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Author Topic: Junebearing strawberries  (Read 5941 times)

Offline Bigeddie

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Junebearing strawberries
« on: March 21, 2008, 07:52:58 pm »
I ordered  Mesabi junebearing strawberries and was in doubt if I should harvest the first year or snip the blossoms. Can anyone give me advice  :? :?
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Offline Kev

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2008, 07:55:27 pm »
I ordered  Mesabi junebearing strawberries and was in doubt if I should harvest the first year or snip the blossoms. Can anyone give me advice  :? :?

I'm not familiar with that variety, but I don't think there's any reason not to harvest. Just don't expect a very big crop, and you may not get them in june.

Cindi or Reinbeau will know ;)
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Offline Bigeddie

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2008, 08:44:28 pm »
I ordered  Mesabi junebearing strawberries and was in doubt if I should harvest the first year or snip the blossoms. Can anyone give me advice  :? :?

Quote
I'm not familiar with that variety, but I don't think there's any reason not to harvest. Just don't expect a very big crop, and you may not get them in june.

Cindi or Reinbeau will know ;)

Thanks Kev, I'll wait for their reply.  That variety is hardy for zone three and sounds good. It gets nasty here in zone 3  :roll:
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Offline MrILoveTheAnts

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2008, 12:50:32 am »
Make sure you like them first before doing anything.

Offline Shawn

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2008, 12:50:39 pm »
I plant every variety of strawberry I can get from from brother in law, he has a green house. I found for SE Colorado, sandy soil and very dry hot in the summer the earlier the better. I usually start picking strawberrys in late May through mid June.

Offline randydrivesabus

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2008, 01:04:26 pm »
it is normal practice when planting strawberries in the spring to not harvest the first season crop but rather pick all the blossoms off and let the plant itself develop. You then harvest the following year. I planted 400 plants last spring and that is what I have done. The plants will send out many runners thereby increasing your yield.

Offline Bigeddie

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2008, 05:11:36 pm »
Make sure you like them first before doing anything.

 How would I go about that  :? :?
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Offline Bigeddie

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2008, 05:53:05 pm »
it is normal practice when planting strawberries in the spring to not harvest the first season crop but rather pick all the blossoms off and let the plant itself develop. You then harvest the following year. I planted 400 plants last spring and that is what I have done. The plants will send out many runners thereby increasing your yield.

These are supposed to be year old plants, I really dont have room to let them run to much. I would like them to run enough to get new plants every few years,but have to keep them under control as my garden has to be fenced and I don't want to expand right now. Deer,bear, rabbits ,coon, turkey,skunks,you name it ,I got it.  I had everbearing before but tilled them under last fall, thought i'd try somethink else.

Eddie
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Offline randydrivesabus

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2008, 06:32:59 pm »
i planted bare root transplants so I guess they were year old already. I'm sure you can harvest them the year you plant but i think you'd get more and bigger berries if you don't.
many people are doing plasticulture strawberries...they are planted in the fall in plastic in raised beds and harvested the next year. they are treated like annuals so you get but one crop out of them. i was thinking of doing that but decided to go the traditional route.

Offline Bigeddie

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2008, 11:20:54 pm »
Hey,that don't sound like a bad idea for me. I could use this years runners, plant them in plastic this fall and see what happens. I think they would be easy to control in plastic, just might work for me and my space.
Thanks for the tip !!  :)

Eddie
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #10 on: April 01, 2008, 10:11:02 am »
Eddie, chiming in here.  I have actually done tests to see if the plants produce more berries/bigger berries if the blossoms are picked off the first year.  I could not see any difference in all reality.  The plants that had the blossoms picked off compared almost identically to the plants that I had not picked blossoms.  I would not bother to pick off the blossoms, harvest the fruit.

When you get bare root stock, the plants are already established plants, in their second year to begin with.  Eat those strawberries is my advice.

I originally several years ago bought 12 barefoot strawberry plants.  In the years that have passed since that time, I have had thousands of strawberry plant runners that grew fro those 12 plants.  I have enough strawberry plants to give me enough for fresh and frozen strawberries until the next years crop, which will come here too in June, early.

The runners that strawberry plants put out are amazing and I always throw out hundreds in the spring into the compost pile because there is absolutely nothing else to do with them.  Anyone that wants the runners, it is my pleasure to give, but there are just so ding dang many.  I like to keep at least 2 feet between each plant, with about the same width in each direction.  This gives me ample room to get down and pick the berries.  Strawberries do like to be fed, so give them some nice compost and fertilizer.  I always give mine a dose of time release fertilizer that I spread on the soil around each plant, at the drip line of the leaf.  I use time release fertilizer on certain plants and the plants don't care how they get their nutrients, as long as they are fed.  Good luck, beautiful day in this beautiful life.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Bigeddie

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #11 on: April 01, 2008, 11:29:19 am »
Cindi, Thanks for advice, I'm going to pick the berrys.  :-D :-D

Have a good one!!

Eddie
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Offline Jingles

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #12 on: April 01, 2008, 02:09:47 pm »
it is normal practice when planting strawberries in the spring to not harvest the first season crop but rather pick all the blossoms off and let the plant itself develop. You then harvest the following year. I planted 400 plants last spring and that is what I have done. The plants will send out many runners thereby increasing your yield.


you picked blossoms off 400 plants?? Wow! I'm impressed!! I bet that kept you busy for a long time!

I have just an itty bitty patch of strawberries. yum!



Love, Marla

Offline randydrivesabus

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Re: Junebearing strawberries
« Reply #13 on: April 01, 2008, 09:47:19 pm »
it wasn't much work...they don't put out much in the first year. its a good time to let them get established and develop a strong root system so you can get a really good crop the next year. weeding them is a lot more work than picking off the blossoms.

 

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