Hooray for strawberries!

Ruth_10 · May 21, 2008

Yesterday's harvest, the first of the season. The variety is Earliglow. They are almost two weeks behind this year because of the cold and wet spring.

DSC_7578 Earliglow strawberries.jpg

I like to eat them mashed up with a little bit of sugar, just as a sauce. Or put on a dollop of vanilla yogurt. Strawberries macerated with some sugar freeze well, too. I think they hold their flavor very well.

Here's what I do to keep the birds and other critters away from the berries. (This photo is from last year.)

Earliglow strawberries in cages.jpg

It's a pain in the neck to mess with the cages (and I also use some bird netting), but if I don't protect them, the birds get them ALL.

piegirl · May 22, 2008

Ruth - delicious looking! After yesterday, I have full blazing sun and will be able to plant a strawberry bed. My friends and I go to one of the farms and pick. How much production do you get? And big are your beds? I would still be somewhat limited in space but if I could buy 50% less (I aim for about 60 lbs) that would save a lot of money. Piegirl

Ruth_10 · May 22, 2008

I have two strawberry beds. Each of them are about 6' x 20'. One bed (Earliglow) gives me more berries than the other. I have not weighed or otherwise measured the harvest from these beds, but I would say that I pick on average two quarts every other day for maybe three weeks (one variety matures earlier than the other, but they overlap). In practice, the first pickings are the biggest and then they taper off somewhat.

U-Picks are nice (though $$$) if you want to freeze them and be done with it all at once. I like having the harvest spread out over several weeks so I can enjoy them over a period of time.

If you plant a bed, do be prepared to protect them from the birds or you will harvest 0 pounds. I speak from experience.

Go for it. You'll be glad you did.

Medbury Gardens · September 16, 2008

Ruth,
How did the season go for you ?

How do you manage your beds, as in,do you buy in new plants or do you grow your own for replacementing old plants.
As for my beds they are just starting to come to life now,we just

our strawberries here , but the *#birds

also

my strawberries
Richard

Medbury Gardens · September 19, 2008

This is how i manage my strawberries, i grow a 1960 s commercial variety,name ????? its about half the size of todays types but has a very nice flavour.I grow them in four rotating beds,in the photo,the bottom left plants that are about eight months old and will be used to grow next years plants from.Top left are plants that are a season old and will be fruiting fully for the first time in two months.Top right, are one year older again and this will be there last year before being removed and garlic grown,and so on.

Tormato · September 19, 2008

I'm still picking Alpine strawberries here, and I'd like to keep picking them. I just missed a frost last night, but the weather now looks like it will be OK (from an extended forecast).

Gary

Medbury Gardens · September 19, 2008

Are they those small white strawberries,and long do they fruit for??

Tormato · September 22, 2008

Medbury,

The Alpines I have are red, and small. I think that there are also white and yellow ones. I've heard that birds aren't attracted to the light colored ones.

They are "everbearing", so they usually bear up to the first frost. That's about October 1st, here. The flavor is better than any regular strawberry I've ever tried.

Gary

Medbury Gardens · September 22, 2008

Its the white ones that i use to grow Gary and they are also very nice eatting but just a bit to much work to get a good feed from, that is why i now grow a 1960 s variety,the fruit are not to small but not as large as those tastless blobs they call strawberries in the supermarket.
The red alpine strawberry grows wild in some places here up in where we call the high country.

Medbury Gardens · September 25, 2008

The differents between your tastless blobs and our tastless blobs is ours are local, i put it down to been growin in dead soil and feed on artifical fertilizers.

I checked out Cabot and looks to be a ideal strawberry for you folks in colder climates.

May 21, 2008	#1
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	Hooray for strawberries! Yesterday's harvest, the first of the season. The variety is Earliglow. They are almost two weeks behind this year because of the cold and wet spring. DSC_7578 Earliglow strawberries.jpg I like to eat them mashed up with a little bit of sugar, just as a sauce. Or put on a dollop of vanilla yogurt. Strawberries macerated with some sugar freeze well, too. I think they hold their flavor very well. Here's what I do to keep the birds and other critters away from the berries. (This photo is from last year.) Earliglow strawberries in cages.jpg It's a pain in the neck to mess with the cages (and I also use some bird netting), but if I don't protect them, the birds get them ALL. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be. Last edited by Ruth_10; May 21, 2008 at 11:57 PM. Reason: Don't know the difference between fruits and vegetables

May 22, 2008	#3
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	I have two strawberry beds. Each of them are about 6' x 20'. One bed (Earliglow) gives me more berries than the other. I have not weighed or otherwise measured the harvest from these beds, but I would say that I pick on average two quarts every other day for maybe three weeks (one variety matures earlier than the other, but they overlap). In practice, the first pickings are the biggest and then they taper off somewhat. U-Picks are nice (though $$$) if you want to freeze them and be done with it all at once. I like having the harvest spread out over several weeks so I can enjoy them over a period of time. If you plant a bed, do be prepared to protect them from the birds or you will harvest 0 pounds. I speak from experience. Go for it. You'll be glad you did. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

May 22, 2008	#2
piegirl Tomatovillian™ Honoree Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 791	Ruth - delicious looking! After yesterday, I have full blazing sun and will be able to plant a strawberry bed. My friends and I go to one of the farms and pick. How much production do you get? And big are your beds? I would still be somewhat limited in space but if I could buy 50% less (I aim for about 60 lbs) that would save a lot of money. Piegirl

September 16, 2008	#4
Medbury Gardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Medbury, New Zealand Posts: 1,881	Ruth, How did the season go for you ? How do you manage your beds, as in,do you buy in new plants or do you grow your own for replacementing old plants. As for my beds they are just starting to come to life now,we just our strawberries here , but the *#birds also my strawberries Richard

September 19, 2008	#6
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	I'm still picking Alpine strawberries here, and I'd like to keep picking them. I just missed a frost last night, but the weather now looks like it will be OK (from an extended forecast). Gary

September 22, 2008	#8
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	Medbury, The Alpines I have are red, and small. I think that there are also white and yellow ones. I've heard that birds aren't attracted to the light colored ones. They are "everbearing", so they usually bear up to the first frost. That's about October 1st, here. The flavor is better than any regular strawberry I've ever tried. Gary

September 25, 2008	#10
Medbury Gardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Medbury, New Zealand Posts: 1,881	The differents between your tastless blobs and our tastless blobs is ours are local, i put it down to been growin in dead soil and feed on artifical fertilizers. I checked out Cabot and looks to be a ideal strawberry for you folks in colder climates.