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Post by daylilydude on Dec 18, 2017 4:59:28 GMT -5
Do you grow them... are they an easy thing to get growing, and what are your favorite varieties?
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 18, 2017 7:16:54 GMT -5
I've never had luck with them. One word - birds. And don't believe that bit about those gold ones not being attractive to birds - they like them just as much! I would have had to make a hoop house of bird netting - laying it on top didn't do the trick.
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 18, 2017 10:09:44 GMT -5
I don't grow them either. It is such a short season and I have several Amish farms in my area that grow strawberries so I just pick up a few quarts from them.
I love strawberries but since we only eat about 4 quarts per year and I don't make jam, I just buy what we need. It's not worth my time to grow them.
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Post by paulf on Dec 18, 2017 10:25:28 GMT -5
For several years we had a nice patch in the corner of the garden. Then my wife decided she didn't like taking care of them and we dug them all up in favor of asparagus. We purchased plants from Stark bros. They were easy to start and did well but as a few years went by the size decreased and the birds got more than we did.
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Post by september on Dec 18, 2017 10:31:53 GMT -5
I've grown them in the past, and may grow them in the future -- if I ever cut down on tomato varieties and can use their beds for something else. It's been too long to remember which strawberry varieties I had luck with. We have a couple of strawberry farms in the area, but they are not that close, and they attract big crowds of pickers because the season is only a couple of weeks long.
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Post by spike on Dec 18, 2017 11:54:42 GMT -5
I have some wild strawberries in my yard! I do not grow them. Not far from me is an Amish family that grows amazing strawberries and I buy from them. I go early in the morning and watch them pick the berries, buy them as they are brought out of the fields and canned into jams, jellies and pie filling as soon as I get home (which is fast since they are only about 5 miles away!).
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Post by ladymarmalade on Dec 18, 2017 12:50:51 GMT -5
I have several great strawberry farms that I can pick berries from as often as I want when they are in season. Each farm has it's pros and cons, and I generally rotate which ones I go to from year to year so I share the love. I let them do the work, because in order to grow the quantity of strawberries that we will use, I wouldn't be able to grow anything else.
We go through gallons if we are able. Not so much jam, as we prefer raspberry jam above all others, but we use frozen strawberries all year long for pancakes and waffles, muffins, scones, crumbles, etc.
I do have a couple of plants tucked in a corner for my daughter, but they've been there for two years now and we've yet to taste a berry.
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Post by Gianna on Dec 18, 2017 14:14:41 GMT -5
I've grown them on and off over the years. 'They' used to grow them locally, but now those fields are strip-malls and tract houses. There are still large commercial strawberry fields about 45 minutes away. They are really good berries, and are sold at local farmers' markets, and even from the backs of pickup trucks so I can get good ones with not much effort. There are no Upick places anywhere.
This year I'm growing them again, but in a very limited capacity so I can just pick and eat a few while outside. And in pots, raised off the ground to keep slugs/snails away. Birds have left them alone in past years for some unknown reason.
I have Albion and Seascape, because that is what I could easily find, and they do well in our area. They will be a treat, but the real prized berries in this house are the blues.
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Post by paquebot on Dec 18, 2017 18:07:12 GMT -5
Have grown them for at least 25 years. Originally a home made pyramid. Now just use the 6' bottom ring. Naturally, had to be Ozark Beauty with a pyramid. But I've also grown just about every other everbearing type that Jung's has offered in that time. That would have included Albion, Fort Laramie, Mara Des Bois, and Fort Laramie. Of those, Albion is best producer while Mara Des Bois has best taste. I used to have both red and yellow Alpine types but they didn't survive a spring when rabbits ate their hearts out.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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