I'm anything but handy when it comes to gardening or landscaping. I grew up on a farm but we raised livestock (Polled Hereford's) not crops. I love strawberries! Nothing better than fresh berries picked out of your front yard, sliced up with a little sugar! Gotta be cold too! Right out of the fridge. Mmm Mmmmm! My wife and I started with 3 scraggly looking strawberry plants about five years ago that she ordered online somewhere. About the only care I give them is Miracle Gro once a year and a little water when it gets too hot. Then I have to put up orange safety fence to keep the squirrels out. This year looks to be our best crop ever!! Evidence of my lack of a green thumb by looking at my grass! Look at all of those flowers! After about 30 days each one of those flowers will be a delicious strawberry!
They really look good.Enjoy them,they are going to give you a big crop of berries.2 weeks ago here the strawberries were selling for $5.00 for 2pds,Now they are 1.99 for a pd.Really good too.Bruno.
Is the soil sandy? We have too much clay. If we wanted to grow strawberries, I'd have to make raised planters. Strawberries and peaches are my favorites. I like them cold as well.
It's not too sandy. But it does have some good topsoil mixed in to the whole bed before we planted anything. They're growing everywhere!! They put out those runners and new plants take off in the sidewalk, driveway, everywhere! We have pots full of them, planters, buckets and anything we can find. Even our mail lady got some of our strawberry plants! Lol
The dear in my area would annihilate them, I can't keep any type of plants that they like. So far this year the tulips are gone an the Hosta sprouts were mowed down in one night..... Would love to be able to plant strawberries without having to fence them in,,,,, Enjoy your feast in a few weeks....
We have some wild strawberries growing on an unattended hillside in my back yard. They only get about as big as a peanut or maybe a few as big as a macadamia nut. They are the sweetest and best tasting strawberries I ever ate. Last year the neighbors boy (about 4 yrs old) saw me on my hands and knees while I was picking and eating them. He asked what I was eating and I told him BUGS do you want some. He ran home. That will probably keep him out of my secret spot till he catches on. He is more than welcome to take all he wants.
Nice. I have a bunch of edibles growing, Pawpaw trees which fruit is a few years off. I have plenty of wild black raspberries and several blueberries. Trying to figure out a good way to foil the birds with the blueberries. They devastate them. May build a net enclosure this year. Throwing nets over them has mixed results. I know when they eat them as blue crap starts appearing on the cars. Talk about insult to injury. Strawberries look cool though.
I love the wild black raspberries. I pick them every year. I still have enough from last year for 6 more pies. One year I had so many I made about 12 gallons of wine. The wild ones have much more flavor than their tame cousins. I also pick the wild black berries, elderberries, and mulberries. I also have a gooseberry plant. I was thinking about planting some ever bearing red raspberries.
Just look at those strawberries! WOW! This is only today's harvest. I never thought all of those flowers I posted a pic of when I started this thread on May 3rd would grow into this many berries. I really thought it was just too much of a load on the soil, or rabbits would eat them or a hail storm or something else bad. We've been having strawberries with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I chopped Monday's harvest up in a bowl with a little sugar...and you can't beat those poured on some Breyer's French Vanilla ice cream for desert. Or just a bowl of 'em. Not bragging, just sharing nature's bounty from my front yard in pictures.
Wait till they are Ripe. The Grinnies and Rabbits will let you know. Hope you are gonna NET them. Nectar of the Gods
Here is a pic of my wild ones. Second pic is from about 3 feet high. The wild ones are buried in the weeds. They will be ready soon. Tiny but tasty. What is this 3rd pic? Is that poison ivy?
Look for varieties of creepers. Possibly Deadly Nightshade. That stuff takes over my raspberries like crazy! The quinquefolia means five leaves. ws Virginia Creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, is a vine. It grows along the ground and up anything to which it can attach its aerial roots. It is not poisonous. Nutmeg has expounded on this vine that many humans mistake for poison ivy back in June, so I’m not gonna repeat her words.
Hey Steve, not sure what you mean by "wait until they are ripe." They are ripe. The pictures are berries I picked this morning. I didn't net them but I did hang a bunch of old CD's on fishing line to keep the birds out. Worked too, they don't like seeing their reflection..
wow I see. Yes the birds know when they are ripe. Then they eat them all. Here in Pa. Grinnies wipe them out too. Chipmunks