I just found out about the recently published Organic Strawberry Production Manual published by the University of California – Davis. I ordered a copy online at the URL below. Once I receive it I’ll likely have some comments to make. BTW: it costs $30 plus about $6 s/h. If you have the manual we’d love to hear your thoughts on its content.
Alpine Strawberry ‘Pineapple Crush’
June 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The alpine strawberry crop this year was exceptional. The weather had a lot to do with this bumper crop. Another factor is our fine tuning irrigation and fertilization schedules. Check out these ‘Pineapple Crush’ berries harvested today, 6/22/12. I wish you could experience the aroma and taste of these exceptional berries.
New Directions for The Strawberry Store
June 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I haven’t had a chance to get out a newsletter but did want to make customers and future customers aware of our new directions. This past spring (2012) was our last season of offering a wide variety of selections, species and varieties of strawberries. We are changing our focus to seeds and consulting. Now that there is more awareness of and local production of gourmet strawberries we think this is the logical step forward.
We will be offering pine berries for fall 2012 and spring of 2013 but they will not be grown by us here in Delaware. A terrific grower is now rooting the next crop in Tennessee. All production is bare root production which will allow the plants to be shipping to all 48 continental states. We are not yet sure whether they can be shipping to AK or HI. We will be doing the marketing and taking the orders but the orders will be filled by the new grower. The grower will also be offering several selections of Fragaria virginiana such as ‘Little Scarlet’ and ‘Intensity’ as well. We should be in a position to start taking orders soon. Anyone who has setup a product notification will be notified when inventory has been added to the shopping cart.
We have given most of our web sites a face lift. Our main ecommerce sites will be upgraded shortly. This will allow us to add and update content more easily and hopefully more often. At the bottom of each page of the sites that have been upgraded is a list of the other sites in our family of web sites. These are primarily informational sites that supplement the content of our ecommerce sites. Some have content on species and selections that we are not offering for sale at this time.
We will continue growing custom orders of plugs and plants. Contact us if you have needs. We need to know well in advance of your needs. We will not be growing lots of plants and offering them on a shopping cart other than those being grown by other growers. Anything grown by us will have large minimum quantities and will require a deposit before we sow the seeds.
The post just before this one is about consulting and commercial production of gourmet strawberries. We are now testing systems that could be used by commercial growers that we believe will produce gourmet strawberries, particularly alpine strawberries, and significantly reduce labor costs.
For specifics for any of this information please contact me at mike@thestrawberrystore.com. To order seeds visit our seed site at Strawberry Seed Store. For one of our sites with a list of the other sites visit fraises des bois.
Starting Point for Commercial Growers
June 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
More and more commercial growers are experimenting with gourmet strawberries. I get frequent inquiries from growers who ask for recommendations on what varieties to buy. It is impossible to make such recommendations without knowing the local market or the grower’s goals. I wrote a response today to a grower and am going to post it here. Hopefully, other growers or potential growers will be helped by this response. So, here goes:
……… I consult to growers who plan to grow gourmet strawberries for the high end market. I will provide a few thoughts without a consulting agreement.
First, alpine/woodland types are so soft that high tunnel type protection is essential for optimum production. They can be grown in the open field. I grew them this way more than 20 years ago and supplied a five star French restaurant with the fruit. I did not have protection and lost a fairly large portion of the crop after each rain or wind storm. These storms increased disease problems for the fruit that was not damaged directly by the storms. Gourmet types of hybrid strawberries such as ‘Mara des Bois’ can be grown without protection.
It is essential that you either talk to or conduct a survey of potential customers including chefs. Finding out ahead of time about their needs will save a lot of time and money in the long run. Also keep in mind that there are markets for gourmet strawberries outside of restaurants. High end bakeries, caterers, and others are also potential customers and should be contacted to determine their needs.
My first “rule” is START SMALL. Growers frequently contact me saying that they have set aside several acres and ask for a quote on thousands of plants or zillions of seeds. Growing for this market is more like micro farming. Managing small areas intensively to produce high quality high value fruit. A grower in NJ started a gourmet strawberry biz in NJ this spring. He wanted to grow thousands of plants. I convinced him to start with 300. I think he’s glad he started small. Growing the plants is the easy part. Harvesting is very labor intensive. Doing all of this while trying to develop the market and fine tuning various aspects of the business can be a daunting task.
I offer a resource to growers who are considering gourmet strawberries as a crop. It is a publication that is on both my sites. The nearly $80 price tag discourages some. I will say that I wish I had that information available to me when I was starting out. I can assure you that the price tag of this publication doesn’t even scratch the surface of the costs of research that I have conducted to get to the point where I am today.
Once you get a relatively clear idea of what local customers are looking for we can talk about timing and specific selections/varieties. I am not growing plants for large scale retail sales any longer. This past spring was my last season of that. Instead, I am concentrating on seeds sales as well as consulting. I will grow custom orders of plants but it’s getting late to start a fall crop. Because I don’t have greenhouse facilities any longer it would be nearly impossible for me to start a spring crop here. I’m sure there are local growers who could grow the plants for you if you can’t do this yourself …….
Flower Removal, Source of Straw, Fabric Containers, Companion Planting
April 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
We get a lot of questions from customers who are new to gardening. We post answers to try to help gardeners at all levels of experience. Here are answers to multiple questions from one customer recently.
I’m glad the plants are doing well. For spring planted strawberries I recommend removing the flowers for 3-4 weeks. This helps the plant to establish a root system that will be needed to support a fruit load in the future. The plants will grow rapidly in the cool of spring. Of course, if you’ve never tasted the fruit don’t torture yourself. Let a few flowers produce fruit the first time around. A few fruit won’t devastate or severely set back the plants!!!
I don’t know about your area and straw. Here, garden centers, a few produce stands and farm suppliers carry straw in the fall. Other materials will work as long as the plants can breathe. Regular mulch is too dense and will likely smother the plants. I have heard that pine needles works as does corn stalks, though I have never tried either. I tried leaves on a very limited basis a few years ago and almost all plants under the leaves died over winter. Other options include moving the plants, if in containers, to unheated garages/sheds/cool room, etc. In all cases mentioned above, make sure that the plants don’t dry out over winter. It may sound crazy but I have watered plants outside during a very dry winter. Oh, snow is also a good “mulch”. When covered with snow the temperature at the interface of snow and plant is 32F, perfect temp for winter!! It’s the wind that’s the enemy!
So far the root pouches are working out well. The plants seem to love the soil aeration and I believe that soil temperature is moderated. I need to put a thermometer in various types of pots to check it out. I purchased the pouches from the Mega Greenhouse store (an online search will reveal the URL) for what I consider a great price. One observation with the root pouches, and even other types of fabric pots is container height. Most seem to be taller than they are wide (I’m not sure how these companies decide on height/width). This introduces an issue with tipping, like from the wind. Strawberries only need about 6-8″ soil depth. The fabric pots can be folded down to whatever height you want. I recommend rolling them down. It will save soil and reduce potential damage from tipping over.
I tried companion planting with mixed results. I was looking for plants that would attract pollinators as well as the promised effects of companion planting (better yield, etc.). I had also hoped to attract beneficial insects. Borage didn’t seem to have any benefits and it was a pain to grow especially in containers. I didn’t try thyme but it can’t hurt I suppose … at least you can eat it either way! I tried several types of clovers. When they bloomed they brought in several types of pollinators, some in large numbers. Unfortunately, the clovers bloomed way after the strawberries bloomed. By the time the clovers bloomed the temperatures were high and the strawberries were cycling out of bloom. I didn’t look at more than that. I’m sure there are companions that would be beneficial, I just didn’t stay with it long enough to find those relationships.
Gourmet Strawberry Germination Video Guide
January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
We had published a video guide in pdf format with imbeded videos. For some reason the videos don’t work properly. I suspect that it’s a browser issue.
All the videos in the guide are on our YouTube Channel. You may have to sort through the videos and figure out the correct order to view them. We apologize for the inconvenience and will work on getting the video guide to work if possible.
Just Published Report on Alpine Strawberry Productivity
February 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I just published and released a report on two years worth of trials on the potential productivity of selected Fragaria vesca varieties. You can find it on the the shopping cart with an explanation of what is included in the report and other pertinent information. Released 2/1/2011.
Strawberry Shapes
January 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Did you know that strawberries come in a range of shapes? If you run into descriptions of a berry’s shape, use this chart to give you an idea of their shape.
Strawberry Shapes
Thanks to http://strawberry.ifas.ufl.edu/breeding/varieties.htm for the image.
Strawberry Volume with Taste?
January 2, 2011 By 2 Comments
My inbox is filling up with emails from families who are interested in growing their own strawberries. Almost every one says that they are looking for varieties that will produce large volumes of strawberries. Most mention that they also want varieties that taste great.
First, I want to congratulate these folks for making the decision to grow their own fruit. Next, I want to mention that I’m not in the “volume strawberry business”. I would love to be able to offer every variety that is available. However, I’m in the business of selling seeds and plants for gourmet strawberries, what I like to call strawberries with taste.
Don’t get me wrong. There are strawberry varieties being sold that taste great when they are allowed to ripen on the plant. I’m not a big fan of June bearing strawberries. It’s not necessarily the taste. Yes, many produce large volumes of berries. My opinion is that I’m not really interested in taking care of plants for a whole year and only being able to harvest for a couple of weeks. I like the day neutrals which will produce a spring and a fall crop. But, that’s just my preference.
I do sell a gourmet June bearing type that produces a lot of fruit called ‘Madame Moutot’. I will have more available in the spring but these sell out quickly. I will be introducing other heirloom varieties in the future. One that I hope to have available in the fall of 2011 is ‘Fairfax’.  My recommendation for buying June bearing varieties is to ask your local county extension office for their recommendations. Most states’ land grant universities publish recommendations for varieties and how to grow them. They can also test your soil for pH and nutrients. Use those resources.
The main day neutral hybrid that I carry is ‘Mara des Bois’. The fruit is generally medium sized and the plants are productive. It now has a large market share in Europe. The taste is terrific and the volume isn’t bad. You won’t get a giant crop in spring but you will get a nice crop and another in fall. The best part is the taste. Given the right nutrition this variety is very tasty.
Those would be my selections for producing a lot of fruit. But, it’s all relative. The alpines are not slouches when it comes to production. Many Americans are not aware that alpines, also known as fraises des bois, are being imported into the U.S. from overseas for a LOT of money. These European growers must know something that we don’t? The truth is that most of the literature here in the U.S. from garden writers and descriptions in garden catalogs is wrong (I have been on this high horse before so please forgive me for repeating myself). Most descriptions call the alpines cute little ornamentals that look and smell great along the sidewalk when planted about 6″ apart.
A customer recently sent an email and noted that planting any plant that you care about along the sidewalk is not a good idea. The soil along a sidewalk is not usually very rich. It’s usually packed clay. It will likely be walked on and in colder climates the plants will get a large dose of salt used to melt ice and snow. He’s exactly right. Given the space and care, alpines can be very productive. Yes, they are small, but wouldn’t you rather spend more time picking small aromatic berries with a heavenly taste that picking some giant relatively tasteless berries? The Europeans are treating their alpines like a crop. I can assure you that they are producing a lot of very tasty strawberries AND, they are making a LOT of money doing it.
I invite you to view a video I put together last year. Here’s the link:  The Strawberry Store Sells Gourmet Strawberries.
My recommendations for alpines is to check out the chart that I put together that rates the varieties. Here’s a link:
Alpine Strawberry Variety Characteristics.  For the most consistent production choose a couple of varieties. These plants flower cyclically when conditions are favorable. Planting several varieties will overlap each other in their cycles and produce fruit more consistently. Decide if you want to try yellow or white fruiting varieties. Why not try them? Grow a couple of red varieties and a novelty variety like ‘Yellow Wonder’. ‘Yellow Wonder’ is as productive as the best red varieties. I think yellow and white fruiting alpines are sweeter than the reds. And, the birds aren’t as apt to steal the yellows and whites.
Another recommendation is to not start out too big. I have received emails recently from families saying that they have these large areas set aside for next year’s strawberry patch. Unless you’re an experienced gardener, start out slowly and small. Experiment with different strawberry species, different types, different varieties. Learn to grow them. Learn how they grow in your climate, your soil, etc. Take those experiences into account for the next year’s crop. I too often learn that customers gave up after trying to do it all. Take it slow. We’ll have plants in future years for you to try. I’m planning to be around for some time, God willing.
Why Grow Wild or Gourmet Strawberries?
September 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I frequently get asked questions like this: “We have a family of 4. How many alpine strawberry plants should we plant to be able to supply our strawberry needs?”. At first blush this question seems simple. Take the strawberry needs of 4 people and divide by production per plant. Right?
Not quite. Alpines, like most gourmet types of strawberries, and are not grown and sold by the quart. We Americans want the highest yielding whatever. It is obvious with strawberries that the flavor and aroma is not a consideration. Quantity wins.
Did you ever think about why portions of French dishes are so small. Americans don’t feel like they are getting value with such meals. I’m paying what for such a small portion? If you look at the size of the portion without tasting it you probably do feel short changed. But the value in French food is the taste, the experience, not the quantity.
If you are looking only at quantity, go buy a quart of strawberries in the store. During the summer when my alpines were not producing much because of the heat, I finally gave in to the temptation to buy a quart of strawberries at my local grocery store. In fact, they were selling them two for the price of one. Wow, what a bargain. They looked great. Huge unripe berries. In the final analysis, they were not a bargain. I ended up feeding most of what I bought to my worms. Pretty expensive worm food! There was very little aroma. Just enough to get me to buy them. The taste was horrible. The crispiness of an apple. Even sugar didn’t make it much better, just tolerable. Yes, they had strawberry flavor, afterall, they have most of the genes of strawberries. I was very disappointed and felt that I wasted my money.
So, what’s the answer? I think the only choice we have as consumers is to grow our own if we are looking for food that tastes good. And more importantly, if we want to be able to control what our food is sprayed with we must grow our own.
This has become the mission of The Strawberry Store. We are bringing back heirloom varieties. Many of these varieties were pushed out of the marketplace because their yields could no longer compete with newer varieties. Some fell out of favor for other reasons such as susceptibility to pests or that they don’t ship well. If you are growing them in your backyard, why do they need to ship well?
I heard from a strawberry breeder recently that he is not interested in working with varieties that don’t have all of what they now consider desirable characterics such as shipability, size, yield, etc. It is becoming more and more clear to me that these breeders are breeding strawberries that will at some point turn the tide. More and more consumers want to grow their own for some of the reasons already mentioned. If the flavor continues to be sacrificed for size and yield, at some point people will stop buying the fruit at the store like I have. If enough people get fed up with the lack of value then breeders are going to have to start reconsidering their positions.
We hear frequently from customers that they are happy with the heirlooms. Many customers are buying and planting varieties that we are reintroducing and testing themselves for characteristics important to them. The home gardener is now becoming the breeder in a way. They are selecting varieties that give them what they cannot buy at the store. Some are even becoming amateur plant breeders. They are planting the seeds from the strawberries that they grow and selecting their own varieties. In the 1800′s, this is how new varieties were introduced. Home gardeners were the plant breeders of that day. I think in some ways plant breeding is coming full circle. More and more are unhappy with the selections being introduced by professional breeders and are making their own selections. These selections are not solely based on yield. Flavor and aroma are a part of this selection process. And, a lot of the fruit picked gets eaten right in the garden. Who needs varieties that can be shipped thousands of miles when they are not shipped even one foot – they’re eaten on the spot or within 50 feet of where they are grown. This is the reason our business exists, and is thriving.
General Comments about Overwintering Gourmet Strawberries
September 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Recently,  I received an email from a customer in Maine asking about the need to fertilize in the fall and about what needs to be done to the strawberry bed to prepare it for winter. The customer also wanted to know what would happen if late season fruit were not picked. Here are some general comments sent to this customer who grows ‘Alexandria’:
I’m glad to hear that your plants are still producing. Even frost won’t stop them. A hard frost will kill off the new blooms but fruit already set will continue to mature as weather allows. I’m in zone 7 here and have picked as late as Christmas Day.
First, I’d suggest that you get hold of winter protection info specific to your area. County Extension usually has good info. Even though their info is about hybrid garden strawberries it applies to alpines.
‘Alexandria’ are day neutral ever bearing types. They don’t need cold temps to set next year’s crop. Get them through winter and they will set a new crop.
I do not recommend fertilizing in fall. Wait until very early spring when the straw mulch has been removed. Fall fertilization can lead to new tender growth that makes the plants susceptible to winter kill. The plants will grow, mostly underground, even in winter, though very slowly.
I recommend a wheat or oats straw. Some recommend corn stalks. Even though there is a lot of corn here, I’ve never had access to any to try. I’ve tried leaves. They matt down and smother the plants. I’ve had near 100% die off when using leaves.
I use about 3-4†of straw. I apply it after a couple of hard frosts. The plants need to be preconditioned in a way, prepared for mulching. If lush green plants are mulched the leaves pack down and get moldy which leads to diseases, etc. The best time for that here is late November to mid-December depending on the season. In your area I would guess mid to late October.
In early spring, take the mulch off when the daytime temps get into the low 40’s. Even though it will still freeze at night, the plants will begin to grow. You don’t want to leave the mulch on too long, especially if it’s an extremely wet spring. The plants need to dry out a bit to reduce diseases. Add compost or fertilizer when the mulch is taken off. Work it into the soil a bit as best you can.
I like to leave an inch or two of straw around the plants and a lot between the rows. This helps to protect the fruit from dirt splashing and helps it to dry off quicker. It also holds soil moisture during the season and holds down weeds. Alpines need to be able to expand their plant size so don’t leave too much mulch on them or it will suppress their expansion and growth. If the mulch is kept loose near the old plant, new crowns will be able to find their way out. This allows the mound to expand and significantly increases production. Next spring’s crop should be huge.
You mention not being able to pick the fruit. With a single variety it shouldn’t be a problem. With multiple varieties they will cross. The cross pollination doesn’t affect the taste of the fruit but fruit left behind will not be genetically the same as the parent plant. Volunteer seedlings will sprout and eventually, after a few years, could take over. These volunteers can even be runnering types. It’s best to keep them picked as best you can if you have more than one variety or if there are wild Fragaria vesca in the area that could cross with your cultivated plants. A few fruit left behind is not a problem. Many left behind could eventually shorten the life of the planting.
One last thing. Make sure that the soil doesn’t dry out completely during winter. Very dry winters where the soil is bone dry will cause winter kill. In extreme cases the plants should be watered to bring up soil moisture.
Sorry that it’s not more straight forward with exact dates to apply mulch, etc. It’s an art rather than a science. After doing it for years I know the day it needs to be done. When heavy rain or snow and cold temps are coming, after a couple of hard frosts, it’s time. I hope that helps you.
Mid Atlantic Berry Guide
April 25, 2010 By 3 Comments
I get a lot of questions about growing strawberries in general. Here is one of a number of great resources. It’s called the Mid-Atlantic Berry guide and includes strawberries and other types of berries. It has a wealth of information that can be used to grow other species of strawberries like alpines. Garden varieties and alpine strawberries have very similar needs in terms of nutrition and other needs. Here’s a link to this guide:
Books, References, Literature, etc
April 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I recently purchased the following book through Amazon.com. It is out of print but they carry used books from time to time. It’s a must read if you are interested in the history of strawberries.
A History of the Strawberry: From Ancient Gardens to Modern Markets by Stephen and Sagen, James Wilhelm
There is a full chapter about the Virginia strawberry. My favorite chapter is about Pine Strawberries. I sell ‘White Carolina’ which is even mentioned in this book.
Customer Comments
March 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Hi Mike.
I received great plants. Was a little worried at first because the box looked like it’d been dropped and broken open in shipment. But all the plants arrived (the day after you shipped, as it turns out), and they recovered quickly and now look very healthy. Most already have a few blooms.
Thanks again,
Customer from Texas
We Have Entered the World of Video …
January 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Our first video was published this week on YouTube. We are making an effort to provide informational videos about our business and about how we do things to help you grow your gourmet strawberies. Here’s the first:
Let’s Talk About Musk Strawberries
January 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Musk strawberries are not well known in North America. Their scientific name is Fragaria moschata. They are genetically different than alpines and garden hybrids. Under normal conditions, they will not cross with either alpines, garden hybrids or virginia strawberries because they are a different species.
One very important thing you need to know about this type of strawberry is that they are NOT self-pollinating. For best fruit set plant more than one variety.
You should also know that they are June Bearing types which means that they produce one crop per year. Here in zone 7 we get real late season blooms for a second crop but have not had a second crop yet. In warmer zones I would guess that you might get another crop. This surprises me since I thought they would need a cooling period to set flowers again.
I was first introduced musks about 20 years ago. It just so happens that a large strawberry nursery in Delaware (where I now live) was offering them. I had no clue what I would get when I ordered a few plants.
I will say that initially I was turned off by musks. The plants are VERY aggressive. They just took over an area. For this reason they make a good ground cover and will fill an area quickly. The plants are also taller than your “typical” strawberry. I have seen them 16″ tall and they can get taller if grown in shade. They do need full sun to produce well. They also have the same requirements as other strawberries in terms of nutrition though I have yet to over fertilize them for fear that they will spread even faster.
And, when it comes to taste, they are not ANYTHING like any strawberry you have every tasted. I was particularly attracted to the taste initially but now I LOVE them and can’t get enough – same for my wife. In fact, she MADE me plant a bed this past fall so we would have more. They seem to freeze well though you will need a pretty big patch to have enough left over to freeze.
Back to taste. The fruit is not pretty necessarily nore is it large. Here’s a photo:
It’s a bit of an art knowing when to harvest them as well. They are not necessarily all red when ripe. You learn as you go by picking and eating. If they are soft to the touch and release easy they are ready. As you can see from the photo, not all the caps came with the berries. Some caps come off and some don’t.
Musks are VERY fragrant. The air is just full of their aroma when some are ripe. Once you have associated the aroma with this fruit you will never forget.
The taste is another thing. It’s impossible for me to describe. I’m sure a chef could describe them. Last spring I took samples of alpines and musks to a chef in PA at an excellent restaurant in Fairhill called the Fairhill Inn. Both chefs happened to be there when I brought the samples. I’m sure they could try to describe them and probably have by now. They just kept trying more fruit and the looks on their faces were priceless.
I have described the taste as a combination of strawberry, raspberry and pineapple. That’s not accurate because there are other tastes there. You just have to try them and try to describe them yourself.
For spring 2010 we will not have as many plants available as we have in the past. A lot of this is due to our concentrating on alpines and getting more involved with virginia strawberries. We do carry 3 varieties. The standards are ‘Capron’ and ‘Profumata di Tortona’. We are the only grower in North America to our knowledge that carries a third. This third variety is from Eastern Europe and is named ‘Rosea’ or ‘Rozeya’.
We hope you’ll try this type of strawberry sometime. We’d love to hear your thoughts and how you describe the taste.
Comments from Atlanta …
January 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Mike:
My plants arrived amid the blizzard of 2010 here in Atlanta so I put the box on the back stoop so that it wouldn’t completely thaw and wouldn’t be out in the 20 degree temps until I get them in the ground.  I thought I might open the box a day or two ago just to make sure they were not in plastic (I have sometimes had this happen) and they were beautiful and even had a few blooms.  Thank you so much.  I will give them a little water and try to get them in the ground this week.
How is production effected by transplant size?
January 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I wanted to make a comment or two about production that one can expect from different sized transplants. A few days ago I posted pictures of starter plants and quick starts. There is a huge difference in size, right? What does this mean for production.
Obviously, if you transplanted a starter plant and a quick start on the same day there would be a big difference in production. The starter plant likely has 1-2 more months before it will produce the first flower. Sometimes, later in the spring season, starter plants are starting to flower. But, a starter plant doesn’t have enough of a base, roots, and plant size to support much fruit.
Quick Starts are usually in bloom or have bloomed already when they are shipped. By have bloomed I mean that quick starts shipped in the fall and winter were blooming the past fall. Once they start growing again they will flower fairly quickly.
So, how much production can one expect from the two sizes. I have “eyeballed” some of the trials I have conducted over the last several years and will make some VERY general observations. If both sizes are planted in the spring, the Quick Start will produce more than twice the number of fruit that the starter plant will produce. And, the size of the fruit from the Quick Start will be substantially larger.
Starter plants are an economical way to get started growing alpines. You will get fruit the first season. If you live in a northern area with a short growing season you won’t get a lot of fruit. Farther south with a longer growing season and the possibility of getting a fall crop, you will get more fruit.
Quick Starts planted in the spring will be in a position the following year to produce nearly a full crop. If planted in the fall, quick starts can produce a fairly decent crop the next spring.
I’m sorry that this is not more clear, but that’s what happens when one is generalizing. Make comments if you need further explanation.
Let’s Talk about Size – Container Size that is …
January 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
You probably are sick of hearing terms that you don’t understand. I hear them all the time and wonder if someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes.
Here, I’m going to try to set the record straight on the products that I sell – at least pot size, not plug trays. Standard horticultural flats are 10″ x 20″ x 1.5″ deep. Everyone in the industry refers to them as 1020′s. There are various inserts that fit into a standard flat. The one I call a starter plant is in a 1206. This means that there are 12 paks of 6 plants that fit into the flat. That means that there are a total of 72 plant in a 1020 flat. They are fairly small as you can imagine.  Just for your information, strawberry plants in this size take about 3 months to grow at near optimal conditions. The size of starter plants are shown in the picture below – the “72″ is the one on the far left (my thumb is shown to add perspective).
Strawberry Plant Containers
The plant is the middle is known as a 32. I’m no longer selling this size because I have found that they do not overwinter well under the conditions in our nursery.
Quick Starts as I call them are shown in the picture on the far right. These are what are known in the industry as 1801′s. There are 18 plants in single “pots”. They are perforated and come apart from each other like the 6 paks do. The size of each of these plants is 3.25″ square by 3.5″ tall. They are actually taller than the flat that holds them. It takes about 4 months from seeding to have a nice, well-rooted Quick Start plant. Quick Starts overwinter nicely under our conditions here in Delaware. Of course, they have to be mulched with straw.
So, the next obvious question is “how much fruit will I get from a starter plant vs a Quick Start”. The answer isn’t simple because it all depends on when you plant them and where you are. Where you are dictates how long the season will be, all assuming that they are being planted indoors instead of in pots.
Let me get into that in the next post since it’s a separate subject from container size. But, you get the drift about size. Now, you can get an inkling about why the plants are priced differently.
Care For Bare Root Plants
For some time now we have been shipping bare root plants to customers. Because of regulations and shipping costs this will be a more common method of delivering plants. Here are a few guidelines to follow when you receive your shipment: