Photo courtesy of Bonnie Plants
Growing the rubies of June is one luxury I have not afforded our farm yet. I have always been so busy with my vegetable garden and raspberry patches that strawberries were always that, “ill wait till next year” list. Finally the time has come, I’m on it this year and here to share the adventure along the way.
For the beginnings of my strawberry growing adventure I decided to pick an unused spot in the yard that wasn’t very beautiful, and make a raised bed, here’s how to join me in this adventure…
Purchase 3 of the following:
4 x 8 untreated pine boards.
You REALLY need to use untreated pine as the treated lumber has arsenic in it, you don’t want that in your strawberry pie!
The finished box is 4 x 8 so you use 2 of the 8 foot boards as sides, and cut one of the boards in halvsies for the ends. Finish off with some corner supports and screws and your frame is done!
You may be blessed with flat ground, I am not. Use a level to be sure because the “eyeballing” method can definitely fool you. I found that I had to dig down about 3 inches into the soil on one end to get a level bed.
Once the bed is in use a heavy layer of newspaper (6-8 pages thick or more if you like- you can even use cardboard as I did in he picture) in the bottom to prevent the upspring of lovely broadleaf weeds or crabgrass. This will also breakdown nicely and encourage fish bait to frequent your raised bed thus leaving their rich castings off behind.
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Though you can fill the bed with top soil or dirt, it is also a very good idea to mix in some rich composted materials. If you do not have enough in your own compost bin, most garden centers sell a 50lb bag of compost for $5 or less. For this size bed I recommend adding at least 6 of those bags worth added into your dirt for a healthy start to your plants.
Order your strawberries in March for late March or early April planting (of course depending on your grow zone), depending on the size of the plants you are sent. You will get live plants so be prepared that your garden bed will need to be ready ahead of time, unless like me, you are caught slightly unawares and need to put your live plants in a bowl and water daily to ensure you are not a strawberry killer while waiting for the perfect moment to get that raised bed set.
Order your strawberries in March for late March or early April planting (of course depending on your grow zone), depending on the size of the plants you are sent. You will get live plants so be prepared that your garden bed will need to be ready ahead of time, unless like me, you are caught slightly unawares and need to put your live plants in a bowl and water daily to ensure you are not a strawberry killer while waiting for the perfect moment to get that raised bed set.
If your berry plants arrive and it is still very cold out you can buy some time by laying down a layer of straw over the berries to protect them until the days and nights get a bit warmer. In the end of the growing season before overwintering this is what you will do anyway. Note, that strawberries spread by use of “runners” that go underground and pop up a few inches over from the “mother” plant.
photo courtesy Bonnie Plants
Step back and admire your work, wait for the warm sun to do her job, water as needed and bide time until you can bite into that first big, red, juicy berry.
