Strawberry questions

 

We bought some killer one gallon strawberry plants the other day.  They all
have strawberries on them, some ripe.

I want to grow a bunch of them.  I have four 8' railroad ties.  OLD railroad
ties that are bleached white, so most of the chemicals should be gone.

Would an 8' bed raised that high (about 8") be a good bed?  We got 10 yards
of good compost from a nursery, and it is very high quality.

Should I mix anything else with the compost?  The local dirt is sand dune
blowsand.  Should I mix any gravel in for drainage?

I want to put the black half inch pipe in there for irrigation.  A friend
who has a lot of strawberries says that they like a lot of water here.  It
gets blazing hot in the summer, and pretty cold in the winter.  How wet
should I keep them?

I like using different meals, blood, bone, etc, instead of chemical
fertilizers.  What would be a good amendment?

Lastly, propagation.  Do you just plant them and let them grow?  How far
would I separate the plants?

Thanks in advance.  Hope this year's garden is better than last year's.

Steve
XXtreme SW Utah
3700' elev
zone 7-8

Visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com  

 

Steve B wrote:

8" would be good for strawberries their roots are not very deep.  An 8'
square bed will have one big problem, that is you cannot get to the middle
without walking on it.  Two 4' X 8' would be much better if you can get more
timber.  Or just start with one bed, 4' X 8' is quite a lot of strawberries.


I would try to build soil by amalgamating what ever you have with compost
and other additions depending on the situation.


They will wilt if too dry.  Check the soil for moisture when it is hot or
windy and water before they wilt.


It depends on what is in your compost and the pH of it and the natural soil.
You are aiming to correct deficiencies not to overdo it.  You are likely to
need more manures or blood and bone etc in subsequent years after some of
the nutrients in your compost are used up.


They will spread quite quickly in good conditions.  You can expect each
plant to have some pups by the end of the first growing season.  You can
plant these out if you want to speed things up for the next year.

How

Broadly speaking about  30-45cm (12-18in) apart. It depends on how much you
want to spend on stock and how long you are prepared to wait for the bed to
fill.  To be economical spread them out, to be quick buy more and put them
closer.

David

 



snipppp

Thanks.  That was a lot of good information.  I would have made the bed too
wide.

Steve

 

David Hare-Scott wrote:

   You missed talking about sun, probably because the OP has plenty of
sun (and didn't ask), I don't.

I have a single strawberry planted in the fall last year that has set
out several pups. I have little open area and it's a trade off for me
what to plant where. The strawberries are growing into the shaded area,
perhaps 4 or 5 hours of full sun. Are strawberries more tolerant of
shade than say cucurbits or tomatoes? My current thinking, whether it is
right I don't know, is to plant the greens (kale and swiss chard) in the
less sunny garden edges, the strawberries are there also.

   Jeff

 



I'd guess strawberries need lots of sun and not too much water for big
sweet  luscious berries.  Around here full sun is the order of the day.  
I can't  grow them but there are some pick your own places about.  
Favorite was Pulios in Clayton now gone.
 
<http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=shade+tolerant+veget
ables&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8>

  Good luck!

--
   Bill   Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA