Wow. Those look incredible, Vincent. Congrats…
I planted Mara des Bois and Flavorfest yesterday.
Dax
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Strawberry time to pick now. I am too busy but still tried to get some this morning . Good luck for yours. Thank you Dax.
Thank you. I got a great deal on them. 10 Mara des Bois for $4.95 and 25 Flavorfest for $8.95 from Jung Seed. $5.85 shipping. Since then they raised their prices.
Have a great day.
Dax
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Some of my favorites. This year many of my plants suffered from an early fall freeze. it didn’t kill the plants, but stunted production and size this year. All the same the flavor is all there.
On top is pineberries, fantastic flavor this year, although running small. They tend to tint red when in full sun. To the right are Musk strawberries, a very unique distinct flavor. The plants seem to perform better every year. No need to replace plants with Musk. The older the better! Mine are 6 years old and produced like rabbits. On the bottom is Archer. A new cultivar. So far I’m liking it, Very good flavor and a very solid firm texture. To the left is two Framberries. Interesting dark red color with recessed seeds. Flavor is bright and excellent.Texture is semi-soft, and very enjoyable. Not like other soft strawberries, firmer than that, but not stiff. Production seems low. But I just put them in this year. These were harvested today.
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think im going to try musk and pineberries next year. do the musk send out runners or more like alpines that keep growing from the mother plant?
A few to none. Very manageable. More than one cultivar, not sure all behave the same? I tried a couple cultivars, but they seem to look alike to me, so unsure if both or only one survived? I had males too, unsure if still around? I destroyed some and moved others. I’m getting fruit, so no complaints! They sort of taste like strong alpines,but not really. Berries are soft, interior is white, skin is neon red. This might be a different cultivar than pictured a few posts above, I don’t think any survived in my garden. All are round not conical. This is an old photo.
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i like that fact. my earlyglows are a great berry but the runners are a pain. they are big producers so i may keep a small patch of therm. i like strong flavored berries over the sweet mild varieties. you get your musks from oikios?
No Raintree. I recently added another cultivar. I didn’t think it was going to make it, as it stalled for weeks. They don’t call it a musk, but it is. It is doing very well now.
https://www.rareseeds.com/strawberry-scarlet-3-plants-ships-april-june-/
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Don’t Do It! I was so excited to order the archer strawberry from Krohne Plant farms, but the plants were infested with Nematodes!
This parasite is almost impossible to get rid of, and has ruined my garden space forever.
Seriously, Pay $2 more and buy somewhere with better quality. Big regrets!
My Archer plants were fine from there. But I put them in heavy organic soil and any nematodes might have a hard time there. The strawberries were in what appeared to be a sandy soil which nematodes prefer, So very possible. I didn’t see any signs of infection in mine. The plants looked bad, but had no problem growing. The jury is still out as far as taste for me, I need a few years before I decide. Grew fine for me and produced even the first year. I did pinch some back, but tried a few berries, not bad, I want to taste 2nd year plants, and they look great right now, so should have a huge crop.
Could someone please tell me if I need to cover my strawberry bed in zone 6? The area is exposed, however I have 6 100’ rows of plants so this is not really feasible. I cannot afford frost blankets this size either. They are planted through weed fabric, so no straw to cover them. I am hoping I can just leave them and they will survive? It’s truly too large a patch to cover, with everything else needing to be done.
Do I have to clip all of the leaves off as well before winter, and just leave the patch looking bald like when they were first planted?
I still vote for Mara des Bois. This is the end of their season in France, so I scooped up one of the last little cartons at my grocer yesterday.
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after 4 frosts mine are still putting out a few berries.
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im in z3b and i don’t mulch or trim before winter and they do fine. i do trim as soon as the snow melts and fertilize them at the same time. i do get a lot of snow here so they’re protected. if you don’t get much snow it mulch with 3-4 in.of straw. come spring , leave the straw and just expose the crowns of the plants. the old leaves will rot off under the straw. got this tip from a permaculture site. 
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I am hoping for reviews of Archer strawberries since a number of members planted them the past several years.
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Mine are not producing much, but to tell the truth the whole bed is not producing. I did renovate them late instead of after harvest. I won’t do that again! I think they will produce just a lot later. Last year they produced well and the strawberries were decent. So did Rutgers for me too. This year I made a mistake so I’m getting later production and probably lower, we will see…It’s still early here. The early types are just ripening. I noticed in containers they start earlier. Soil temp must have something to do with it.
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Thanks, I’m not thrilled with the Rutgers and am considering replacing them next year.
It’s hard to figure out sometimes. I think local conditions is why we have so many cultivars.
Not easy to get a good fit. Also I would give them a few years. The 3rd year production is at peak, It may be the difference between a good year and a bad, so giving them a few years makes sense to me. Especially since production should be great. Sweetness is usually weather related, cloudy cold, or even too hot can cause berries to be tart. This year it’s been nice and berries are very sweet. But may vary from location to location.
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