama momma** 4/6/2013, 4:49 pm

Removed all the pine straw today from my 4 by 4 ft. table top strawberries and it looks like everything has survived, all 64 of them, I am totally thrilled. The big concern is I found out I renovated late last summer, should've done that with june bearing berries last year in June, not in July the way I incorrectly did... supposedly some of the fruit for this year was potentially removed when I renovated kinda late last year. We shall see.
Anyway, today within two hours of removing the pine straw all the little plants were standing nice and tall instead of hugging the soil buried under pine straw. I love strawberries!

audrey.jeanne.roberts 4/6/2013, 4:54 pm

YAY!!!! That's wonderful. My strawberries are all new this year, here is their bed:
strawberries - 2012 pictures of Birth of new strawberry bed through 1st renovation - Page 2 4-6-1314

strawberries - 2012 pictures of Birth of new strawberry bed through 1st renovation - Page 2 4-6-1314

Mel book says not to worry about not letting them flower or bear strawberries the first year, so I'm just going to let them go at it. I'd rather have some consistently this year and next rather than wait!!!

I have a question for you llamamama, this bed is shaded until the mid day and we get very intense, hot sun. Will they do well with the morning shade? I forgot to look it up before planting, this bed was the one that was open. It's probably not an issue because they will get intense, afternoon sun from 11 AM on until 8 PM but I thought I would ask.

**llama momma** 4/6/2013, 5:06 pm

I think you will be fine but you will need to see for yourself how the plants handle it. Stick your finger in the mix to check moisture and watch the plants for stress-like droopiness.

In June my garden gets slightly over 15 hours sunlight for the duration of summer. Last years intense heat , so many days were high 80's high 90's and a bunch of days over 100 I put burlap over the critter cage top and they did just fine. But I also hand watered daily every morning.

audrey.jeanne.roberts 4/6/2013, 5:18 pm

That's good to know. I'm on auto drip and have 2 inches of wood chip mulch around them. In the past I have gone to twice a day watering in the heat of the summer, with the mulch we'll see how much water it will take.

Lillyz 4/6/2013, 8:01 pm

Gunny wrote:The roots were dry and no sign of green on the Janet. I'll give the mag glass a try and see if I can spot anything.

Gunny, I got these bareroot, dead looking strawberries on Monday April 1. I found a container, put them in with some Mels Mix and alot of water. The first day I think they just soaked up the water. I have left them outside for a couple of days and nights now. Im still contemplating putting them in some type of container. They are Fort Laramie strawberries, which are ever-bearing and are good for here in Colorado where the temps can swing from below freezing to mid 70s in just a few hours.
strawberries - 2012 pictures of Birth of new strawberry bed through 1st renovation - Page 2 Img_1416

strawberries - 2012 pictures of Birth of new strawberry bed through 1st renovation - Page 2 Img_1416

**llama momma** 4/23/2013, 9:14 pm

Found two little white strawberry flowers today. happy2

bnoles 4/23/2013, 10:14 pm

llama momma wrote:Found two little white strawberry flowers today.

I found 3, but had to pinch mine off.... no berries for me this year, but look out 2014. Very Happy

**llama momma** 4/23/2013, 10:25 pm

While you're waiting for berries next year time will go quickly as you are entertained and enjoying eggs from chickety one, chickety two and chickety doo dah. I forget #3 but it's something like that Laughing

R&R 1011 4/24/2013, 12:15 am

Woo hoo, LM! I grabbed some bare root strawberry packs from Walmart the other day. They look dead & dry, so Im not going to hold my breath. I soaked them overnight in Maxicrop seaweed & planted the in MM today. We shall see...

**llama momma** 4/24/2013, 6:09 am

My guess is you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.
Purchased 50 EarlyGlow bare roots last year from Shumway catalog. There was room for 14 more plants. Went with a 10 pack of unknowns from a high class store Big Lots rofl

and 4 Quinalts from Lowes. Although everything came up fine in the tabletop, I admit the original Shumway order of 50 looks more vigorous. Maybe additional fresh worm castings and compost will help the smaller varieties catch up.

stripesmom 5/4/2013, 11:20 am

LL, what did you use for your homemade aphid spray? I planted 210 strawberries in my boxes this year (my square foot gardens will now be only strawberries for a few years). I had a lot of aphids last year on my watermelons and nothing seemed to touch them. I know they are brought in by ants. This year, I've purchased 3 rounds of lady bugs and lace winged some thing or others to help eat up the aphids. Do you think the spray would hurt the good bugs?

**llama momma** 5/4/2013, 12:58 pm

Stripesmom,
Yikes, I checked my garden notes and did not write down what homemade spray was used on the aphids, but whatever it was I'd love to know too - cause it worked like a charm! Argh Rolling Eyes

I save so much stuff all over the place, online, notebook, sfg. Favorites, etc. Nowhere near my srawberry notes I did write something I called Farmer Valerie's Bug Spray (don't think she's been on the forum lately) so maybe this was it? I still have the ingredients on hand so I"m thinking this is probably what I used:
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
1-2 Tablespoons dish soap

stripesmom 5/5/2013, 11:09 am

Thank you so much. I'm have the same organized system you do, lol. I've not been on the forum much myself, but still enjoy reading the entries.

gregrenee88 5/18/2013, 8:35 pm

My wonderful husband enclosed our strawberry bed last weekend with nylon netting and chicken wire on the doors on top. This way the birds are kept out but the pollinators can get in.
strawberries - 2012 pictures of Birth of new strawberry bed through 1st renovation - Page 2 00710

strawberries - 2012 pictures of Birth of new strawberry bed through 1st renovation - Page 2 00710

Here's our mini-gardener demonstrating the doors.
strawberries - 2012 pictures of Birth of new strawberry bed through 1st renovation - Page 2 01410

Renee

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