Growing strawberries?

[Willow's Garden]

So I am growing strawberries, they are the everbearing variety. They produce beutiful small white flowers, then after awhile the flowers wilt and die. Should I pinch the dead flowers off or leave them? I'm not sure what to do so I just leave them, I didn't know if the flowers would turn into strawberries or something When will they start to produce strawberries and what should I do with the flowers that die? The plants just keep producing flowers not strawberries, but I know it is only still June.

 

[journey11]

I've already gotten a few berries off of my everbearers this year, but very few. These are on their second year, but I think I set them back by transplanting them... If you just planted them this spring, I would go ahead and pinch ALL blooms and ALL runners and let the plants build up their strength. They will reward you for it later in the summer all the way up til the first big frost.

It does take a little while for the berries to develop. You should begin to see a tightly seeded green bump after maybe a week. I can't say ~how long~ exactly, because I never paid that close of attention, but it does take awhile. I'd say if after two weeks you don't see anything developing, you may need to check your soil pH and fertility...something could be off. Also the plants should be lush, green and healthy looking or else there may be some disease/pest at play. A healthy plant will bear nice, big berries, which is why you want to pinch all the blooms and runners on first year plants and let them develop.

Another possibility is the age of the plant. Everbearers will peter out after 4 or 5 years, then need to be replaced. A strong mother plant (everbearers) will develop multiple crowns and thus more and bigger berries. On a second year+ plant, they will bear some around May/June, take a little break through the hottest part of the summer and pick back up again in late summer. On a first year plant, you only get a late summer harvest.

 

[ducks4you]

Hey, journey11--I don't really maintain my strawberries. They live in a patch on the edge of the plot north of my garage and west of the walkway TO the garage (it's detached, as they say in Britain. ), and it is about 3 foot wide and 8 foot long.

Last year I got prettymuch nothin' from it, but this year I came back from my vacation to find a big bowlful. BUT, I am greedy and I want more.

Should I take my pruner and thin it out?

 

[Whitewater]

Leave the flowers, that's what turns into a strawberry -- if they've been visited by bees or other pollinators. Yes, they do look dead and yes, it's pretty disconcerting!

If after a week or two you start seeing a little spring green colored knobby bit with some browner seed-looking things (this is tiny!) in the middle of what once was your flower, congratulations, you have a strawberry in the making.

If, however, after a few weeks nothing develops and it all looks brown and old and used up, well, probably nothing is going to happen.

The flower petals are supposed to fall off in order to produce a berry, that's normal. If your flowers are shedding petals like crazy, that's actually a good sign.

Some types of strawberry plants are supposed to fruit a couple months after you plant them, some you're supposed to pinch off the flowers and let them grow some -- what kind of strawberry plants do you have?

And I've discovered that strawberries, like most fruit, bear much better after their initial year. If this is your first year, have faith, next year will better match your expectations!


Whitewater

 

[journey11]

Hey, journey11--I don't really maintain my strawberries. They live in a patch on the edge of the plot north of my garage and west of the walkway TO the garage (it's detached, as they say in Britain. ), and it is about 3 foot wide and 8 foot long.

Last year I got prettymuch nothin' from it, but this year I came back from my vacation to find a big bowlful. BUT, I am greedy and I want more.

Should I take my pruner and thin it out?

That's a nice present to come home to, huh!

If they are everbearers, you can thin out all the runners (keep the mother plants) and use your runners to start a new row.

If they're junebearers, let them finish doing their thing, then till them into a nice row for next year using the runners as the new plants. That's how I would do it anyway. There are a couple different ways to manage those.

 

[ducks4you]

Sounds great. Maybe I'll get enough to make a couple jars of jam this year!! (They are everbearers.)

 

[Willow's Garden]

Oh I went out and checked it today!!!!!! There are tons of little green knob things that are roundish and hard!!!!!!! YAAAAAYYYY!!!!

 

[vfem]

Oh I went out and checked it today!!!!!! There are tons of little green knob things that are roundish and hard!!!!!!! YAAAAAYYYY!!!!

Score!

 

[Whitewater]

Congrats! You'll have fresh-from-your-garden strawberries in time, hopefully, for your 4th of July celebrations


Whitewater

 

[bunch-a-chickens]

while on the subject of strawberries, has anybody saved any seed off theirs? if so, just how ripe do the strwberries have to get, because shortly after their picking prime they start to rot just a little and then a few bugs will start nibbling on them.