- Strawberry bed at the end of the season (with a hanging cow windsock/scarecrow).
The strawberries were my favorite item in the garden this summer. They were so sweet, and there were so many of them. Everything went really well; No mold, no birds eating them before us, no problems! But strawberries spread like crazy and get really messy rather quickly (that was our problem last year). They have a rather short life, too. Three years. That’s it. Then it’s time for new ones. Given that they produce tons of “runners” every season, it is cost free to replace them. My blogging friend Claire of Promenade Plantings http://promenadeplantings.com/ mentioned that the first plant on a runner is the best to use. I like getting tips like that!
Super fresh from the garden!
My husband took full ownership of strawberry care this season. Well, except for the weeding, that is always my job! This week he and my daughter did a lot of work preparing them for next year. They dug up the entire bed, removed the oldest plants, potted up the healthy runner plants, and replanted the one year old plants. It is so cool having their help!
After digging up the old plants, the newer ones are replanted.
Potting up the runner plants.
I’ll admit it was a bit of work (for my husband and daughter!) tidying up this bed!
- A neat and tidy new strawberry bed.
You can see the difference in the two beds in the photo above! The second bed in the back still needs to be done. This month is really the ideal time to do it. Thankfully, there are still a few weeks left to get that finished!
‘Cause we want to be able to make more strawberry ice cream like we did this year!
Homemade strawberry ice cream!
In case you missed it, here’s a link to my post from earlier this summer on strawberries: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/bumper-crop-of-strawberries-an-angel-food-cake-recipe-with-strawberries/
View of the garden in August (after clearing up one strawberry bed).
A geranium plant grown from seed.
I had to have a flower photo to finish this post! My father-in-law grew a bunch of geranium plants from seed for me. I was rather late in asking him to grow them, so they are only now blooming! But I’m enjoying them very much. 🙂
I hope I’ve maybe inspired you to try growing strawberries! Feel free to ask a friend if they have extra plants as they really do grow like crazy.
Happy Planting!
Dana
Mom in the Garden 
Your strawberries really did well this year. I hope next year will be just as plentiful.
Hi Karen! Thanks for your well wishes (me too!).
Strawberries can be a lot of work, but they are worth it!
I so agree with you Belmont Rooster! Last year we didn’t quite have everything right. But having them set up right makes the work more manageable. (especially when it is my husband and daughter doing the work!) 🙂
You are so right. My grandparents had an old strawberry patch that was so big and so hard to manage. You had to get in the patch and pull grass and weeds and try not to step on any plants. Picking their strawberries was just as hard, but you did get to eat some along the way (unless you got caught). One cold winter, they all froze and that was the end. That was over 30 years ago!
I haven’t had much success with strawberries, but yours are so beautiful I might try planting them again.
Hi Marsha! We had a rough time last year, but thankfully managed to work out the problems. I believe they can grow well in containers, too. Maybe that would be an option? 🙂
Gosh! Well done on a great crop of strawberries! Our plants were put in last year and while they fruited OK (some are still fruiting), not a single strawberry has made it back to the house. I am hoping for better things next year. Your ice cream looks delicious!
Hi Gardening Shoe! Thank you for the compliments! I think everything just came together really well this year, including the weather. (we have not has as good a result with our blueberries this year, sadly). It was fun making the ice cream! It was our first time, and something we’ll definitely do again! 🙂