Strawberry patch

[longwinters]

I'm thinking of planting maybe 15-20 strawberry plants.  I remember growing up that after several years we would start a new patch as my mom said that the berries were getting too small.  Since we would pick and then go door to door in town to sell them she wanted really nice strawberries.  My dad was killed in a farming accident when I was 5 and we were dirt poor.  I was between 5 and 10 at the time we were selling fruits and veggies.  At 10 I (along with my mom and sister) would trim Christmas trees in the summer....I made $1.00 an hour doing that.  But I digress......
 
I can't remember how many years it was between plantings or if we used the "runners" to start the new patches or if she bought new plants.
 
What has your experience been?
 
Long

[AtlLaw]

I dunno Long...    Planting a strawberry patch is another of those things I've never gotten around to doing.     Although I did get the goose to keep it weeded once.      COme to think about it I don't remember a caution about any perennial's output declining as the plant ages.
 
You got me thinking though... Wasn't there a tiered planter you could get to grow some in a limited space?   

[Graybeard]

Yeah I had one of those tiered planters once and it worked OK but I never was able to get the watering attachment for it to work. I ended up building me another made of wood with three tiers and it worked even better. I've also used a couple of raised beds to raise them.

Around here if you don't have a bird net on them you won't get any the birds will eat them all. I gave up on them but have been thinking of trying again.

You can use the runners to start a new garden just fine. That's how the companies that sell them get the ones they sell you.

[jvs]

I never tried Strawberry Crops so far but I have a close friend who does.  Seems to me that about every 5 to 7 years he is sending away for new plants and starting over with fresh topsoil and fertilizer.  I'll ask him about his experience and let you know.


I do know that around here the first berrys (known to me as Queen Berrys) are the biggest of the crop, the rest will be smaller in the types he has planted .


Quite a few farmers in Pa. have PYO farms and grow Strawberrys, among other things, and do pretty good.  But then, you are talking about Acres and Acres.

[Old Syko]

I have 3 rows about 25' x 3' each that were started from plants I dug up from my dad's patch and transplanted about 5 years ago.  They average silver dollar or so size with some larger and some smaller just like they always have.  They had been in the ground 10 or 12 years before I reset them.  If they're kept properly thinned by taking out the old plants along with the weeds and kept properly bedded with straw and covered with straw in cold weather they will continue to produce indefinitely.  After all new plants aren't something special.  As GB said they are produced from the new runners of other plants.  My 3 little rows produced over 20 gallon of berries last year.


This summert I'll be taking plants from my existing patch and transplanting them to a new patch simply because I'm moving everything to a different area for my convenience but I won't do it until after they've finished producing in late June.   

[OLDHandgunner]

Last year I finally got back to growing a few strawberries. Hadn't grown them in 30 years. I built my own 3 layer strawberry pyramid, 6'x6' square with 2x4 lumber for the bottom, 4'x4' square with 2x8 lumber for the inside and in the center was 2'x2' square with 2x12 lumber.
 
Bought 25 early plants & 25 everybearing plants. They where delivered by UPS on May 25th. I told the driver I'd have him some berries by late summer. He said "No Way". I planted them right away. And sure enough by August I was picking a few berries from each plant. ( You can only pick one or two and have to snip the other buds so they will build a stronger plant for next year.) When the driver came for a delivery that fall I picked him a handful of fresh strawberries to eat.
 
The thing with the 6'x6' pyramid is it doesn't take up much room and can be picked from all sides and covered easily to keep out those robins. And for the winter I bought one bale of straw to cover it from the cold.
 
I thinking of building another pyramid this spring. Cause ain't nothing like picking fresh berries for your cereal or that strawberry short cake.

[keith44]

Growing up we always had a strawberry patch.  Every three years we (dad) would till the old plants, and let the runners become the new plants.  The tilled strips were composted for two years, then the third year runners were trained into the composted area.  At the end of the growing season of the third year the older plants were tilled under.


Our patch was about 40' long and 15' wide.  I'm gonna hafta put some in, y'all got me thinkin' 'bout em now

[jvs]

Long,


My buddy always replants his strawberry's every 5 to 7 years because he doesn't cover his plants with mulch for the winter, and the cold takes its toll.  He didn't say why he doesn't mulch, he just doesn't.   I guess he likes to change the location of his strawberry patch on a regular basis.  Good luck with yours, should you try it.