Strawberry Media

18 years ago

Yes Im double posting. I had it in the veggy forum but didn get much response. Hope you guys can help.

I started some strawberries from seed this year. Those little suckers take forever to get big enough so I am comfortable enough to handle them. Im planning on putting them in raised beds, ease of harvest and to control expansion. I have about 20 seedlings.

In a perfect world what is the best media to grow strawberries in?? Im planning a bed approx 12ftx4ftx10inches. Potting soil, compost, manure?? how much of each. Sand in the mix?? I really want to do it right the first time.

Best mulch?? plastic with drip under?? straw?? combo?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

sequi
18 years ago
From seed? Wow. I first started in gardening with a Square Foot garden using Mel's Mix. Strawberries I planted in them did very well.

I also am using a series of vertical pots and Miracle Grow potting soil. They are growing very well also.

In a spare section of my yard I amended clay with my own compost. That looks more like amended dirt. The strawberries are growing well there, too.

This past year, I cut off extra strawberry runners and threw them in the compost bin. One of them survived, and attempted to bloom in early February. The compost pile heating up did not kill it, but rather, made it toasty warm.

In other words, all of the above work pretty well. My experience was that you have to work hard to mess up strawberries, and even then they might survive. Miracle Grow was the easiest (no need to mix anything) but the most expensive. Mel's mix gives me the most confidence, but it's expensive and a lot of work. Compost mixed with soil worked as well is the cheapest way to go and still seems to be effective.
Scott F Smith
18 years ago
I used compost and it worked great. Plus fertilization with Holly-Tone. Black plastic seems to be the best weed control method, I never used it but wished I had. You don't need to run any irrigation since the rainwater will come through the holes and right to the plants. Also less evaporation due to the plastic.

Scott
Related Professionals
Dover Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Owensboro Landscape Contractors · Enid Landscape Contractors · Oklahoma City Landscape Contractors · Charleston Landscape Contractors · North Adams Landscape Contractors · Middlesboro Home Additions · Baton Rouge Home Additions · Elk City Home Additions · Petersburg Home Additions · Parkersburg Home Additions · Sioux City Home Additions · Wausau Home Additions · Hobbs Home Additions · Riverton Home Additions
billinpa
Original Author
18 years ago
I actually went to the box store over the weekend and priced potting soil. My raised bed for the berries is 12ftx3ftx12in. Figure 36 square feet of soil. Potting mix is $12 per 2.5 square ft. WOW expensive about $200 to fill my bed. Plus I have to move it and haul it. Gas prices are driving everything up. Im having a yard of mushroom soil and compost delivered today. Mixed with some leaf compost and mulched with grass clippings I should be good to go. plus extra for the veggy garden. That was $50 total including delivery. I love living in mennonite country.

Yes I started them from seed. I got them for free with a seed purchase. So I figured why not. I already had everything out and set up for germinating the other veggies. If they dont work out Ill just cover the bed and get some bare root plants next year.