Anyone grow strawberries amongst fruit trees? Strawberries keep some of their leaves all year and just wait until snow to melt to start growing. So right now my strawberries are perky and putting on new leaves, while most of my fruit trees are still completely dormant. It seems to me the strawberries are done fruiting by the time the trees could shade them out. I would say that by mid June they would be in “mostly sun” and then “partial shade” by fall. I don’t think I ever saw anyone grow strawberries that way so just wondering if it is worth the try?
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Are they June bearing plants, or “all season”? That is, do they fruit once in June or multiple times?
I would say most things are worth a try so you can find what works for you in your area unless you can find hard evidence something is unlikely to work.
Your yields may be lower than if they were in full sun depending on the amount of shade they receive but if you’re not growing for production/profit then the weed suppression alone would probably be worth it.
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I’ve had Junebearing around a few of my trees for the last couple years that I’ve completely neglected other than a quick application of foliar spray (miracle grow, dish soap, and fulvic acid that I use on pretty much everything) about twice per month in the summer. It seems to work great but the deer eat them and only leave me a few. I guess in some context a fence could be built around a tree for protection from deer and that would include the space below for the strawberries.
I have a 90 ft long food forest borderless raised bed… with 6 fruit trees, 2 goumi bushes… lots of raspberries and strawberries.
Strawberries seem too love it under my che tree.
My bed runs east/west… so i have a north and south side ofthe bed.
When i first planted strawberries in it… i put some on the north and south sides… but during that first season it did not take long to realze they were flourishing on the south side… and not on the north side… when dormant that next early spring i moved them all to the south side.
I have a few ripe berries now.
Strawberries work great for me in between and around fruit trees… and so do raspberries… just make sure they are located on the sunny side … for strawberries. Raspberries can take part shade just fine and still produce nice berries.
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I’ve had luck deterring deer by spraying with Chili powder “Coffee;” large economy jar of Chili powder from Sam’s Club. Two tablespoons in a pour-through coffee funnel with hot water poured through.
I add a few drops of that Dr. Brunner’s hippie soap purchased at Wal-Mart to add stickiness and after it cools, dilute with additional water and spray through a two-quart sprayer. Doing this in a rainy climate would probably make be unworkable.
You would also have to be extra careful with a ground crop to keep it from washing away when you water, and who knows, maybe it would give the fruit an off-flavor even after washing—-although it doesn’t for apple and stone fruit.
If you are experimenting it might be worth a try.
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Good point, I only have June bearing at the moment.
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They are only about waist high so far, but I have a row of medlars that I have planted assorted strawberries between. I’m not sure I would want htose where I intend to walk, though.