Welcome back here today on Garden The Easy Way. This is Ken and Marilou and we both are so happy that you have joined us today.
Today we are going to be talking about one of Americas Favorite Fruits, Strawberries, and how you can plant and grow your very own strawberries.
Well it is Spring and all the grocery stores are selling strawberry, and they are so good eating and the health benefits from eating strawberries will shock you if you don't already know, strawberries are very very good for us all.
What a lot of people don't know, strawberry are very easy to grow, they will just about grow anywhere, very easy to have your very own strawberry patch.
Another thing about gardening, your garden fresh fruit and vegetables always taste a lot better, because you harvest out of your garden when it is ready to be picked, when you buy fruits and vegetables from your local store most of them are picked too early and shipped to the stores green.
OK, back to strawberries they are so delicious, my wife Marilou and I decided to plant more strawberries this year. You will say "WOW" when you go to pick out your strawberry plants, they are so many different kinds of strawberry plant to choose from, that is why grocery stores are selling a lot of strawberry in the spring and none in the summer, because the company that sold the strawberries to the store did not plant everbearing strawberry, a lot of varieties of strawberry plants will only produce strawberries from May to June only.
Marilou and I like to plant Everbearing Strawberry because we get to eat fresh garden strawberry, from May to October. We plant Albion Everbearing Strawberry, they have a sweet delicious taste and definitely our favorite to plant. OK, I know what you are thinking why don't the company that are selling to the stores, plant and ship everbearing strawberry? the answer is easy, I am thinking it is because the everbearing strawberry just don't get as big as some of the other brands and the stores like the bigger strawberries for selling. The choice is up to you, do you want big strawberries, just in the spring or do you want a smaller strawberry from spring to October.
How To Plant and Grow Strawberries? You can plant strawberry in pots, back yard, wood or rock form raise garden or just on the ground out of your way. What ever strawberry plant you decide on planting remember this and it will save you some money. When you buy your strawberry plants, they come in a small container, six strawberry plants in one container. Six strawberry plant should be enough and no need to buy more, unless you have big family or you want to freeze a lot of strawberries.
Why I say 6-Strawberry plants should be enough? Is because strawberry plants will grow runners, some people call runner vines but the true name is ( Runners ). About every 6-8 inches the runner will stop and plant it self in the soil where it plants it self that is called a crown, the crown will grow roots down in the soil and now you have a new strawberry plant.
By the end of the summer your six strawberry plants you started with could be closed to 100 or more. You can cut the runner off and transplant them somewhere else if you want. So many people that raise their own strawberries will cut the runner off and give them away to their neighbors and friends.
When it comes to planting strawberries, I like to do it the quick and easy way. Marilou and I like to use Miracle Gro Garden Soil Mix, it come ready to go, all you have to do is add to the plant you are planting, but you can grow strawberry plants in just about any kind of soil, as long as you add a little compost, so that the soil will not pack down too hard, loose soil helps your plants to get more oxygen and grow stronger roots.
It is very important to work up your soil well before planting, like I said strawberry plants are easy to grow, and they will not die out in the winter, from ice, snow and cold weather the plant will die down to the crown,but the crown and the roots do not die, the vine and runners will come back in early spring.
There is one very important thing you have to remember about planting strawberries, you never cover the strawberry plant crown, it must set on top of the soil, only the roots go under the soil.
Never let your strawberry dry out too long, when it get hot in the summer, water every 2-days or a little everyday depending how hot and dry it is and how long it has been since your plants have had any rain.
I know this probably sounds like too much work for a lot of people but it truly is not, gardening is so good for the soul, gardening is truly good therapy for us and it is fun working in your garden, also you are getting some exercise that most all of us need. If you have never grow your own garden you will be very surprised, you will be happy and you will grow a bigger and better garden next year.
There are so many great benefits when you grow your own garden fresh fruits and vegetables, the taste is 100 times better than store bought, and it is just like getting all of your fruit and vegetables for FREE.
Well that is it for today here on Garden The Easy Way, Marilou and I hope you like us and share our garden blog with your friends. We have lots of gardening tips, pictures and a lot of good fresh out of the garden recipes.
Thank you all until next time, Good Gardening To You All.
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