heres some strawberry and peach jam we made today, you know as im typing i remember i forgot to put lemon juice in the pot. we have one of those automatic Ball jam and jelly makers so its basically cheating.( i forgot to scrape foam as well, my kid had me in a rush to go swim)
O and if anyone is interested in beekeeping material, this Amish guy is great. You can walk right into his shop and its stacked with freshly made boxes and accessories, bees all over the back yard. thought id share
A lot of those strawberries look like Flavorfest! I’m entirely obsessed with that berry now. I know it’s only my second season growing strawberries (which is no time) BUT, I did go very strongly head first with a stupid number of varieties (13…) and nothing compares to its flavor. Others might have more classic strawberry flavor, but I find them cloying or almost too fake tasting. FF is the one that makes peoples eyes bulge. I have to keep some Albion because one kid loves how big they get, and I’ll keep a smattering of other everbearing for late summer/fall and then the rest are being switched out to FF in the fall.
I don’t think my “not earliglow” are anything I currently have. They have been having rot issues on some plants. Still good but not FF. They’re on the chopping block for the fall.
I finally got a few VERY TINY natives and I was really impressed with the flavor. But, i planted them around my elderberries and will leave them now for the wildlife.
My alpines from seed this year are starting to flower! I grew out 19 varieties, so…excited to try and whittle them down.
they are very good and to be honest think flavorfest is one of the 3 varieties she said she sells.
My kids eyes lit up and she started getting excited after the first bite so you know they are top notch. ive educated her on pesticides so when she found an ants nest in one strawberries, she wasnt too bothered.
they really have that deep classic strawberry flavor that i love
I’m thinking of putting one of my special strawberries in ground and letting them go wild for the wildlife lol. I’ve noticed the birds love my jungle area and not the free roam area
I’m gonna use this one as ground cover for one of flower areas.
Also I’ve noticed Charlotte gets sweeter earlier than other varieties. Charlotte and sweet kiss have similar flavor profiles and the animals keep picking at them more than other variety
yes . i currently grow reine des vallees , pineapple crush , rodluvan and hawaii. only rodluvan sends runners. the others the bush gets bigger over time. to spread them around just dig a piece of the plant after letting them establish for a few years.
indoors in a flat under grow lights. they need light and 70 or warmer temps to germinate. i started mine in april and planted out in early june. had my 1st flowerrs and fruit by the 4th.
At or near 100% germination for all of them. I just pressed into soil surface. I second the Strawberry Seed Store recommendation. Mike the owner is wonderful and very responsive should you email with questions. I believe he is closing his online store at the end of th year or changing his business model, so I would order whatever he has/when comes back in stock.
he used to have a chart on his site stating runnering or non runnering and also comparing productivity and taste of every cultivar he has but i cant find it anymore. but on that chart it said hawaii was runner less which mine are. maybe someone mixed it up with another white one.?
Beside Flavorfest, if you have to pick 2-3 out of the 13 you’ve trialed, which ones would you recommend? I’m planning to put a few in my blueberry beds this Fall or next Spring. Thanks.
I got my alpine seeds from there as well. Good experience.
I did the classic wintersowing milk jugs for mine, and they worked well, though you have to be careful of them the first year and mark well as they do not take off quickly.
I got ‘regina’ ‘reine des bois’, ‘mingonette’ and ‘wild runnering woodland strawberry’ as well as ‘rugen’ from another source, and can’t taste a difference beyond which ones get more shade. Wouldn’t grow the runnering one again as it’s a bit of a mess, and mingonette might have been less vigorous, but very happy with all the ‘r’s.
i planted a few rodluvan near my raspberries and now they have taken over under them. at least i dont have to weed in there anymore. on the south side of the patch they produce well for a runnered alpine.
This is interesting. The seeds are red, which typically only happens once the fruit is ripe, yet the fruit is still green, and firm, I wonder if it’s from lack of enough light ?
Any idea what this rot is on my strawberry? I’m guessing it’s fungal, perhaps where the ground was too wet ? I feel like this year I got it worse than before, even tho it’s been drier. Perhaps I need to spray my strawberries? I’ve never done that before , though I’m not averse to spraying, which I do for my fruit trees. I’m mostly organic , except for antifungals. Any idea what I should do moving forward ?
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bees all over the back yard. thought id share
