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| Hi again, Well, I got a bumper crop of Jewel berries. This was their second year, and they were amazing! A few stragglers are still turning red, but mostly the season is done. I've been reading a lot about how to care for a strawberry patch post-fruiting, but it's kind of confusing. This is what I've retained: Remove foliage, fertilize, and keep them watered until first frost. But what should I fertilize with? I don't have any homemade compost yet. It's still cooking. Also, should I keep the runners, or remove them? I am seeing new growth at the crowns. Anything else I should know? Thank you, as always. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I use 10-10-10 on my patch ,I use the runners to increase the size of my patch and also to replace older plants |
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| I ususally just run over the patch with my mower, I set the deck p.high to leave about 6" of stems or so, I thin the plants so nothing is closer than 10-12", moving runners to fill in empty spots, transplant or remove any older unproductive plants. Got a big bag of Plant-tone, i think it is 5-3-3, that works for me, in the past I have used 10-10-10 also or any other things I've had lying around. The important part in summer care is to mow em down and bag the foliage, and re/apply more mulch. Mowing triggers next years berries. In years where I have forgotten to mow, my yield was decreased on average by 25-40% overall. |
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| Many of my June bearing are mixed in with everbearing. So I don't really cut them back till fall. Currently both are still producing. I just cut them all back in the fall. I use organic products and fertilize them all after the Junes finish. Currently using MicroLife Vegetable and Floral 8-4-6. Junes are still producing for me. Todays' Harvest (The white are pineberries and some alpines) |
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| My patch has Jewel and Earlyglow [the best] and has finished its second year. Last year I mowed them off, fertilized with Plantone and 12-12-12, an watered. I grow a solid and wide mat. I had to pull off hundreds of runners three times because I needed no more interior runners. It worked extremely well and produced very, very well this year. I plan to repeat the procedure this year, but till out a strip in the middle to take out the oldest plants...probably not necessary but the 'experts' who know not my healthy patch ... |
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| This is news to me. I have only owned my house since the fall. What do I do? Just snip all the foliage off? How do I know if I have june bearing or ever bearing? |
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- Posted by ILoveCucumbers (My Page) on Wed, Jun 18, 14 at 20:10
| Thanks for the replies, and the fertilizer ideas! I can't mow the patch--I actually have a huge raised bed. So I had to cut the foliage with shears--very long, punishing work. I have seen very few runners. Is that a concern? This is their second year. Also, what is the difference between seeing new, tender "buds" (are they the crowns?) and runners? |
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| Runners look like leaf stems anywhere from 12-24" long, running parallel to the ground. At the end of the runner will be a node that will root and form an identical plant, sometimes that node will will then form its own runner. Some varieties run more than others. June bearing Vs Ever bearing/ Day Neutral, not sure if there is a surefire way to differentiate them, other than if you get strawberries in July, August or September, you don't have June bearing ;p |
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| The first year I had my small patch, I cut it back right after harvest and almost killed everything because we had a heat wave and there wasn't enough foliage to protect the plants. Now I wait a while until the summer heat breaks before trimming it back. Like was mentioned above I direct runners to fill in the blank spots, and use some 5-10-5, or 10-10-10 in the fall. |
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| I don't believe compost works well for fertilizing an established strawberry bed. The plants are heavy feeders, and they need more P & K, not too much N. You can't dig compost into the soil, or you harm the roots. If you just dump a lot of it on top, you risk burying the crowns. I think one reason for moving the bed from time to time is because the soil gets depleted, not because the plants get exhausted, as is often said. Establishing a new bed is the best opportunity to work in a lot of compost. |
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