Applegater., May 01, 2017, Page 9, Image 9

Applegater Spring 2017
9
DIRTY FINGERNAILS AND ALL
Munching and mulching strawberries
BY SIOUX ROGERS
How did strawberries get their
name? According to almanac.com, “One
theory is that woodland pickers strung
them on pieces of straw to carry them to
market. Others believe that the surface
of the fruit looks as if it’s embedded with
bits of straw. Still others think that the
name comes from the Old English word
meaning ‘to strew,’ because the plant’s
runners stray in all directions and look as
if they are strewn on the ground.”
There are four basic types of
strawberries for the home gardener: June
bearing, everbearing/day-neutral, alpine,
and musk.
June-bearing strawberries produce a
very fast but short crop, ripening in late
spring to early summer. The harvest is
short-lived; the flavor is superb.
June-bearings are easily explained,
but when it comes to everbearings/day-
neutrals, things get rather confusing. So
stay with me and see if you can make
heads or tails of the distinction between
day-neutral and everbearing strawberries.
According to one reputable source, “all
day-neutral strawberries are everbearing,
but not all everbearing strawberries are
day-neutral. The distinction between
everbearing and day-neutral strawberries
is blurred” (homeguides.sfgate.com/
difference-between-everbearing-
dayneutral-strawberries-43384.html). In
order to produce more strawberries, the
wonders of modern science developed the
day-neutral strawberry from everbearing
strawberry plants. This modern-day
strawberry will produce a high yield
of fruit continuously all summer and
into the fall if the temperature remains
between 35 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Alpine strawberries are
very small, but have the essence of
strawberry flavor. Alpine varieties can be
red, yellow, or white. I have planted these
before; they are extremely prolific with
runners, but are very small and difficult
to pick because it is hard to tell when a
white or yellow strawberry is ripe. The
upside is that these are an amazing and
worthwhile delicacy, guaranteed to drive
your taste buds to ecstasy.
I am not familiar with musk
strawberries, but here’s a description from
Mother Earth News: “Musk strawberries
produce small fruits with a pungent
aroma and complex flavor. Berries tend
to be precious and few; improve fruit
by adding male plants every couple of
years. Musk strawberries are too rowdy
for containers” (motherearthnews.com/
organic).
Left alone, alpine or musk strawberry
plants will become a lush ground cover
with small amounts of edible fruit.
Having said all this, I honestly never
pay attention to these categories. When
I want a special variety of a strawberry
based on a specific characteristic, I order
some from a catalog. Otherwise, I never
buy strawberry plants—friends who
grow them usually are anxious to give
away the runners, something akin to
getting rid of zucchini.
Strawberries are so easy to
plant and grow—perhaps that is why
they are a backyard favorite. Strawberries
can be planted in just about anything you
can think of, e.g., rain gutters, strawberry
pyramids, old tires, hanging baskets,
large-diameter PVC pipes, old rain boots,
old tubs, you name it.
If you are buying bare-root
strawberries, try for hardy disease-
resistant varieties like Benton, Hood or
Puget Sound. When planting, spread out
the strawberry roots without bending
them. The hole needs only to be deep
enough to cover the roots, with the
crown portion above the soil, not buried.
Strawberries sprawl and, in no time at all,
will be fraternizing with all your other
plants; give them adequate space. Space
rows four feet apart and plants 20 inches
from each other.
When plants are growing, make
sure they get enough water to keep
their shallow
roots from
getting thirsty.
Keep the
beds heavily
mulched with
pine needles,
wood chips,
straw, black
Photo, right: Strawberries planted in pockets
(chefjessicabright.com).
Photo, below left: Space your strawberries carefully
(sunnysidelocal.com/growing-resources/strawberry-plants-2/).
Photo, below right: Little alpine strawberries (vegetablegardendjp.
blogspot.com/2010/06/apple-bagging-with-footies.html).
plastic, or old
Sioux Rogers
leaves (never
use walnut leaves). By using organic
material to mulch, you are encouraging
microscopic microbial activity in the soil
and retaining moisture and nutrients.
Those are very good things.
Here is the sad part. In order
to have a bountiful crop of strawberries
next year, you should clip off as many of
the blossoms from the first-year plants as
you can emotionally handle. Since I am
a wimp, I clip just half of the blossoms,
and I will still have a great crop next year.
Lordy, Lordy, don’t forget to also pick off
the runners.
Dirty Fingernails and All,
Sioux Rogers • 541-846-7736
dirtyfingernails@fastmail.fm