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Garden Gate:  strawberry help!  |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 17 2009 : 12:10:31 PM
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I wondered if any of you ladies knew alot about strawberries...
Our neighbors gave us some of their plants from their garden last year and they did very well!
They are doing extra well this year, too (I'm on my 5th freezer bag full just from the June harvest and they are getting flowers again now for another harvest). But....
Some of them get what I call "strawberry rot," a greenish brown soft spot where the strawberries are against the ground. Does anyone know what this is and how to prevent it? Thing is, it doesn't happen to all the strawberries that are on the ground... at first I thought it was caused from the leftover leaves and ground litter leftover from last year, so i cleared alot of it out. it helped a little, but it happens to strawberries even on clean, cleared ground where there isn't alot of moisture build-up.
This also happened to strawberries that were caught by all the runner vines, so I cleared many of those out, too. But we have to keep the vines coming up now so we can start a new bed in the fall.
I didn't know if the rotted strawberries came about from trapped moisture, if the sun wasn't getting through enough to the berries themselves. Like maybe the leaves were too thick. So I also cleared many of those out, too.
All these things seem to decrease the amount of rotted berries, but not resolve the problem completely. It could also be decreasing because the amount of berries produced right now are decreasing. But I know I'll have another explosion of berries soon, so I want to learn about the problem and try to alleviate it before that time.
So if anyone has ANY advice, I'd appreciate it! any other helpful hints about strawberries in general would also help, since I'm a beginner. Thanks! 
"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."
-Guillaume Apollinaire |
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1badmamawolf
True Blue Farmgirl
2199 Posts
Teresa
"Bent Fence Farms"
Ca
USA
2199 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2009 : 12:51:35 PM
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Try surrounding your plants with a layer of straw, fairly thick, it will keep the dampness off the berries, and retain moisture in the soil. Water in the morning, never evening/night, don't put water directly on the plants or berries. Good luck
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
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quiltin mama
True Blue Farmgirl
436 Posts
Heather
Crescent City
CA
USA
436 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2009 : 2:55:36 PM
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Well, Teresa beat me to it. :) I was going to suggest a layer of straw as well. Plus the other advise she gave about watering is great!
You can visit my blog at www.mountainhomequilts.blogspot.com |
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2009 : 10:31:19 PM
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Me, too! Straw is your best bet and if you have a soaker hose, lay that down first and put the straw on top of it. You will find you won't have to water as often as a side benefit as the straw will help hold moisture in the soil while your berries sit on top of it.
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog:
http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
My apron website:
http://lisamariesaprons.bravehost.com |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2009 : 2:30:52 PM
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thank you ladies for your advice!
"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."
-Guillaume Apollinaire |
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Garden Gate: strawberry help! |
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strawberry help!
