"Rick" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:57:22 -0500, "Snag" wrote:

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Snag wrote:
Hey y'all , I have a strawberry question . I bought one of those
packages of 10
(June-bearing) plants at wallyworld , planted them in a prepped bed a
week or so
ago according to the package instructions . How long should it take
before I start seeing new growth ?

It depends on the conditions, if it is too cold they won't do much. If
not
in full sun they will be slower.

These are well-rooted (roots 5-6"
long) starts . The wife sez she doesn't think we'll get berries this
year , but the web sites I've looked at seem to indicate a small crop
the first year ... and better in succeeding years depending on how I
care for them . I'm on new ground here , haven't a clue what I'm
getting into . But we love strawberries , and for a couple of bucks
worth of starts and a little work I'm willing to try .

You may get a small crop the first year. Keep the weeds down and
manure, water and mulch during summer. Note that mulch goes under
the leaves :-)

David

I prepared the bed by tiling under some turf , letting it stand a
couple
weeks , tilling in some compost , then laying a double layer of newspaper
topped with 3" of the same compost . Once they get a little growth I'll be
adding a layer of mulch too . There are no plans to use chemicals ... my
marigolds are sprouting !
Top of compost is warm, 2" down is still pretty cool . The bed gets
pretty
good sun from 9-ish until midafternoon . I'm probably just being impatient
...
Strawberries tend to put a lot of energy into developing a good root
system at first. Once new leaves start popping out the flowers will
soon follow. Conventional wisdom is to pinch off the flowers so more
energy goes to the plant in the first year, but I have never been able
to do that g. Strawberries are pretty hardy and probably won't get
you any greif unless you have a hot wet summer and then fungal
diseases like brown rot can be a problem. Plan on 3-4 productive
years on the plants, and you'll get plenty of runners from most
varieties.

Just remember not to plant strawberries where tomatoes were earlier, They
are susceptible to the same diseases.