Strawberry recommendations.....

Does anyone have any favorites? Any favorite suppliers to South Florida? I have 4 of BocaBobs stacking planters coming and I want Stawberries in them this winter.......!!!!!!!

Unlike most of the country, the farmers plant strawberries in late October/early November down here. After lots of research trying to find a supplier of small quantities ( not thousands of plants) here is the only company I found. I used them last year with fabulous results. I was picking fresh berries for 5 months. Mine for this season have been ordered and am expecting them in 2 weeks. I ordered Sweet Charlie and Chandler.


https://www.willisorchards.com/product/Sweet+Charlie+Strawberry+Plant

Oooo, Thank you so much!!!!

I just transplanted 6 romaine lettuce seedings that I started indoors to the type planter you are getting tomorrow

Bob: We plant our strawberries up here during that time also; but, I think we use a different kind than you folks down there in south FL, I buy mine from the strawberry orchard and am waiting to buy mine this month, I got two strawberry topsy turvys in the mail and if that spinach and broccoli and cauliflower doesn't start doing better in the EBs, I will be transplanting those with strawberries too.

My dwarf pomegrante came in and I planted it in an 18 gallon HEB tote. I used coconut coir and perlite at about a 70/30 ratio. Do you know that FL Univ extension is working with coconut coir? I called them about what to use on my pomegrante and when I mentioned coconut coir they put me on speaker phone as the specialist uses coconut coir. They use a different ratio though here than down there also; and think that may have been where my problem was.
joy

I am SO excited!!! I ordered my strawberry plants tonight. Thanks for the recommendation BocaBob.

Also received a special delivery of my first Instagarden Kit, so I spent a pleasant evening planting tomato and basil seeds in the seed starting tray. Thanks So much BocaBob!!!!!

Tomorrow I will put together my stackers and get those ready for planting when the strawberry plants arrive.

Joy, I ordered a pomegranate tree too, just to make the minumum order. I ordered the 'Sweet' variety.

Kathy: I ordered mine a long, long time ago from Henry Fields' they had a special where I got both the dwarf pomegrante and the dwarf banana for I think it was $24.95. That included shipping and handling, so, I jumped at it. LOL I will get the banana in 2010 and from what I've heard will have my hands full with that one, the pomegrante is supposed to grow nicely here, unlike the artichoke I tried last time. Live and learn right.
joy

KathySEFL, Bob's stackers are a great choice for growing strawberries. You will absolutely love growing plants in stackers.

I purchased my plants from an old time local family owned nursery. I went with a dozen each of Chandler, Sequoia, Seascape. These are varieties that do well in my area as advised by the nursery. Hopefully by this time next season I'll know which ones I like the best and the variety that grows best for my growing style and methods.

The mature plants were growing in 4" pots. And I paid way more for them than if they had been bare root stock. Not necessarily a wise economic decision, but it's a done deal.

Once the plants were planted in my stacks, the empty 4" pots were attached to the pre-drilled holes in the stackers and filled with 80/20 Coir/Perlite. I just burned a 1/8" hole near the rim of the pot with a tiny hobby electric soldering iron and then attached it to the stack with a zip-tie.

When the plants stopped bearing fruit they sent out runners. The runners were anchored in place in the center of the 4" pots to root for later transplanting to another six stack unit I have up and ready to go.

There is one small caveat to this madness. Because of the angle the pot hangs, in order to water I have to hold the pot level. I can live with this.

Jerry

A close up of the attached 4" pot with a rooted baby plant.

Jerry: As always you have quite the creative mind and it looks so good too. I am going to be growing strawberries too, only I buy mine locally, so they are really reasonable, I don't keep them after the bearing season though, I treat them like perennials. I bought two strawberry topsy turvys and am going to give those a shot this season and a few EBs, maybe more if these spinach don't start looking better. I am using Jungle Grow potting mix for professional growers for hanging baskets I think. I took a sample of it, and a sample of the coconut coir mixed with dolomite lime (left over from this past Spring and Fall) to have it tested for PH to see what to add to both, the later being what I'm going to be growing my maters in this Spring/Summer. The extension group from this part of FL has been using coconut coir, or one specialist has been and was quite interested when he heard that I was using it too. We compared notes and it will be fun this Spring/Summer.
joy
joy

Joy..or anyone else who has used them, I was wondering if you have already used the strawberry topsy turvy. I want to grow berries so bad, but with the squirrels and birds, the patio is my only hope. The T.T.'s would be perfect, if the did the job.

Garden Glory: I will know hopefully before Spring. Strawberry planting season is now; but the strawberry farm 2 cities away is not picking up their phone. I took my potting mix sample into the UFL extension and they will let me know what my PH is and what I need to do to have good strawberries, I'm using Jungle Grow for Professionals for hanging baskets for the strawberry topsy turvys. I'm probably gonna drive down to the farm to see what's up and hopefully come back with some strawberry plants. Come Spring they will popping out if everything goes well. You can plant 15 plants per topsy and I'm going to use the bloommaster which should hold about 20 more and I will use an EB or two also. Should have some strawberries I hope.
joy

Jerry,

What a cool idea! You at least doubled your investment in strawberries! Everything I have read says strawberries are treated as annuals in my zone. Must be the heat and humidity of our summer kills them. I dunno.

Joy, I will be interested to hear how your topsy turvys do, too. Since this is my first year growing edibles, I don't know what will try to snack on the garden. What zone are you in? Henry Fields----I have to look them up.

BocaBob, That doesnt look like fresh coconut coir in your stackers to my untrained eye. Does it change color as it ages?

I just went to order my berries from the above web site. It says you have to order 50$ worth of stuff. Thats 75 plants...way to many for me. If someone else is ordering...I would be glad to throw in, and pay postage, or I will order and send to you for free.

Im going with the topsy turvys as well, i can only grow berries on the patio, if I want to get any from the squirrels, I have two old faded boxes of them, never opened. Im going to try it..stackers are not in my near term reach.

We need to make plans for next year!!!!! That is why I ordered the pomegranate tree. I didn't want 100 strawberries, though I may change my mind by next year.

So the ordering is done.....The coir and stackers are here......Do I need to plan on fertilizing everytime I water, or should I add something to the coir so I can just add water when I .....umm....water..?

What do you all put in your containers to grow the stawberries?

Any continuous pest control measures that you take?

Kathy: I'm going to be using spinosad and permethrin for pest control this year, as they knock out a lot of pests. I'm waiting til Monday when the UF extension tells me what I should use with the strawberries as far as fertilizer and plant food. I still don't have strawberries, Garden Glory, you got D mail and yes, I could use about 50-75 strawberry plants, what did ya'll have in mind? I can grow one of three types here: Camarosa, Sweet Charlie, Festival, they all are good producers and I would like some Sweet Charlies????
joy

We are all set....
I did want to ask B.Bob about the Chandler variety. On the map it shows it growing nowhere near s. fl, ..is it worth a try up here. If it works for you, we should be well covered.
I ordered yesterday already the sweet charlie for Joy and myself...have a little bee in my bonnet that says i might want to try the Chandler as well.

OK, thanks to Joy and Bob I am up and running on the strawberries. Joy was kind of enough to surprise me with 25 plants...and Joy and I split an order from the place Bob recommended. Willis Orchard. They came today and Joys are ready to ride and mine are in the topsy turvies with their buddies. The ones Joy sent are doing beautifully, Their traveling leaves are gone and bright green leaves have emerged from each and every one. I might of not given these turvy;s a fair shot...altho I still cant see the tomato.

Thanks joy, and off to get some pictures. Kinda boring at this point...but whats a before and after, without the before.

Ooooooo, wonder if that means mine will be here this week-end. Not here today--yet, which is ok, because I have to work tonight.

i got an email notification when it went out, along with a fed ex tracking number, they got here to me overnight. I think fed ex does all of fl overnight from there, so once you get the notification, the plants are right behind.

I received 50 Sweet Charley and 50 Chandler plants yesterday afternoon. Planted all 100 this morning. Can't wait for that 1st berry

Boy I hope Joy gets hers today so she can at least lay the roots in some coir while she is gone

Im not sure the neighbors appreciate the bright red and green turbies, but the berries seem very happy

What is a Turbie?

My stackers are white and I quite like the way they look.

Just came in from putting coconut coir and perlite in my stacker and stacking it up. I have space in the stacker for 25 strawberries, I have to figure out where to plant 25 more when they get here.

Should I be packing in the coir?
How does one measure their perlite?

. I have put about 5 pots of perlite into one 5 kg bag of coir. I think the pot holds just under a gallon, but I haven't figured out how to tell. :o)>

lol...that should have been turvie...as in topsy

Garden Glory: Got the strawberries today in the mail, they are being planted tomorrow, some in a topsy turvy, and the rest in the bloommaster. One of the ladies in the Bible study class at church will be taking care of them, she has a place to hang them at her house while I'm away.
joy

My strawberries are scheduled to be here tomorrow. Here is a link to care from University of Florida http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS403

I really like their recommendations for pest control. Most are organic.

Thanks.,..off to check that site . Im hoping since mine are hanging...it will help with the pest thing. For coming bare root, they sure can get a little green leaf goiing fast.

Garden Glory: Remember we got birds to contend with, they pretty much left my berries alone when they were in the EBs and GPs last Spring/Summer, but, they loved to bomb down and attack my cherry tomatoes in the hanging topsy turvy's last Spring/Summer, so I know they will attack the straw berries, I'm gonna make hanging bags out of bird netting to fit over them this Spring. LOL
joy

Kathy, any strawberries update? I'm kicking myself for not planting them.

My strawberries are just kinda sitting there right now, its going to be down to 36 tonight so Im sure they are not happy. They are all alive and have grown since planting. Im hoping they perk back up and start growing some if the weather warms a bit

Garden Glory: Patience dear one, they will sleep a while and then perk up for this Spring and Summer, hopefully. Mine are just sitting there too, I see some new growth; but, basically just sitting there. We are expecting snow here tomorrow and tonite (groan).
joy