Now there’s where the work comes in for me. I did not expect such production the first year, so I have two options, I could lift the plants when dormant, bury them for the winter and then repot in the spring. Or I can just take the pails down put them on the ground ( that’s where the handles will come in handy) cover with mulch and let the snow pile up. I haven’t decided which to do. As for treating them as annuals, the thought did not cross my mind and it would depend upon finding a cheap source for replacements.
My strawberries are put in my potting shed over the winter and not covered at all, but my zone is far warmer than yours. They will need new and more soil in the spring, but they come back year after year. As you know, Mara des Bois make very few runners.
Thanks, I was wondering if the soil would be sapped, so repotting is a good idea.
When grown in the ground I have never mulched the plants so I expect if I lift them and then bury them in the ground I should have no problems keeping them alive.
The fact that they produce few runners is helpful, I do a check once a week and snip off all the new ones, I don’t need any more plants, yet.
Can’t comment on taste yet since they are first year planting, but the Marshall Strawberries (Raintree sourced) sure love to produce runners. Big leaves and fast growers.
(the Marshall is the top of image, just to the left of center and those runners are all Marshall. Should be Albion with Pineberries right middle).
1 Like
Is anyone else growing Flavorfest? I just ate my first today and was impressed. It was big, evenly ripened, and checked all the boxes of taste, texture, and aroma. I’ll have to compare it to some of my other varieties as they start to ripen, but this one surprised me with how good it was.
4 Likes
Yes…but mine won’t fruit until next year…only a couple plants look to have made it.
2 Likes
What size are those pots? I’ve grown them in 1 gallon pots and they seem to do fine, but i think a little bigger pot would do better. I really want to do that again…maybe next year when i have working legs.
1 Like
These are a little bigger than one gallon. They sell them at the hardware store and they are rigid plastic, much heavier than ice cream pail. I much prefer to water these then struggle with weeds and mats of berry plants.
Next year I may try some June berries just to get a good crop all at one time for processing.
1 Like
I like the June bearing myself. I do have Mara Des Bois, everbearing too. What’s cool is MdB are the earliest I have. I have a few different June bearing, and they ripen at different times. So I harvest by bed. It was really not planned like that, just happened trying new cultivars out.
2 Likes
I too am growing starberries in a greenhouse for the first time in a little different set up. I’ll try and post pics. Do you ever have problems with ants attacking the strawberries. I have had a few of mine get chewed up. Thank you!
Please let us us know how they turn out this season. I almost pulled the trigger on FF, but went with Earliglow and Jewel this year. I just planted them last week, just a few have started to sprout. Does it usually take a while for bare root strawbs to get going?
2 Likes
No ants, but a bird got in and pecked a few. I have a problem with ants generally in the greenhouse. I started using ant traps as they are an annoyance.
1 Like
My bare root strawberries have always had uneventful first seasons without much growth. The second year they send out runners and flowers and really get going. Pretty soon you’ll have mover strawberry plants (and hopefully strawberries) than you know what to do with.
I had a Gariguette strawberry off a young plant last night. It was okay. Not as good as the hype.
1 Like
I had two, the first one was not ripe enough and was nothing special. The 2nd was ripe and I thought it was better than Mara des Bois. Top rate all the way. Super sweet with good and a unique flavor. It’s a hybrid that can only be reproduced by cloning and has been cloned for over 80 years.
1 Like
Very true. Gariguette are in the markets now. Its the soil.
2 Likes
Yes could be? Mine are grown in bagged garden soil, compost, and peat moss to lower the pH. I find them better tasting with a pH around 6.0 or lower. It’s a new bed with fresh soil put in this spring.
Perception is funny as I thought they were excellent. I decided to try and clone more.
1 Like
Drew they are excellent, but second to MDB to me.
1 Like
It’s hard to beat a good MDB.
2 Likes
Exactly why I was impressed, as to me they did beat it.I made this conclusion after growing MDB for 5 years and having only 2 Gariguette berries. They impressed me that much.
1 Like
Hopefully I get a few more Gariguettes this year so I can form a better opinion. I’m also looking forward to trying Charlotte for the first time this year. It’s a French variety that’s a cross between MDB and Cal 19.
1 Like