Hi all,

I was looking over the back yard garden in anticipation of starting my
spring cleaning and planting and I noticed that the strawberries I put
in last year survived the winter. They seem to have put out suckers and
spread around the patch quite a bit and at the moment they are looking
pretty good.

MY MO for the garden the last couple years has been to go out in the
early spring and widen the plot by a couple feet, turn all the soil
over, dig up any weeds that have started, and mix in a bag of manure, or
last year's compost, or something to amend the soil as it is primarily
clay here and there's never been a garden in this yard before.

Except this year I'd really like to keep the strawberries. Do you think
it is a good idea to try transplanting them? Could I dig them up, do my
thing with the garden and plant them back on the same day? How far down
do strawberry roots go? I'm really afraid of killing them by digging up
the garden for the rest of my planting, since my experience with
gardening seems to run toward watching things die.

I'm trying to figure out why the strawberries survived but the mint
didn't.



Dawn
Missouri Zone 5b

Dawn wrote:

Except this year I'd really like to keep the strawberries. Do you think
it is a good idea to try transplanting them? Could I dig them up, do my
thing with the garden and plant them back on the same day?

I'd just want to leave them be. Dig around the patch and plant some of the
plants off the runners in your newly dug garden.

Strawberries are short-lived, they bear most in their first 3-6 (or so)
years, and renewing a plot by taking the first sets of plants off runners
and planting them elsewhere is the usual, over here.

Strawberries like acid soil, don't give them limestone. Compost would
work. Mulch works very well indeed against weeds, if thick enough.

I'm trying to figure out why the strawberries survived but the mint
didn't.

The mint might still come back if you give it enough water. If it was a
real mint, Mentha sp., that is.

Henriette

--
Henriette Kress, AHG * * * * * * * * * * *Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage: http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed

Dawn wrote:

Except this year I'd really like to keep the strawberries. Do you think
it is a good idea to try transplanting them? Could I dig them up, do my
thing with the garden and plant them back on the same day?

I'd just want to leave them be. Dig around the patch and plant some of the
plants off the runners in your newly dug garden.

Strawberries are short-lived, they bear most in their first 3-6 (or so)
years, and renewing a plot by taking the first sets of plants off runners
and planting them elsewhere is the usual, over here.

Strawberries like acid soil, don't give them limestone. Compost would
work. Mulch works very well indeed against weeds, if thick enough.

I'm trying to figure out why the strawberries survived but the mint
didn't.

The mint might still come back if you give it enough water. If it was a
real mint, Mentha sp., that is.

Henriette

--
Henriette Kress, AHG * * * * * * * * * * *Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage: http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed

Henriette Kress wrote:


I'd just want to leave them be. Dig around the patch and plant some of the
plants off the runners in your newly dug garden.

Are you saying I can transplant the plants at the end of the runners and
dig the rest up? Or that I should selectively dig around the
strawberries when planting tomatoes?



Strawberries are short-lived, they bear most in their first 3-6 (or so)
years, and renewing a plot by taking the first sets of plants off runners
and planting them elsewhere is the usual, over here.

Thanks. I didn't know that.


The mint might still come back if you give it enough water. If it was a
real mint, Mentha sp., that is.

The tag only says "peppermint". No latin name. It survived the first ice
storm but didn't seem to make it through the second one. The patch has
been getting spring rain but so far shows no sign of life.



Dawn

Henriette Kress wrote:


I'd just want to leave them be. Dig around the patch and plant some of the
plants off the runners in your newly dug garden.

Are you saying I can transplant the plants at the end of the runners and
dig the rest up? Or that I should selectively dig around the
strawberries when planting tomatoes?



Strawberries are short-lived, they bear most in their first 3-6 (or so)
years, and renewing a plot by taking the first sets of plants off runners
and planting them elsewhere is the usual, over here.

Thanks. I didn't know that.


The mint might still come back if you give it enough water. If it was a
real mint, Mentha sp., that is.

The tag only says "peppermint". No latin name. It survived the first ice
storm but didn't seem to make it through the second one. The patch has
been getting spring rain but so far shows no sign of life.



Dawn

Dawn wrote:
Henriette Kress wrote:

I'd just want to leave them be. Dig around the patch and plant some of the
plants off the runners in your newly dug garden.

Are you saying I can transplant the plants at the end of the runners and
dig the rest up? Or that I should selectively dig around the
strawberries when planting tomatoes?

You want to leave the ones that made it over winter in the ground.
If you dig them up you won't get as many strawberries.

And you can prepare for a few years hence by taking everything except the
mother plants and putting that into freshly dug ground, once it's freshly
dug. The first plant off any runner is strongest, the rest are generally
runts. You can plant those, too, but if you have too many, ditch those.

The tag only says "peppermint". No latin name. It survived the first ice
storm but didn't seem to make it through the second one. The patch has
been getting spring rain but so far shows no sign of life.

If it was any size at all last year it'll be back, once things warm up.

Henriette

--
Henriette Kress, AHG * * * * * * * * * * *Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage: http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed

Dawn wrote:
Henriette Kress wrote:

I'd just want to leave them be. Dig around the patch and plant some of the
plants off the runners in your newly dug garden.

Are you saying I can transplant the plants at the end of the runners and
dig the rest up? Or that I should selectively dig around the
strawberries when planting tomatoes?

You want to leave the ones that made it over winter in the ground.
If you dig them up you won't get as many strawberries.

And you can prepare for a few years hence by taking everything except the
mother plants and putting that into freshly dug ground, once it's freshly
dug. The first plant off any runner is strongest, the rest are generally
runts. You can plant those, too, but if you have too many, ditch those.

The tag only says "peppermint". No latin name. It survived the first ice
storm but didn't seem to make it through the second one. The patch has
been getting spring rain but so far shows no sign of life.

If it was any size at all last year it'll be back, once things warm up.

Henriette

--
Henriette Kress, AHG * * * * * * * * * * *Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage: http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed

Dawn wrote:
Henriette Kress wrote:

I'd just want to leave them be. Dig around the patch and plant some of the
plants off the runners in your newly dug garden.

Are you saying I can transplant the plants at the end of the runners and
dig the rest up? Or that I should selectively dig around the
strawberries when planting tomatoes?

You want to leave the ones that made it over winter in the ground.
If you dig them up you won't get as many strawberries.

And you can prepare for a few years hence by taking everything except the
mother plants and putting that into freshly dug ground, once it's freshly
dug. The first plant off any runner is strongest, the rest are generally
runts. You can plant those, too, but if you have too many, ditch those.

The tag only says "peppermint". No latin name. It survived the first ice
storm but didn't seem to make it through the second one. The patch has
been getting spring rain but so far shows no sign of life.

If it was any size at all last year it'll be back, once things warm up.

Henriette

--
Henriette Kress, AHG * * * * * * * * * * *Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage: http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 21:24:07 GMT, Dawn
wrote:

Hi all,

I was looking over the back yard garden in anticipation of starting my
spring cleaning and planting and I noticed that the strawberries I put
in last year survived the winter. They seem to have put out suckers and
spread around the patch quite a bit and at the moment they are looking
pretty good.

MY MO for the garden the last couple years has been to go out in the
early spring and widen the plot by a couple feet, turn all the soil
over, dig up any weeds that have started, and mix in a bag of manure, or
last year's compost, or something to amend the soil as it is primarily
clay here and there's never been a garden in this yard before.

Except this year I'd really like to keep the strawberries. Do you think
it is a good idea to try transplanting them? Could I dig them up, do my
thing with the garden and plant them back on the same day? How far down
do strawberry roots go? I'm really afraid of killing them by digging up
the garden for the rest of my planting, since my experience with
gardening seems to run toward watching things die.

I'm trying to figure out why the strawberries survived but the mint
didn't.

Dawn
Missouri Zone 5b

What kind of mint was that? Some mints are hardy, some aren't. Like
Corsican mint isn't hardy, can't recall off the top of my head others,
but are you *sure* it's dead? The tops die down, but they come up
from the roots again if hardy.

You can move strawberries, it might set them back as far as producing
this season, might not, depends on how big they are, what kind they
are, and how much dirt you leave with them. The main thing is, take
careful note of where the crown is - where the leaves end and the
roots begin. Strawberries are particular about the crown being at
ground level, not higher or lower, so take a good look at them before
you move them. They like sunshine too, if they get too little, they
will grow, but won't bear fruit.

Janice

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 21:24:07 GMT, Dawn
wrote:

Hi all,

I was looking over the back yard garden in anticipation of starting my
spring cleaning and planting and I noticed that the strawberries I put
in last year survived the winter. They seem to have put out suckers and
spread around the patch quite a bit and at the moment they are looking
pretty good.

MY MO for the garden the last couple years has been to go out in the
early spring and widen the plot by a couple feet, turn all the soil
over, dig up any weeds that have started, and mix in a bag of manure, or
last year's compost, or something to amend the soil as it is primarily
clay here and there's never been a garden in this yard before.

Except this year I'd really like to keep the strawberries. Do you think
it is a good idea to try transplanting them? Could I dig them up, do my
thing with the garden and plant them back on the same day? How far down
do strawberry roots go? I'm really afraid of killing them by digging up
the garden for the rest of my planting, since my experience with
gardening seems to run toward watching things die.

I'm trying to figure out why the strawberries survived but the mint
didn't.

Dawn
Missouri Zone 5b

What kind of mint was that? Some mints are hardy, some aren't. Like
Corsican mint isn't hardy, can't recall off the top of my head others,
but are you *sure* it's dead? The tops die down, but they come up
from the roots again if hardy.

You can move strawberries, it might set them back as far as producing
this season, might not, depends on how big they are, what kind they
are, and how much dirt you leave with them. The main thing is, take
careful note of where the crown is - where the leaves end and the
roots begin. Strawberries are particular about the crown being at
ground level, not higher or lower, so take a good look at them before
you move them. They like sunshine too, if they get too little, they
will grow, but won't bear fruit.

Janice

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 21:24:07 GMT, Dawn
wrote:

Hi all,

I was looking over the back yard garden in anticipation of starting my
spring cleaning and planting and I noticed that the strawberries I put
in last year survived the winter. They seem to have put out suckers and
spread around the patch quite a bit and at the moment they are looking
pretty good.

MY MO for the garden the last couple years has been to go out in the
early spring and widen the plot by a couple feet, turn all the soil
over, dig up any weeds that have started, and mix in a bag of manure, or
last year's compost, or something to amend the soil as it is primarily
clay here and there's never been a garden in this yard before.

Except this year I'd really like to keep the strawberries. Do you think
it is a good idea to try transplanting them? Could I dig them up, do my
thing with the garden and plant them back on the same day? How far down
do strawberry roots go? I'm really afraid of killing them by digging up
the garden for the rest of my planting, since my experience with
gardening seems to run toward watching things die.

I'm trying to figure out why the strawberries survived but the mint
didn't.

Dawn
Missouri Zone 5b

What kind of mint was that? Some mints are hardy, some aren't. Like
Corsican mint isn't hardy, can't recall off the top of my head others,
but are you *sure* it's dead? The tops die down, but they come up
from the roots again if hardy.

You can move strawberries, it might set them back as far as producing
this season, might not, depends on how big they are, what kind they
are, and how much dirt you leave with them. The main thing is, take
careful note of where the crown is - where the leaves end and the
roots begin. Strawberries are particular about the crown being at
ground level, not higher or lower, so take a good look at them before
you move them. They like sunshine too, if they get too little, they
will grow, but won't bear fruit.

Janice

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 21:24:07 GMT, Dawn
wrote:

Hi all,

I was looking over the back yard garden in anticipation of starting my
spring cleaning and planting and I noticed that the strawberries I put
in last year survived the winter. They seem to have put out suckers and
spread around the patch quite a bit and at the moment they are looking
pretty good.

MY MO for the garden the last couple years has been to go out in the
early spring and widen the plot by a couple feet, turn all the soil
over, dig up any weeds that have started, and mix in a bag of manure, or
last year's compost, or something to amend the soil as it is primarily
clay here and there's never been a garden in this yard before.

Except this year I'd really like to keep the strawberries. Do you think
it is a good idea to try transplanting them? Could I dig them up, do my
thing with the garden and plant them back on the same day? How far down
do strawberry roots go? I'm really afraid of killing them by digging up
the garden for the rest of my planting, since my experience with
gardening seems to run toward watching things die.

I'm trying to figure out why the strawberries survived but the mint
didn't.

Dawn
Missouri Zone 5b

What kind of mint was that? Some mints are hardy, some aren't. Like
Corsican mint isn't hardy, can't recall off the top of my head others,
but are you *sure* it's dead? The tops die down, but they come up
from the roots again if hardy.

You can move strawberries, it might set them back as far as producing
this season, might not, depends on how big they are, what kind they
are, and how much dirt you leave with them. The main thing is, take
careful note of where the crown is - where the leaves end and the
roots begin. Strawberries are particular about the crown being at
ground level, not higher or lower, so take a good look at them before
you move them. They like sunshine too, if they get too little, they
will grow, but won't bear fruit.

Janice

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 21:24:07 GMT, Dawn
wrote:

Hi all,

I was looking over the back yard garden in anticipation of starting my
spring cleaning and planting and I noticed that the strawberries I put
in last year survived the winter. They seem to have put out suckers and
spread around the patch quite a bit and at the moment they are looking
pretty good.

MY MO for the garden the last couple years has been to go out in the
early spring and widen the plot by a couple feet, turn all the soil
over, dig up any weeds that have started, and mix in a bag of manure, or
last year's compost, or something to amend the soil as it is primarily
clay here and there's never been a garden in this yard before.

Except this year I'd really like to keep the strawberries. Do you think
it is a good idea to try transplanting them? Could I dig them up, do my
thing with the garden and plant them back on the same day? How far down
do strawberry roots go? I'm really afraid of killing them by digging up
the garden for the rest of my planting, since my experience with
gardening seems to run toward watching things die.

I'm trying to figure out why the strawberries survived but the mint
didn't.

Dawn
Missouri Zone 5b

What kind of mint was that? Some mints are hardy, some aren't. Like
Corsican mint isn't hardy, can't recall off the top of my head others,
but are you *sure* it's dead? The tops die down, but they come up
from the roots again if hardy.

You can move strawberries, it might set them back as far as producing
this season, might not, depends on how big they are, what kind they
are, and how much dirt you leave with them. The main thing is, take
careful note of where the crown is - where the leaves end and the
roots begin. Strawberries are particular about the crown being at
ground level, not higher or lower, so take a good look at them before
you move them. They like sunshine too, if they get too little, they
will grow, but won't bear fruit.

Janice

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 22:59:08 GMT, Dawn
wrote:

Henriette Kress wrote:


I'd just want to leave them be. Dig around the patch and plant some of the
plants off the runners in your newly dug garden.

Are you saying I can transplant the plants at the end of the runners and
dig the rest up? Or that I should selectively dig around the
strawberries when planting tomatoes?

If I recall correctly, you shouldn't plant tomatoes and strawberry
near one another. I'm sure someone in the group will chime in if it's
so. You could easily do a search about it also, but I think that is
one of the "mixes" I read recently shouldn't be "mixed" ;-)

Janice


Strawberries are short-lived, they bear most in their first 3-6 (or so)
years, and renewing a plot by taking the first sets of plants off runners
and planting them elsewhere is the usual, over here.

Thanks. I didn't know that.


The mint might still come back if you give it enough water. If it was a
real mint, Mentha sp., that is.

The tag only says "peppermint". No latin name. It survived the first ice
storm but didn't seem to make it through the second one. The patch has
been getting spring rain but so far shows no sign of life.



Dawn

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 22:59:08 GMT, Dawn wrote:

(snip)
The mint might still come back if you give it enough water. If it was a
real mint, Mentha sp., that is.

The tag only says "peppermint". No latin name. It survived the first ice
storm but didn't seem to make it through the second one. The patch has
been getting spring rain but so far shows no sign of life.

Peppermint is usually pretty tough. It's still early yet, so I wouldn't give up
on it until the weather warmed up more. I'm just south of the Missouri state
line and the soil is still pretty cool.