Growing strawberries

[Fla Gal]

Strawberries are one of the easiest small fruits to grow in the home garden. They can be grown in hanging baskets, patio containers, window boxes, or just about anywhere you would like an interesting ground cover plant that produces edible fruit. Naturally, if you only have a few plants you are not going to get very many berries but 25-50 plants will keep a small family supplied with the fresh makings for shortcakes, waffles, or ice cream all summer long.

www.essortment.com/all/strawberriesda_rnbj.htm

[gayla]

we got a them coming out of our ears my DH over ordered and we put them up in a high flied they must of loved it because I have lots of berrries

[Fla Gal]

Wow! Good for you Gayla! It sounds like you'll have enough berries to can and freeze for future use too. I hope mine do as well.

I bought only 12 plants. That's all there were in stock (I live in a very small town). They're Eversweets. There was one ripe berry today. It was so good. It's the first fresh strawberry I've had in years. I got them planted today and was pinching back the blooms. I'm looking forward to harvesting strawberries on a regular basis. If 12 plants aren't enough I'll expand the bed and buy more plants next spring.

Fresh picked strawberries are so good. They are a great snack or dessert, healthy too!

[Granny Smith]

Fla Gal, your strawberries should put out runners with little plants on the end. Sometimes mine put out 3 or 4 plants per runner (some are mid-stem). That's how you can get more, without spending more.

[Fla Gal]

Thanks Gayle! That'll be easy. I left enough room to make the bed larger. It will save me money too! Yah.... I love strawberries!

[debi]

I am just waiting for the berries to come .not for a while yet here, to cold. but I love berries, so I will just have to wait. about a month or so.

[Fla Gal]

Debi, according to the site I posted above I need to pinch back the blooms for five weeks. It will be hard for me to wait that long but the wait is worth it. I won't have to do that next year and should have strawberries much earlier next spring. I love berries too.

[gayla]

I put down a case, 12 jars of wild strawberries , I am 6 jars of Jam .. the strawberries are wonderful this year ..

[debi]

well, for first year plants, some say to nich off the blooms. I have done it. but now I just go ahead and let them make. usually the berrys are smaller and fewer the first year. and they put out fewer runners, but they do put out some. i am like gayle, i pinch off the new little plants, and plant them. and so i add to my bed .all the time, all summer long. and that is a very good thing. yeah.