Sedulous Strawberries
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This year we have the usual strawberry crop and i'm to the
point "strawberry" is a dirty word. You can only eat so many
and picking gets old after an hour. The good news is that
strawberries can be almost care free so i have more time to
complain about the picking.
Just incase we have stumbled on a great way to
raise strawberries i'll share our latest method.
1. Move to a climate strawberries like <grin>..
2. Pick a berry that loves your local conditions.
(for us this is the Ranier)
3. dig a trench and fill with limbs, prunings, old
lumber, etc. (a good way to compost orchard prunings)
4. Build a mound over the limbs using compost, dirt,
manure, straw, etc. (about 2 foot high)
5. Cover the mound with a length of nursery cloth.
Not the thin stuff. I've only seen this cloth
on greenhouse floors and at nursery supply houses.
(the good stuff will last for 10 or more years)
6. Cut holes in the top of the cloth and insert
strawberries.
7. After 5 or more years plant some runners in
a new bed.
That's it. The berries are raised which makes picking easier
and gives good air movement (prevents disease). The planting
is in a single row so access is easy. We don't water or weed
but do put trimmings on sides of the cloth in mid summer.
This cools the berries and keeps fall winds from blowing the
cloth away. When spring arrives most of this stuff has blown
or washed away and the black cloth heats up quickly.
Oh yes, i forgot about the netting. Sometimes netting is
needed to keep the birds and neighbors away. This year we
left most of the nets off and have a few bird pecks. No
problem, there are lots of berries.
jeff (wondering how hugekulter is spelled and if that
German site still exists)
