After the rain stopped I planted 32 of our 48 new strawberry plants. Maybe I'll have the energy to plant the rest tomorrow.
I wish you had posted a picture of your strawberry bed. Over here, strawberry is a novelty because there is only 1 place where strawberry grows and that's a good 6 hours ride from Metro Manila. In Baguio City, strawberry is thriving because of the cool climate and the rich soil since the place is atop the mountain range called Mountain Province. There were many attempts to plant strawberry here in Metro Manila which is a tropical place. You can guess that strawberries wouldn't grow in a hot climate.
Where do you live, Sheldon? I would love to plant some berry plants here, but have never seen strawberries growing here, although there are blackberries and raspberries at the parks and on the trails.
We have wild strawberries that always try to grow in our lawn, but I have tried planting strawberries a couple of times, and they never survive the winter.
From a former planter of strawberry in Baguio City, she said that strawberries are thriving all year round since Baguio is cool but no snow or ice although sometimes the temperature dips to near zero that causes small icicles to form on the plants. In times like that, the berries are ruined and even the vegetables there are not harvestable anymore. But anyway, I think too much cold is not appropriate for strawberry so I guess you have to plant some in plastic pots to remain inside the house during winter to escape the bitter cold weather.
Have you brought them indoors in the Winter, Ken, or do you leave them outside? I would love to have a sun room to keep certain plants in during the Winter, even though it doesn't get too cold down here. I'd still have to watch them, though, since the cats tend to nibble on whatever plants they encounter.
Strawberries should be fine even where there is a lot of snow and cold. When I lived in northern Idaho, I was less than 50 miles from the Canadian border, and we had both wild strawberries and planted ones each year. My son, Michael, who lives in northeastern Washington state, planted about 50 strawberry plants a couple of years ago, and now they have all but taken over his lawn ! I do not know how they do in the heat like you have in southern Texas, @Diane Lane . Rhubarb , which also does great up north, barely grows here, if it grows at all. Every year, I have planted some, and every year, it dies in the heat and does not come back. This time, I planted it where it gets only morning sun, and is sheltered by the side of the house, and it has survived through the summer; but it never got more than a few inches tall. Maybe next year, it will have a better root system and will produce some rhubarb in the spring before it gets too warm. Here is a picture of my son's "strawberry yard".
How tall do they get, @Yvonne Smith? I'm not much of a 'lawn' type person, since I don't have dogs or kids, and would much rather see this out back, as well as maybe out front, than what I currently have. I have a back section of the backyard that is sheltered by a large tree, and that's where I've had the best luck with a few plants. I thought my gardenia and jasmine had been killed off by the oppressive sun on the balcony, but all it took was to relocate their pots to the shadier section of the balcony, and they're coming back to life, thankfully .
Strawberries will get up to 5-6 inches tall if they are the larger varieties, and are happy where they are planted. The picture that I posted was from early spring when my son's berries were just starting to grow. However, I just googled to see if strawberries will grow in Houston, and the outlook is not real good. Actually, the information was very helpful for me as well. Even though this part of Alabama is not as hot as lower Texas is, we still have a lot longer and hotter summer than the northern states do. Apparently, here in the South, it is better to grow June-bearing strawberries because it simply gets too hot for the everbearing varieties down here, so you only get spring berries anyway. That being said, the article I was reading said that the best time to plant them is September/October, so you will have a spring crop. So right now is the time to order some and get them planted. If they are happy, then next summer, they should send out runners and spread. Ours were planted in late spring, had a few berries, and then have been almost dormant for the rest of the summer, although the plants themselves have been doing fine. We had been hoping that they will spread and thicken up in the area where we planted them; but now I am thinking that I should maybe order more plants, and get June-bearing this time, and see if those do better than the ever-bearing ones did this year. So, @Sheldon Scott , which kind do you recommend , as our resident Southern Strawberry Grower here on the forum ? Do enlighten us, please......
Strawberries do very well in Southern California. I had my patio planted in strawberries for the last few years that I was there. In Southern California, you have more than one growing season. They never die out, and you end up with strawberries throughout much of the year.
My wife and I spent the past several days pulling out wild strawberries and wild violets from the flower beds. They are both pretty plants but are very invasive. The wild strawberries look delicious but are inedible. They would make a great ground cover for bare areas .
We have those wild strawberries growing here , too, @Sheldon Scott . I was very happy when I discovered them when we first moved out to Alabama. The wild strawberries that grow in Idaho look just like these out here, but they have the most delicious flaver of any strawberry you have ever tasted. These do not even resemble the taste of a strawberry, and as you said, they are inedible. We also have a lot of the violets, and I like them (just not in the garden) because they not only have beautiful little blossoms; but they are also edible, either in salads, or cooked like spinach. Another thing that grows wild here is the little wild onions. They are about the same size as a chive, which is what i thought they were, but they die off in the summer and come back every winter. If you cut them when they are small, you can use them like you would use a chive .
We have the wild onions here, as well. I've posted about them in another thread on this forum, I believe. I'll have to look into the violets, those sound as if they could be both pretty and useful.
Some of the strawberries died, I think it was just too hot when we planted them. My wife called Jung Seeds and they immediately sent free replacements.
There's nothing like eating fresh form the garden veggies & fruits! Wish you a very pleasant harvest ! ate once upon a time fresh from the garden and loved & miss it today. All I have is the supermarket for fresh. I have a little potted plants growing in my back yard that I grow aloe and broadleaf plantain.