Sweet Charlie Strawberry - Spring 2011
This past week my strawberry order from Ison's finally arrived. Last year I planted 50 or so Sweet Charlie plants in the flower beds, and this past spring we were rewarded with a great crop of berries from late March to May. Unfortunately, the plants didn't survive the brutal summer, but I'm not discouraged. I bargained with Dr. Wife for more space in the beds, and ordered 200 Sweet Charlie plants. I've also grown Chandler and All Star, but Sweet Charlie has performed the best for me. They're small but very tasty, prolific, and they seem to bear over a long season.
The plants came in bundles of 25, held together with rubber bands, and packed with some sort of gelatinous substance to keep them moist. They arrived late on Thursday afternoon, and I just didn't have time to get all 200 planted, or even finish preparing the flower bed. To keep them from drying out until the weekend, I placed the bundles in 3-gallon pots with some peat moss and potting soil, and watered them well.
Once the weekend finally rolled around, and the kids were down for their naps, I got to work. I dug up the flower beds, pulled out as much grass as I could, threw down several pounds of MicroLife 6-2-4 and cottonseed meal, and planted the strawberries on a 6-inch spacing in three rows spaced approximately one foot apart. I also planted six strawberry plants in each of the four 30-gallon pots set into the flower beds, and put 16 into a terracotta strawberry pot to give to my five-year-old niece later. She'll love it once they start fruiting.
Our harvest last year was big enough for Boy #1 to go out and pick a small handful everyday for several weeks, and even share a few with Dr. Wife and I. This coming spring, Boy #2 will be out toddling around too, so I'm going to need twice as many berries. I want both my boys to be able to pick as many as they want, and someday look back and have fun memories of picking strawberries with their silly old dad.
The plants came in bundles of 25, held together with rubber bands, and packed with some sort of gelatinous substance to keep them moist. They arrived late on Thursday afternoon, and I just didn't have time to get all 200 planted, or even finish preparing the flower bed. To keep them from drying out until the weekend, I placed the bundles in 3-gallon pots with some peat moss and potting soil, and watered them well.
Once the weekend finally rolled around, and the kids were down for their naps, I got to work. I dug up the flower beds, pulled out as much grass as I could, threw down several pounds of MicroLife 6-2-4 and cottonseed meal, and planted the strawberries on a 6-inch spacing in three rows spaced approximately one foot apart. I also planted six strawberry plants in each of the four 30-gallon pots set into the flower beds, and put 16 into a terracotta strawberry pot to give to my five-year-old niece later. She'll love it once they start fruiting.
Our harvest last year was big enough for Boy #1 to go out and pick a small handful everyday for several weeks, and even share a few with Dr. Wife and I. This coming spring, Boy #2 will be out toddling around too, so I'm going to need twice as many berries. I want both my boys to be able to pick as many as they want, and someday look back and have fun memories of picking strawberries with their silly old dad.
Package from Ison's
Strawberries in pots until I could get them planted in the flower beds.
Flower beds are now full of strawberries.
Plants are growing fast after only a couple of days.
Strawberry pot with 16 plants. My niece will be thrilled when they start bearing.
