It won’t be long now until we get to pick our first crop of strawberries from the garden. These were all transplants from the “L” shaped raised bed layout from last year and have flourished in their new bed. The foliage is growing strong and tall and runners are starting to come out all over place, but what is exciting are the red and nearly ripe berries beginning to appear.
I’ve been checking them daily, eager to get that first sweet and juicy fruit from the garden! It might be a race to see who gets it first, me or my daughter. I bet you know who will win!
As I’ve mentioned in an earlier strawberry bed post the best time to fertilize strawberries is after harvesting.I’ll be using bloodmeal as an organic nitrogen fertilizer to stimulate more green growth. As the strawberries pu on more green growth they will produce runners which I can then turn into new plants for more berries next year. The new plants will either add to the old ones or replace the strawberry plants that are finished producing. The added benefit of bloodmeal is that rabbits and deer aren’t especially fond of the smell.
Some of the strawberries are just turning red while others still have the white-green coloration. It won’t be long though a few days of good sun will ripen them up quick. The sun has been hard to come by lately and strawberry farms in the area are seeing rot occurring from the excess moisture. That’s another advantage to raised beds, they dry out faster than the ground which reduces rot. Of course that could be a disadvantage when it becomes hot and dry and you have to irrigate.
I can’t wait for that first ripened berry off the vine!
I’ll bet they’re going to be delicious Dave! Grocery store strawberries can’t compare to the ones grown at home. Enjoy – I’m sure you will!
Yum! We picked our first two the other day and they were so sweet! Another day or two and you’ll see. I think strawberry season is here too. I’ve seen many signs. Enjoy and Happy Mother’s Day to Jenny.
Your strawberry plants look great, Dave! We love our strawberries, too, but have an awfully hard time beating the birds to them. Every year, I think, THIS year I’ll make sure to put up netting. Well, maybe this year…
Looks awesome! We’ve got about a dozen small plants. Last year we only harvested 3 because the chipmunks enjoyed them more than we did! -Jackie
I was wondering what variety of strawberries you’re growin Dave? And don’t you pinch off the first year’s flowers so that roots get a good foothold? Most varieties, when newly planted, produce bigger and juicier berries after pinching off the blooms their first year, runners too.
They look good Dave. I bet the little one will get the first one.
I picked my first Blueberry & my first Sweet 100 the other day & they sure were good. So far this yr looks like it's going to be productive.
Happy Mother's Day to Jenny.
Linda,
No doubt! The travel time on most of those strawberries in the store requires that they are picked well before they are ripe. Much better if they are fresh!
Tina,
I haven’t been out yet today to the strawberries, I should go they might be ripe already!
OFB,
I sure hope the birds aren’t bothering them. There is so much foliage right now that I don’t even know if they can see the strawberries! Better get that netting!
Jackie,
Alvin, Simon, and Theodore were at it again? We have munks here but back in the woods and they don’t seem to travel very far across the yard. I did get one once in the garage but he was foolish enough to climb into a jar and got stuck. Good thing I found him!
TC,
I’m not sure which variety I have. I think I have two kinds the everbearing and the June bearing but I don’t know the specifics. This is the second year for most of those plants. Your right the first year berries are a bust and should be picked before fruiting to exert more energy into the plants.
Lola,
You are making me envious of your warm weather to already have a tomato! I can’t wait to see them but it will probably be late June-July before we get our first!
In our house we are lucky if any of the fruit actually get ripe before being picked and hugged by our two year old…
I can almost taste the strawberries now! I think an increasing number of people will be turning toward your website and other gardening websites, as Americans with no gardening experience plant wonderful recession gardens around the country: Recession Gardens.
Oh wow, your plants are prolific! Yum!
I have a terrible time with pests getting my berries.