The perfect strawberry bed...

[leah]

hello,

I grew some strawberrys from seed last year and they are still going strong and I was hoping to plant some in a bed just for them

I'm in the process of getting all of the pebbles out, I have a stupid amount in my garden. I know I don't need to for strawberrys, but I'm thinking ahead to when I move them and want to grow carrots or parsnips

I've got some compost in pots left over from the tomatoes I did last year to raise the bed slightly and some well rotted rabbit manure.

Is there anything else I can add to make it better for the starberrys to grow and fruit well? I was thinking I could have 16 plants, 1 in each sq foot, could I squeeze more in??

Is there a best time to transplant them? I need to move some from a bed I did last year which is in the wrong place... Most are in pots, but the healthiest are in the ground already, will they be ok to be moved?


Srry about all the questions.... I'd like to get something right this year, apart from Chillis and tomatoes, everything else was a bit of a disaster!

[teengrower]

i too am knew to this grow your own but i read somewhere that tomatoes and strawberries are both from the potatoe family and so both carry the same diseases so i dont know that using compost you used to grow tomatoes in to grow strawberries is a good idea hopefully someone else will confirm or dismiss this

[Nicos]

As far as I'm aware - strawberries are not related to tomatoes and potatoes.

Quote.....The Solanaceae Family has been highly cultivated over the years - it includes potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, sweet peppers, chili peppers (but not black pepper), tobacco and petunias

[teengrower]

thanks for clearing that upp as i to have tomato compost that i may reuse

[grenhouse]

Your tomato compost will be fine. I also add plenty of well rotted manure and rabbit droppings.
I would transplant in spring now, depending on the variety I plant at around 10 inch intervals. Take extra plants from the runners to have some plants for next year. I do this on a yearly basis and plant a new bed, disgarding the plants after 3 years.

[leah]

Thank you

I was going to go head first and transplant them next week

I ended up with what feels like hundreds of them! I just hope we get hundreds of fruit of them this year, they had some last year, but I'm hoping this year they will do great

I've added a couple of bags of well rotted robbit manure and straw, but I will have a constant supply to add if I can over the growing season, I've read it is the only manure you can use fresh that wont burn....

I think I could do with a book on manuring, I think I over manured my courget bed, I only had about 7 courgets on one of the plants, 1 on another and lots of flowers

[grenhouse]

Strawbs always fruit much better in their second year I find.

I don't think it's possible to over manure courgettes as I have grown them in 'hot beds' in the past which are basically just heaps of manure! The flower issue was probably to do with pollination more than the manure.

Steve

[seasprout]

i too am knew to this grow your own but i read somewhere that tomatoes and strawberries are both from the potato family

For your interest, Strawberries are in the same family as the Rose.

[Strawberry delight]

i hope mine will come back through after being left outside in -10!!!! no green life yet though.

[gojiberry]

Strawberry plants are pretty hardy and usually overwinter without ant problems even if they are in pots. I had some outside through all the very cold December weather. I brought them in the greenhouse at start of January and they are already starting to show green shoots.

Ian

[Jono]

Strawbs always fruit much better in their second year I find.

I found this too. I think you're supposed to move them after three years? I haven't done this year (going into fourth year) and they still look perfectly healthy.

[AmyRose]

I ordered some plants from Mr F (first year growing strawbs) they arrived yesterday, they came in a bunch (which I wasnt expecting lol) will they be alright to go straight outside? (no GH)
Ta

[Two_Sheds]

Is there a best time to transplant them?

April is the best time, when the soil is warming up

I think you're supposed to move them after three years?

Not move them, compost them (after their 3rd year). Strawbs are meant to crop best in their 2nd and 3rd years, and decline after that.

will they be alright to go straight outside?

I wouldn't plant them in sodden, frozen ground, I'd wait till April. They certainly don't need a greenhouse, but pot them up in fresh compost - they can stay in a cold frame or a sheltered spot of the garden until spring

[Aberdeenplotter]

I found this too. I think you're supposed to move them after three years? I haven't done this year (going into fourth year) and they still look perfectly healthy.

What you will find is that strawberry plants are very susceptible to viruses and after three years the foliage wil become affected and the size and quality of the berries will be markedly reduced. If you can, just take on a new row beside your existing strawberry bed and remove a row at the other end. That way you don't have a year when you have a dearth of berries and you are not building up disease.

[Bigmallly]

I've added a couple of bags of well rotted robbit manure and straw, but I will have a constant supply to add if I can over the growing season, I've read it is the only manure you can use fresh that wont burn....

Be carefull with manure if growing carrots/parsnips as metioned in your OP.