Strawberries Everywhere

My strawberry patch is 4 years old now and I’m hoping for a good harvest this year. I started this patch for my Dad who loves strawberries. Now that he lives with us I thought that he would feel more at home with his favorite thing in the world growing right outside his bedroom window. It has taken a while for the plants to fill in nicely and I hope to get several nice berries this year. Last year we had too much rain and then horribly high temperatures before all of the rain soaked in, my tiny miniature green berries all dried up and fell off. I was very upset. I babied these plants for three years and was expecting more than the previous years handful of puny berries. The few berries that didn’t fall off were so waterlogged they didn’t taste right.

When I started the strawberry patch I spaced the plants accordingly and grew extra ones in a strawberry pot, in small hanging pots and little planters too, just so I could add them to bare spots at the end of growing season to give them a head start on next years plants. I bought a mixture of ever bearing and June bearing so they would have a longer bearing time. I had to buy a protective netting because the birds love them too. I can remember when I was a kid, In my sunhat with my own tools, weeding my dads strawberry patch for him. We always had nice juicy berries.

I have a statue of an owl to scare off the birds and other varmints that are everywhere out here in the boonies where I live. But I have to wonder who’s kidding who when I look out the window and see a chipmunk sitting on my owls head with a berry in his little paws turning it round and round while he nibbles away on his prized treat. Maybe I had better try something else. The net works on the birds but some of the animals can find there way in. Maybe I’ll try a wind wheel. Some animals don’t like the constant movement. Noise can be another natural deterrent. Maybe I’ll add a wind chime too.

If you are limited on space It might be a good idea to use one of those tiered beds for your strawberries. There are several ways to do it. I prefer to make my own if I do something like that. It’s usually cheaper and you can make it as big as you want and as sturdy as you can. But if you’re pressed for time I’m sure you will be able to find what you want for a reasonable price.

Just find a nice sunny well drained area and use a lot of compost or manure and you’ll have nice juicy strawberries in no time. If you have the room maybe you should grow some for the birds too, Or better yet hang up some bird feeders,They’ll love you forever.
The birdlady