Here's another for our little gardening series! My nephew LOVES strawberries, so I decided lets make a little strawberry patch for him. This was not a bad project as far as price wise or time. I'm by no means an expert gardener but I do like trying new things and finding tips and tricks that work. This little strawberry patch is something new I'm trying.
I got these roots at Walmart in the gardening section. It will be with onions and asparagus roots also. I also saw some different flower starters in the section too. So these are very easy to come by and can be picked up any time this spring.
They say its best to start them in the spring time, even a couple weeks before the last frost. They can be planted in the ground, planter, and pots. Really anywhere where they can root well and have enough room. They like to have their room make sure to try to space them They like 12 to 24 inches apart. I put about two roots in each pot, when they do sprout if I need thin them I will.
They Also like full sun at least 8 to 12 hours so make sure you pick a place that will give them that. I picked an area that was going to get sun most of the day.
The roots come bundled together with a rubber band. There is at least ten roots in the package and they range in sizes.
They come uniquely looking make sure you separate them all. I got Pretty excited because they remind me or little Mandrakes off of Harry Potter, and I'm always a fan girl with all things Harry Potter. So if I can make Harry Potter connections in my real life I'm always welcoming. Probably another reason why I like gardening so much because I can imagine I am in the herbology classroom.
It's exactly like a seed dig a hole and put it in it. You want the crown facing up with the roots going downwards. Cover it with dirt and hope for the best. Sometimes they wont sprout till the next year so here hoping. Once you get them planted they may last a few years it the winter is not too harsh or you cover them for the winter properly. Some plants can last around 3 to 5 years.
We also grabbed a few strawberry plants at one of our local green houses. They looked so healthy, and we planed those in pots too. Most green houses with have them. Some greenhouses have them planted with flowers and they can be very pretty. One year we had hanging baskets the had strawberry plants and flowers in them. They bloomed all year and produced little berries for most of the summer. So even if you fine something like that I feel like anyone could enjoy those a lot!
Strawberry plants might take about 60 to 90 days to start producing fruit if you are plant from seed or roots. Already having the plants they will produce faster. So if you'd like to do a mixture like we did you definitely will benefit from it.
Try to water them daily, I have a routine of watering in the mornings and evening. The strawberries will need water to thrive. The strawberries will need about 1 to 2 inches of water daily especially when they start bearing fruit.
If you're looking for what to grow near you strawberry plants they're friendly plants are beans, chives, lettuce, peas, radishes, and spinach. Pruning the plants can help maximize their energy in the right place and encourages sunlight absorption.
I also had to show off my gardening helper. Luna is always up for planting and taking care of our plants and garden. She is my right hand (or paw) so you might see her in my photos often.
Let me know if you are planting strawberries this year and if anyone has some tips or tricks that I don't know about. Happy gardening, I hope your strawberries are sweet!
Side note: While we planted the strawberries there was some things happening to our garden to get it ready for planting. The ground here has a lot of clay so we wanted to make it softer and give it more nutrients. It has been rototilled a total of three times this spring. We rototilled once to start off with to get in softer after the winter. Then we got a load of mushroom mulch which is the residual compost or by-product of mushroom farming. It is amazing fertilizer for plants when mixed in with soil. So we spread that onto the garden and then rototilled that into it. After that we got some peat moss and spread that all over the garden. Then we rototilled once more and then our garden is ready for the season, stay tunned to see what all is going into it!
