THEY ARE SIMPLE TO GROW... Easiest fruit i have here, and the earliest. The only problem i've seen is birds (use netting) and just the spreading nature (watch the runners). If you do it right, you can pot up the runners and then use those plants as replacements. My bed is 3 years old, so i'm going to rip everything out and start fresh. Pick a good tasting variety...i bought like 7 different types and some are awesome and others are bland...and its been bone dry and i never water.

I agree with Frank. Very easy and rewarding to grow.

I'd highly recommend Honeoye and Earliglow, both of which have excellent flavor.

As to growing methods, I've grown them both on plastic and without plastic and plan on always planting on plastic (with a soaker hose underneath) in the future. You get larger berries that are easy to find versus an open bed where the opposite occurs unless you really stay on top of runners. Some varieties, such as Sparkle, runner so agressively and, as a result, produce so many small, difficult to find berries that I often don't bother picking them.

I can see using plastic. Also get earlier production most likely. I have a very thick layer of woodchips where mine grow so its not weedy at all...and retains moisture. I think when i redo mine i'll also move to plastic. I know all the professionals use it, or it would seem.

I've been picking since Sat now...earliest i can remember.

OK, so what's the deal with plastic? Can you direct me to something good to read? Is this to limit making more plants instead of big berries? Don't they still make runners which would meander aimlessly over the plastic? I'm missing something here....sorry....

Do they not spread underground?

Thank you,

Ann

Frank, my junebearers were 3 weeks early this year and are just about done now. As mentioned above, after a month of the better, earlier varieties, I lack the motivation to hunt out the small berries in my overgrown midseason variety (Sparkle). Have you found a mid or late season variety that has very good flavor and doesn't runner like mad?

Catlady, Googling strawberries and "plasticulture" will get you a lot of info. It isn't complicated though. I just form a bed, mix in compost (you won't get another chance until you replace/remove the plastic), snake a soaker hose on the bed (test for holes before covering), cut and pin down the heaviest black plastic you can find, cut fairly generous x-shaped holes with a utility knife (obviously watch out for the hose), and plant.

The runners are much easier to find and don't spread as rapidly. I would guess b/c the first runner doesn't root, so that first runner is less likely to send out a runner from it. They won't spread underground. You can always make a slit in the plastic if the runnner is where you want it to be or use small pots to nurse runners you want to move.

I like the Earliglow, Jewel, and an un-named older variety.
They have been awesome this year in size...no plastic.
I tried Honeoye. It was a great producer over a long period and was a large, beautiful deep red, and was rot resistant. Only trouble...I never liked the flavor or rather lack of flavor.

dj-

Can't say i have anything to fit your bill, and since mine have gone all over, i don't know what is what anymore. I do know that i have seen every shape strawberry imaginable in my bed!

I can tell mine have gone downhill since last year, production seems lighter. Its time to redo everything. Strawberries have got to rank up there in the easiest, best tasting fruit a person can grow.

Thanks everyone---this is awesome information!!! How I love gardenweb.....

How long does a plant usually produce? Do you replace them routinely or just wait til production slows?

Can you recommend a variety for zone 7A? My goal is to find one that has amazing flavor, as I have only tasted a few times in store bought ones. I don't know if it's the variety or peak conditions,e tc, but only rarely have I had ones that seem to cram the flavor of a handful of berries into one amazing mouthful. Is there a variety you can say that about???

Thank you!

Ann

Ann, I'm in 7A and both Earliglow and Honeoye in our climate are generally considered very flavorful based on my opinion, numerous posts I've seen here (I planted them based on jellyman's advice), and berry books I've read.

Wayne, I'm really surprised to hear you say that your Honeoye lacked flavor. Of course everyone's tastes are different, but I'm wondering if there's some difference in our climates (too much rain or too little sun during fruiting?) and/or soil. I've heard of some folks not liking the honeyed, heavily aromatic flavor of Honeoye, but you're the first person I've heard refer to them as lacking flavor. The only time mine come close to lacking flavor are when it has rained too much. A fully ripe, juicy, sun warmed Honeoye berry is one of my favorite parts of summer.

I bought several varieties, but the Earliglow seemed to be the best tasting. I let my strawberry bed get out of control but I did harvest a huge amount last year and canned a lot of jam.

This year's crop is looking smaller and I think the soil is almost exhausted. It's time to make a new strawberry bed. What I did the first time seemed to work; compost, bone meal, and I'll use organic lawn food in the new bed. If I were you, I'd go ahead and plant the berry plants this year. Cut the runners off and allow the plants to get well established.

"The runners are much easier to find and don't spread as rapidly. I would guess b/c the first runner doesn't root, so that first runner is less likely to send out a runner from it."

Djofnelson,

I'm not understanding why runners would be any issue at all with plastic. Is the only reason you pull them up is to devote more energy to the mother plant? The runners obviously won't root in the plastic, so why not just ignore them?

Our strawberries are at about the midway point now, but size is shrinking fast.

Olpea, I agree that the runners aren't a problem and I often do end up ignoring them. I think I may have cut some off once or twice to not sap the mother plants. I was trying to say that I don't have much of a problem with runners on plastic b/c the mother plants send out one runner which doesn't root, so you don't get the same exponential spread of the plants that you can get in an open bed.

So it sounds like you need to replace your plants (or start new ones) and replace or ammend your soil on a fairly frequent basis? Is there a schedule of some sort? Or do you just wait til production drops? The plants are perennial, aren't they?

It sounds like I've been a fool to not grow strawberries. I think it started when I had some disappointing experiences with strawberry pots. My daughter eats TONS of store-bought strawberries, and I figured I could never keep up so what was the point, so I just wrote them off. But since I grow black, red, and yellow raspberries, and blueberries, it's time to get the strawberries going!

Thanks everyone for all your help! I'm psyched!

Ann