Wimpy Strawberries -- Take 2

17 years ago

The strawberries that I planted last fall, Sarian, have been a bit of a disappointment this spring. The plants have remained quite small and the fruit they've put out has, in turn, been disappointing. Following the kind advice I received in this forum, I cut off any diseased leaves, removed the shredded leaves that I was using as mulch around my strawberries and put down a plastic mulch. (Instead of black mulch, I'm trying a red mulch that reportedly helps increase yields for both tomatoes and strawberries.)

My question at this point is whether I should cut off the smallish berries that are forming on the plant in the hopes that the plants themselves will flourish? They're everbearing, so might I get a better crop later this summer if I sacrifice the berries I have now?

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Comments (2)

jellyman
17 years ago
Raymondo:

When a strawberry patch becomes diseased, the best thing to do is usually to start a new patch in a different area, using fresh, disease-free planting stock. I suggest that the next time you plant strawberries, you try bundled, bareroot crowns instead of the seed-grown Sarian. I think you would see more vigorous plants and larger berries.

I tried the red plastic under tomatoes about ten years ago. It was considerably more expensive than black plastic, but, I thought, less effective at attracting heat to the soil. Thus ended that experiment, since there was no visible improvement to the plants.

I would say if the rest of your strawberry plants look like the one in your photo, they should be removed, discarded, and replaced by a different variety in a different location.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
raymondo17
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank for the reply, Don.

>When a strawberry patch becomes diseased, the best thing to do is usually to start a new patch in a different area, using fresh, disease-free planting stock.Alas, my tiny back yard does not offer many full-sun choices. Perhaps some strawberry jars would be an option?

> I suggest that the next time you plant strawberries, you try bundled, bareroot crowns instead of the seed-grown Sarian.Actually, these were purchased as bareroot crowns and planted last fall.

>I tried the red plastic under tomatoes about ten years ago. It was considerably more expensive than black plastic, but, I thought, less effective at attracting heat to the soil. Thus ended that experiment, since there was no visible improvement to the plants.This is the first time I've tried the red mulch beneath strawberries, but I've used it before beneath tomatoes and even dahlias and have experienced bumper crops. I didn't have a control area with no mulch, so it's hard to say how much is attributable to the mulch, but I've been happy with the yields, I must say. My only complaint with the red mulch is that it doesn't block the light as black mulch does, and thus, I wind up with weeds surviving beneath the mulch.

>I would say if the rest of your strawberry plants look like the one in your photo, they should be removed, discarded, and replaced by a different variety in a different location.Drat! This photo depicts the healthiest plant of the entire lot. :( So much for strawberries this year.
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