Thursday 12 April 2012

Strawberry Plants

Potted Strawberry Plants
Red berries, green berries are there in my potted strawberry plants.  Harvesting the strawberries this time of the year is a treat. I have five potted plants that give me enough to collect.  Today I picked five berries; indeed, they were only a few, but they were good for two.



More berries to pick soon

Potted strawberry plants need regular fertilisers.  Fertilise them monthly, when they are starting to have their flowers, feed them every ten days until harvest season is over.

No!' no, it is not the birds.
In the strawberry patch,  some of the strawberries have holes, I thought that birds have been enjoying to harvest the crops.   I picked one fruit with a hole, cut it in halves,  there were some horrible creatures.  These creatures look like tiny worms, so be careful of strawberries with holes,  you don't want to give these berries to the family.  I don't know how to get rid of them, as I don't use any chemical spray on them.

Watch out for strawberries with holes.



It has been great to have the potted plants of strawberries, but I love to know more about it, through my friend's advice, I learnt more and also through reading.  Planting strawberries on hanging baskets is another good idea, particularly if you don't have enough space.
I found an interesting topic about how to plant strawberries indoor.  I thought it is a good idea, you may like this article too.

Indoor Strawberry Planting:
  • Strawberries should be fertilised at least once a month. Once the plants have begun flowering, feed it about every 10 days until harvest season is over. They prefer a fertiliser that is high in potassium.
  • They will need at least six hours of sunlight a day to produce a crop that can be harvested, although the full sun is better. Make sure hanging baskets are rotated to ensure that all plants get adequate light.
  • Strawberries are prone to both aphids and red spider mites. Berries can also develop powdery mildew. If your strawberry plant has purple spots on the top surface of its leaves and white fungus on the bottom side, it has developed powdery fungus and needs to be treated with a fungicide.
  • Strawberries are ready to be picked as soon as the fruit has turned red. They can be stored for about two days in shallow trays in the refrigerator. For more extended periods, it is best to freeze them. I freeze mine on cookie sheets then place them in plastic bags. This way, I can freeze small amounts at a time and also take out a few berries to use at a time.                                                                                                                                         
 

How to assemble Hanging Strawberry Baskets

24 strawberry plants
a 16-inch wire basket
 potting soil and some sphagnum moss, coconut fibre or a specially designed basket liner.
    Next line the wire basket with the damp sphagnum moss, coconut fibre or basket liner. Insert 18 of the plants into the basket sides through the sphagnum moss. After you have finished, fill the basket with potting soil and planting the remaining plants in the top of the basket. The basket will continue to produce fruit for about three years.

I plan to keep my plants healthy until I can get a proper strawberry bed set up. If I have a small crop of berries this winter, it will be a plus!

(From the Gardener’s Rake, more information look on the web)



Thank You All For Visiting My Blog

Until Next Post
Susy

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