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A Message from Margaret Roach

The Urgent Garden Question Forum is part of A Way to Garden, but there is a difference between it and the blog itself. Stated simply:

On the blog, I choose the topic and post about it, and readers may wish to comment in response.

On the forum, the subject matter is driven by you. You initiate the conversation, and (hopefully) chime in to help one another and just get acquainted. I will stop in, but not answer every question; this is a place for community-driven discussion about anything reasonable that interests gardeners.

To post on the forum, you must register. The process is simple (link above). To get a photo to accompany your posts, called a Gravatar, go here.

Four overall things will enhance the experience:

Search before asking a question to see if there’s already a thread (and even maybe an answer!) on that subject.

Scan the list of forums within the system to see which one is the place for your post.

If you want to have general conversation, the General forum would be the best place to begin.

When you do post something, give it a good subject line (title) – so not “A Perennial Question” but “How to Divide Daylilies” or “When to Transplant Peonies.” This makes the topic more accessible to others who may have your answer. For important etiquette rules, please read “Getting Started” at the top of the Forums. Thanks for your visit.

Strawberries

This topic contains 3 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by Elaine 5 years, 1 month ago.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

Author	Posts
Author	Posts
April 19, 2008 at 6:09 am #17026
Elaine
April 19, 2008 at 6:09 am #17027
Elaine	My strawberry plants are just getting small berries and I was wondering if there is anything I can give them to help give them flavor. Last year I harvested quite a lot of berries from my plants (they are everbearing), but they didn’t have a lot of flavor- they were plump, beautiful red, but no flavor. I haven’t been using fertilizers and wonder if I should be applying at least an organic one. If so, what do you recommend? Or is there something else I should be doing?
April 19, 2008 at 11:50 am #17028
margaret	Hi, Elaine. You say that your berries are ever-bearing, but at least as important to know is the variety name: Some just aren’t as large or tasty as others. And ever-bearing varieties (as well as day-neutral kinds) are usually smaller-fruited than June-bearers that only produce the single crop. So variety can come into the picture. So can moisture (as with any fruit crop); the best yield of best-quality fruit will be with an even supply of moisture through the growing season, but especially when the fruit is forming–a deep soaking of an inch or two a week at the roots, not just a spritz with the hose-end sprayer. Strawberry patches should be cleaned up each year and "renovated" (this bulletin from University of Illinois tells how, along with a good description of the hill method of planting, http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/strawberries/growing.html). And yes, they like to be fed. Usually this is recommended in July or thereabouts, with a balanced fertilizer. And at winter’s end and again when you renovate the bed each year, compost, compost, compost. Margaret
April 19, 2008 at 5:20 pm #17029
Elaine	Thank you for the information, Margaret. I will check out the Illinois and I am going out to deep water my strawberries right now!

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