Well the birds like them a lot in containers too, I agree the ground becomes overgrown. I would say though they grow better in ground. As it is impossible for me to keep them in perfect condition in pots, often becoming dry at times. My only concern about the gutters is how well they over winter?
Many just buy new ones I bet, I rarely buy new ones. All of the ones in my containers are 3 years old and were from runners of in ground plants. None were bought!
In ground production is better too!
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I kill about 50 to 100 runners a year, so I started using them as ground cover. Here around a Japanese maple.
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Thatās a nice area. I usually plant in my veg barden and move them around. Just always gets overgrown ect. I figure I can make up with production with the amounts I will grow on my fruiting wall.
I also actually like the neatness, and ease of picking in the containers. Iām going to do what you did one day for sure. Thanks for sharing those pics and such. Donny too, I will probably built to suit also!
Iāve been growing mine on plastic the last few years. A whole lot cleaner, not all the problems with weeds and disease like gray mold.
Iām hoping now that the plastic helps during the upcoming maybe-frost episode.
overgrown?, nah, here is my 4x8 raised bed last spring
MuddyMess_8a, the entire time I had my strawberries in the ground with woodchips or straw, I had a terrible time with sowbugs. I think thatās what motivated me to try gutters. I think that next year, with a net system like Mrsg47 Iāll see plenty to eat. I planted mine like Mrsg47, straddling a wooden fence so I think Iāll borrow her idea!
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I have a bunch in ācompost sockā type containers. So far it is great, filling the socks was the hardest part. There was some interesting research on this years ago and then nothingā¦ Fingers crossed.
So far Iāve got Seascape, MdB, Evie 2, San Andreas, Elan, and Loran.
I have an interesting idea to use small tomato cages for strawberries. I have several of them and they are not good for anything. The lower ring lifts the berries off the ground, the upper cage structure supports the net.
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One of my ideas for strawberries was to lay out a bird net tightly about 4 inches from the ground and let the strawberries grow up and as their leaves grew they would be to big to fall through the net and the berries would grow high off the dirt on the net.
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Hereās my rain gutter strawberry setup in my high tunnel. The gutters are attached to the north wall of my tunnel, facing south, offset so that they do not drip into the gutter below. I have 10 gutters of 5ā on that wall. They are fertigated with a drip system providing acidified water and a 24-8-16 fertilizer at a rate of 80 ppm N. I set it up last year and had a constant supply of ever-bearing strawberries throughout the season. I was concerned about overwintering, but I placed the gutters in my new cool room/no-freeze Coolbot room and they survived just fine. My plants currently have a lot of blossoms and I expect a big crop soon. Mix in the gutters is Alās 5-1-1.
No weeding, no bending over!
Marc
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Here is the picture of the strawberries with tomato cages. The lower ring does not let the berries touch the ground. I think if someone have the varieties which can fruit on the runners, then it is possible to fix the runners on the upper rings and make a strawberry tower. Also I like that it is easy to throw the net over the top of the cages.
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What is your opinion of San Andreas?Iāve read about some good qualities and the comparison to Albion. Thanks,Brady
I wasnāt really impressed. San Andreas didnāt set many berries compared to the others and they were much less tasty than Seascape and MdB.
Iām making a new bed and will add Archer, Mesabi, Annapolis, White D, and Gariguette. Itās going to be a fun year, less berries as I killed about 100 plants rearranging beds. But some new and exciting types. The nursery said Iām going to be impressed with Archer, hope so!
Drew, which nursery are you getting these from?
Various nurseries, all were mentioned in recent strawberry threads.
Legendary Strawberries, Krohne Plant Farms, and Backyard Berry Plants
I am interested to know how you like Mesabi, I was going to order some but the shipping cost is quite prohibitive.
Iāll let you know. It may be a bit though. I will try and keep track of all.
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Iām keeping track of the new varieties Iām growing on my Facebook blog.