A Berry Good Season
The Hudson Valley is breaking out in berries, specifically, prolifically, wild blackberries. And just in time to fill the void left by the end of the strawberry season.
The strawberries from our garden’s fruit beds this year were magnificent. We weren't sure we'd have a harvest because we didn't renovate the beds until early this spring due to last fall’s scuba diving travels. We had strawberry plants running all over the vegetable garden. Fearlessly, we dug them up and transplanted them into a new bed, in violation of all the rules. To our great pleasure, shortly after their relocation they blossomed and bore fruit, which we allowed, in violation of the usual caveat to prevent fruit bearing the first year.
We haven't tried the everbearing varieties of strawberries yet, but plan to look into that next year, with visions of a summer-long supply dancing in our heads. Otherwise, the season is just too short. We bought our bare-root strawberry plants at a local grocery store, Adams Fairacre Farms, but most mail order nurseries, such as Raintree Nursery or Johnny's Seeds, also carry bare-root plants. Strawberries can be started from seed but, honestly, who wants to wait?
Strawberry plant growing is simple and the plants send out runners and spread rapidly. They need sun, water, and, as long as you don't plant them too deeply, which causes the crowns to rot, your plants should take off. Strawberry plant growing instructions warn to pinch off the blossoms in the first year. The idea is plants will settle in and devote energy toward runner and root development if they don't produce fruit. We've grown strawberries both ways and never noticed a difference in plant health or production. The Cornell Cooperative Extension has a PDF-formatted guide to planting bareroot crowns for home fruit and vegetable gardeners. The plants multiply rapidly by sending out runners, so plan ahead by setting aside space to transplant the runners into beds.
We miss our garden-fresh strawberries, but who can resist the delicacy that is ripened wild blackberries still warm from the sun? Even better, earlier this evening we sprinkled them over homemade raspberry sorbet.
The Hudson Valley is breaking out in berries, specifically, prolifically, wild blackberries. And just in time to fill the void left by the end of the strawberry season.
The strawberries from our garden’s fruit beds this year were magnificent. We weren't sure we'd have a harvest because we didn't renovate the beds until early this spring due to last fall’s scuba diving travels. We had strawberry plants running all over the vegetable garden. Fearlessly, we dug them up and transplanted them into a new bed, in violation of all the rules. To our great pleasure, shortly after their relocation they blossomed and bore fruit, which we allowed, in violation of the usual caveat to prevent fruit bearing the first year.
We haven't tried the everbearing varieties of strawberries yet, but plan to look into that next year, with visions of a summer-long supply dancing in our heads. Otherwise, the season is just too short. We bought our bare-root strawberry plants at a local grocery store, Adams Fairacre Farms, but most mail order nurseries, such as Raintree Nursery or Johnny's Seeds, also carry bare-root plants. Strawberries can be started from seed but, honestly, who wants to wait?
Strawberry plant growing is simple and the plants send out runners and spread rapidly. They need sun, water, and, as long as you don't plant them too deeply, which causes the crowns to rot, your plants should take off. Strawberry plant growing instructions warn to pinch off the blossoms in the first year. The idea is plants will settle in and devote energy toward runner and root development if they don't produce fruit. We've grown strawberries both ways and never noticed a difference in plant health or production. The Cornell Cooperative Extension has a PDF-formatted guide to planting bareroot crowns for home fruit and vegetable gardeners. The plants multiply rapidly by sending out runners, so plan ahead by setting aside space to transplant the runners into beds.
We miss our garden-fresh strawberries, but who can resist the delicacy that is ripened wild blackberries still warm from the sun? Even better, earlier this evening we sprinkled them over homemade raspberry sorbet.
Labels: blackberries, gardening, how to plant strawberries, hudson valley gardening, planting strawberries, planting strawberries for home gardeners
posted by Hudson Valley, New York at 6:36 PM
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