Strawberry advice needed..

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

"I don't think you'll get very many strawberries if you grow them only as annuals"
Everbearing can be treated as annuals.. which we do. We grow inside a high tunnel in tubes suspended from the purlins (which is no real economical advantage, trust me.. I was humoring my husband with the project...yes, dear just go ahead and order the crowns and get them planted up..)



..." as the lady of the center told me it's a myth that strawberries don't need much fert... I will give it a small dose of some organic fert in a few weeks time, after it's properly set down."
yes, this is true... they are pretty heavy feeders. we fertilize regularly.

Could you post a picture of those tubes? I have to move my strawberries this fall,somewhere that the chickens can't get to them.

[Nematode]

Strawberries require about half the fertilizer of tomatoes. Too much fertilizer will reduce yield.

In europe you may have access to "frigo" crowns, which are specifically fattened up at the nursery for growth as an annual. They arent really available in the states.

If you have some room in your refrigerator, you might be able to store the crowns there over the winter after they go dormant. Roll them up in a plastic bag with damp newspaper. Do not close the bag.tightly, and check the moisture level occasionally. Damp not wet.

Crowns will be productive for 3 years, so its best to set some runners if you want to keep going.

[NarnianGarden]

Never seen those things, but then, I am no expert. What I have seen, is strawberry seedlings, mostly everbearing.
I also have some seeds coming along for the next season ... hope they'll germinate.

Overfeeding is hardly a danger for my plant, as I gave it a healthy dose in the time of planting, and won't feed it again soon - unless it starts to look pale and tired. So far, plenty of flowers and blossom buds. Lovely!

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

Could you post a picture of those tubes? I have to move my strawberries this fall,somewhere that the chickens can't get to them.

Tracy... trust me..... this was a very expensive way to plant strawberries. I don't know how many bales of baccto they used (nor do I want to) and the pipe is from the supply of pipe for sewer laterals... The men used a skid steer to stand up the tubes and fill them. then they used a hole saw to make holes for the crowns.
This year they are literally yellow and I don't know why. We fertilize and it hasn't helped. We haven't changed anything else and I thought changing the baccto was too expensive to replace and we tried to re use it... I think that didn't do them any good. I don't think we get 2 pints a week off of 50 crowns.