A small crop of Strawberries ...

[Robson Valley]

I really wonder how that productivity thing works. If I had Strawberry Bed 'A' in production for 5 years and yield fell off, can I transplant to bed 'B' or am I just carrying problems with me?
So, how long does Bed 'A' have to lie fallow with bacteria, fungi and (probably) nematodes before I can go back to Bed 'A'??

Here in the southern Oganagan Valley, we have a parallel problem called "Apple Replant," which means simply that you cannot dig up an old orchard and replant with a modern, popular variety.
It is an ecological swamp of bacteria, fungi and nematodes. Steam, formaldehyde, all sorts of treatments have been tried. Best seems to be trials with resistant rootstock. You ever watched a plow with the horse power to turn over the top 6' /180cm of the orchard soil? Impressive.
How do I know? I lived in it, I worked with it. I researched it. I watched entire families fail as their sole source of income died.

 

[British Red]

I have certainly known home gardeners keep strawberries in the same spot for years. Our intention is to move them from bed to bed to permit adding manure and compost to the ground. Rather than transplant, we use runners to establish the new bed and destroy the old plants. It does take a year for the new bed to establish.

You may get lucky leaving them in one place, but its generally a good idea to rotate crops if you can. Near impossible in a permanent fruit cage though!


We are dehydrating them now. Always a low space solution to the end of the crop.

 

[bigbear]

So does that mean that our clever clogs idea of growing in a barrel was a bad one ?
do we need to empty the soil after three years and refill ?
thougt that this years heavy cr was too good to be true !

 

[Robson Valley]

Thanks, BR. Sunny but more-or-less useless little patch about 3' x 10' in a veggie garden corner.
I can pull some junk logs out of logging debris piles for the edges.

 

[British Red]

So does that mean that our clever clogs idea of growing in a barrel was a bad one ?
do we need to empty the soil after three years and refill ?
thougt that this years heavy cr was too good to be true !

All soil must be fed. You can't keep taking without putting back.

In addition growing the same crop, in the same place year after year exhausts the same set of nutrients and allows disease specify to that plant to remain in the soil.

You might get lucky and be okay for years though.

 

[British Red]

Yesterday's strawberries have been dehydrated. 16 pounds now fit in two 1.5 litre jars


Dehydrated strawberries by British Red, on Flickr

 

[bigbear]

So if we feed. Regularly with say poultry manure would that help ?
was planning to do that anyway so hope its the answer rather zthan have to empty and refill two big barrels.

 

[British Red]

Certainly won't hurt!

 

[Pandabean]

Thanks for the advice BR. I finally got around to putting netting over the strawberries yesterday. They are still green but should be ready soon.

I was thinking of replacing all the plants with new ones at some point, does it matter what time of year that you plant them?

 

[Robson Valley]

A watched pot of cherry jam on the stove does not boil over until you turn your back.

 

[Robson Valley]

In the aftermath, beyond the clean-up, the "Carmine Jewel" bush cherry preserves were very well worth the effort.
My brother comes to make a rare visit next week from Grand Bahama. I'll have some local treats for waffles.

 

[British Red]

Thanks for the advice BR. I finally got around to putting netting over the strawberries yesterday. They are still green but should be ready soon.

I was thinking of replacing all the plants with new ones at some point, does it matter what time of year that you plant them?

I usually peg runners of the existing plants into 9cm pots. They root over the Autumn. In the Winter I cut them free and over Winter them in a sheltered spot. I plant them in a new bed in Spring.