Recommendations for Strawberry Varieties

Good afternoon everyone! I received my first plant catalogs in the mail yesterday, and of course that got me dreaming about the garden. I want to grow some strawberries for jam, and I am wondering if anyone can recommend a variety, and wether ever-bearing or june-bearing would be best for me. Especially since I want to get plants going and keep them a few years (if that even factors in). It isn't necessary to get a yield this season coming. I just want to get them established this year.
If you read the catalogs, every variety is the BEST and BIGGEST and SWEETEST, and I just don't know, and have no experience with them. My plan is to to make a tube with a 3 inch wide opening down the entire length from 8" PVC, cap it, put drainage holes in and hang it from the sides of my garden enclosure(going to do the same with cucumbers). In the winter I will bring it down and mulch it with something to protect it. I just want to maximize my space. If needs be I can protect them with bird netting while fruiting.

Any input you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Of course I forgot to mention... I am in South-East Ohio. I guess thats what the preview is for, right?

I wish I could help with strawberries, but they are way out of my league.

You will likely get answers over the next couple of days. However, if you don't, remind me to move this into the General forum because it may get a few more views there. It's a great question, and one I think lots of others have, too.

I would suggest you check out Nourse Farms in Westborough, MA

http://noursefarms.com/

They give info that is actually helpful, like this variety is good for home gardeners, and they will say this one has good flavor and that one has excellent flavor. It also tells you if the berries are large, medium or small, and what degree of firmness they have.

You might choose to order from them, but even if you don't, they are the first place I have found info that actually helped me!

@Martha, Thanks, I will check them out!


@ Backyard Bird... Thank you, I was not sure where it should go. I will see how it goes and maybe move the topic to "plants and seeds" if I don't get any responses.
I did search the forums before I posted, and didn't see anything about varieties people chose or the luck they were having.
Have a great weekend! It is 60° and sunny here today!

Let me know what you think of their info.

I look forward to hearing what you choose and how they do for you!

Hi Tina

This info is out of Ohio State University. If you scroll down there are many topics on strawberries for Ohio.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/lines/fruit.html#FRU.7

I have Quinalt(pretty big) and some smaller varieties. I also have a few plants that are everbearing. My everbearing ones are blooming! In Ohio, I'd suggest a June/spring bearer. An everbearer does not put on as much, enough to eat. If you want to make jelly/jam having them bear all at once makes sense. The small/medium are usually better flavored, the 'large/teacup' size are good for chocolate dipping, they have a lot of air inside.

Sorry, mine are Walmart berries, don't remember the varieties names.

Your extension agent is a great resource for information on agriculture as well as horticulture. This link will take you to Ohio State's recommendations on strawberries(along with other information) for your area.

If you want them for jam, you definitely want June bearing. They come all at once (3 week period) so you have a lot to can at once. It will take a year for them to really get settled and produce.
I don't make jam and jelly anymore, so I just raise mostly everbearing. I can munch on them over a longer period of time. I have a few June bearing for shortcake before raspberries come in.
Oh, and about the birds oh, my, yes, you'll need that netting!
j

I think between the OSU Extension Website and Nourse Farms, I may be in trouble!
Great prices on all those berry plants, and I am sure higher quality than discount catalogs.

I think June-bearing wins, collecting one harvest for jam all at once would be better than piece-picking all summer.

It does make me wonder if I should consider permanent beds instead of my mad PVC tube scheme. Might be better served to save that for the other vining plants of the garden.

I agree with a sort of permanent location, unless you plan on buying more each yr. They would be ok in the pvc, but, probably would not winter over up off the ground, for it would freeze harder. They'd fare better on the ground, with a cover of mulch in the cold winter up there. Locally grown berries will work, for at least you know that variety will grow up there!

Jo

I'm with Jo. I like my berries in the ground where the runners can take root. Once your older plants are tired, the newer ones can take over without having to start from scratch again. Second and third year berries have been the best producers for me, then I cut them off or pull them and go on to the newer.

Also, the best jams I've made have been when I froze the fruit and then processed it in the Cuisinart frozen, and then thawed it and made the jam. I really liked the texture of the blueberries, in particular, when pulverized when frozen!
Really makes it nice to be able to mix and match your fruit in the winter, when you want to be indoors making hot things. I've made strawberry rhubarb, ginger peach, straw/blue/raspberry, and other berry blends as the mood moves me. Currant/raspberry is good, too. Hmmmmm...... Startin' to get a craving.....

@janzee

Very good points! I think its decided. Permanent beds it is!

A couple seasons ago, I bought four cases of strawberries through the choral dept. at the local high school. I used the juicer/strainer attachment on my kitchen aid mixer, then added the pulp back into the juice, and froze it in vacu-saver bags until we wanted to make jam. It made a really good jam, and that attachment took a lot of the seeds out, so it was nearly-seedless jam, but with all the wonderful bits of fruit that makes jam so yummy!

My brother got married, and my sister and I volunteered to make the wedding favors, so everyone got baskets filled with usable/reusable items all in purples and lavenders, so we put together 90 baskets filled with half pints of PURPLE-TINTED strawberry jam with a label on the lid with the names and date , lavender bath salts, lavender colored candy coated sunflower seeds, a votive holder with tealights and a few other little things.

It used up ALL my reserves of strawberry, and I have been jones-ing for jam ever since. I tried smuckers, but there really is no substitute!

After trying strawberries in my SFG the year before last, I decided to set up a container box just for them. They just are so vigorous about spreading that it was impossible to keep up with it when they were in with my vegetables, but now I just let them go. I do stop them when they're trying to grow outside the box, of course, because I don't really want strawberries all over the yard. Well, actually I would like that, but hubby would make a fit when he had to mow, lol.

tinakocher2000 wrote:.....used up ALL my reserves of strawberry, and I have been jones-ing for jam ever since. I tried smuckers, but there really is no substitute!

I feel your pain! I do have some of mine left, but every so often Hubby will give me the count-down of how many quarts (yes, I do it in QUARTS here ) are left, and the question "how long will that last?"

GG

janezee wrote:
Really makes it nice to be able to mix and match your fruit in the winter, when you want to be indoors making hot things. I've made strawberry rhubarb, ginger peach, straw/blue/raspberry, and other berry blends as the mood moves me. Currant/raspberry is good, too. Hmmmmm...... Startin' to get a craving.....

Strawberry Peach is very nice!

GG

Has anyone done any strawberry jam with a little something hot or spicy in it? I love flavor mash-ups...

Like maybe, strawberry/red cayenne. I made some habanero pepper jelly this year that had carrots in it . Delish and so nice and golden. Makes a mean peanut butter jelly sammich.

Kay

walshevak wrote:Like maybe, strawberry/red cayenne. I made some habanero pepper jelly this year that had carrots in it . Delish and so nice and golden. Makes a mean peanut butter jelly sammich.

Kay

Sounds so good!!! Is it lunch time yet?!? lol

I noted the comments about vining. Mel states that it is better to trim off the shoots/vines rather than allow them to grow and root. By doing so, he says you get stronger plants and better fruit. He says that if you do let them vine/root, the plants decrease in productivity/vigor over time. Rather than do that, he suggests replanting every 3rd year or so to replace the whole batch at once.

Does anyone have experience with this and can comment regarding the productivity or vigor in comparison to letting the vines continually root additional shoots?

I am thinking about putting in a strawberry bed this year. We like to use them in salads and for other non-jam purposes, so would ever-bearing varieties be a better choice?

tinakocher2000 wrote:Has anyone done any strawberry jam with a little something hot or spicy in it? I love flavor mash-ups...

I never make fruit jam without spices. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom are the best! (not all at once!)

I have some opal basil jelly that has my name on it. Just waiting for an appropriate occasion to crack it open. (hmmmm, that just might be today)

Herbs and savory spices I've been saving for my chutneys.

j

I don't have a whole lot of strawberry experience, but I can tell you that I don't think I would do things exactly like Mel suggests in his book. It's a good idea, and I do try to keep my strawberries from vining as much as I can. But the main problem I have with replacing the plants every three years is that, in my experience, first year strawberries don't produce very well.

I have been growing strawberries for just enough years now that I saw my oldest beds yielding very, very little this past year. What I plan to do, and I think what Mel had in mind, is to stagger replacing the plants, so I will not have any year that I am sans strawberries.

I don't remember reading about Mel and strawberries. Does he buy new plants each 3 yrs? I'll have to re-read the book.

I have some June and everbearing. I keep the runners from growing until the spring fruit comes off then let them go to make more plants. I always try to cut the runners soon after the new plantlet roots(that way it won't pull any more nutrients from parent plant) Everbearing plants, well I just let them do what they want, but I do cut runners after they root. I enjoy the everbearing, just like now, we've had good weather,but we've had 2 nights in the 20's, and I have berries growing, not ripe yet, but soon!

Jo