Okay, enough of the current events and political opinion stuff…how about some glamstead garden info?

Several years ago I purchased some strawberry plants from a local big box DIY store, they were Sequoia variety. I didn’t know what variety to buy because I didn’t do my research and I figured that if the local store nursery was selling them then they must be the right kind for here. Ah, no.

Since 2021 I’ve been working on a strawberry patch. Well, in raised bed boxes actually. I put together amazing organic rich black soil. Winterized them religiously, watered them appropriately, fed them organic fertilizer, weeded them without fail…I babied these plants like precious children. Yes, I made some mistakes along the way. For instance in 2023 I fertilized them at the wrong time and lost every single green new berry and blossom. Another year I didn’t protect them from a hail storm and that beat em up pretty badly. Last year I learned about our sunshine and UV problems for strawberry plants…got the shade cloth up too late.

Now don’t get me wrong…the Sequoia plants did amazing…but only the plants. While that plants were rich lush green, grew like crazy, and sent out huge numbers of daughter plants…the berries were mostly non-existent, the size of marbles when we did get a few, and most of the time rather bland tasting. Yeah, not really worth the water we were putting on them…certainly not worth the work we were putting into them.

In June I realized once again we were not going to get a crop of berries. Then I did some real research; something I maybe, just maybe, should have done 4 years ago.

Come to find out…I have the wrong variety of strawberry plants…a REALLY wrong variety. The variety I had was for an area like the coast of California in temperate weather. And let me tell you…we ain’t nothing like the coast of California! Turns out I needed to plant either Eversweet or Albion, both are everbearing. And both varieties do well in our kind of climate.

On June 30^th I ordered 2 plants of Eversweet strawberries and 2 plants of Albion strawberries through Etsy from a company called “GrowYourOwnFoodShop”. Oddly enough from Modesto, California. Picked up the plants the mailbox on July 5^th, put them in the ground on July 6^th.

So let’s talk about the ground/soil first. Pre&Post order I talked with the vendor explaining my situation and my choice of plants. They confirmed the choices were right for our area. Then we talked about soil quality. Ah, yeah…remember I mentioned rich in organic matter black soil? Well…WRONG! Strawberries really prefer sandy soil. Then I remembered a place in Florida called Plant City; they have a huge strawberry festival every year. Duh…very sandy soil…very little organic matter…major strawberry production area of the country. Before the plants arrived I bought a bunch of Quickcrete sand from Lowes and mixed it into the raised beds. So much so to the point I felt it was too sandy…but it still had a respectable amount of organic matter (i.e. compost & peat moss). And I did add a decent amount of organic fertilizer.

Why organic fertilizer? Look, I am not an “organic” fanatic, but there are some advantages to organic fertilizer. Mainly I wanted the nutrition in the ground for the plants to use over time. The organic fertilizer I use is well-balanced and breaks down over about 3 – 6 months…and it won’t burn the plant roots. And for the record…after 2 weeks in the ground I used a combination of liquid fertilizers for the plants to use immediately. The two are derived from fish meal; one is higher in nitrogen (5-1-1), the higher in phosphorus (0-10-10).

The plants arrived packaged extremely well, soil still moist, healthy looking. Included was the packing list and an instruction sheet about planting, including pictures of how deep to plant em. And that is important…get the crown at the right depth to begin with and they do much better.

I don’t know if you caught it…I pulled out all the existing plants from two 3’x12’ beds…ouch! That hurt pulling all those plants out that I had spent so much time and effort caring for and nurturing. But it had to be done. Yes, I recycled the plant matter into compost for another project.

I planted the new berries according to instructions, watered them in, had a little prayer, and tried to be patient. Two weeks later I used the liquid fertilizer mentioned about. Kept them watered. By 3 weeks they were looking very healthy, well-established, and I was pleased to say the least.

About mid-August the first berries started to appear. Yeah, I should have pinched them off to keep energy going to the plants but I just couldn’t do it. By early September we were eating berries. Oh my gosh!!!

The berries were large, juicy, sweet as all get-out, and the best tasting berries I’ve ever had. Success!!!

On September 10^th I ordered 4 more Eversweet plants to replace the old Sequoia plants still in the third bed. But…low and behold this company was amazing! I had given them a great review online, and expressed my appreciation in our messaging. Since I was a repeat customer, gave them a good review, and I guessed they liked me…they sent me 8 plants vs the 4 I ordered. Whoa, I was surprised and pleased.

So now I have two beds of Eversweet going great guns and one bed of Albion doing fantastic and I have already staked out a daughter plant from a runner. I will add 3 – 4 Albion plants to fill up that bed and I will be ready to enjoy the best strawberries I’ve ever had. And by the end of the season I will have 3 beds completely full of happy & healthy strawberry plants, specifically designed for this area, and they will last for years to come.

Does it get any better than this???? Great plants, great berries, and a great company to deal with!! I will be buying more garden plants this spring from them.

Here’s the company link on Etsy…I highly recommend them!!! < click here to go to their website on Etsy >

Note: I haven’t been paid or compensated in any way to endorse this company. They are just some great folks with great plants doing a great job for my strawberry patch.

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