A little Patch of Yummy in the middle of the city - Urban Strawberries

Everbearing Strawberry

Years ago I lived in a tiny apartment with a seriously neglected postage stamp for a backyard.  It was pretty well shaded by a large elm on the southern exposure and a brick 2 storey building.  Although the conditions were not fantastic, I decided to try to grow strawberries.

After building a garden border with scraps of wood from a junkpile and carrying in several bags of soil through the house (no access to the backyard), I set out on a mission to find the best berry for the poorly lit area.

After a fast Google search, I found the answer "Everbearing  Strawberries"  also known as "day-neutral strawberries".  These plants produce sweet red berries from early summer to autumn and while June-bearing strawberries produce one hearty crop early in the growing season,but  tend to taper off  as the season goes on. 

First year yielded a small crop and I was just happy to see something growing!  The plants began to spread via runners from the original plants so the patch doubled in size within a year.  The patch was getting a little bit out of control by the third year so I donated a dozen plants to Victoria Hall as they were constructing a garden on the premises for their residents.  

I moved in 2004 and had to leave my plants behind which really sadden me, but the circumstances were beyond my control.  In 2005, I began to landscape my new backyard which was the total opposite to the old backyard.  Full sun for 3/4 of the day, no brick-walls or trees blocking the southern exposure.

I purchased more Everbearing Strawberries in the Spring of 2005 from a nursery and planted them on the norther side of the garden.  This spot receives full sun for approximately (9:30 am to 4:00pm) 7 1/2 hours.

The existing soil was rocky and filled with debris from the former house that was demolished decades before, so I bought planting soil (Super Soil)
which as a good mix of soil and peat and made a raised bed with the existing foundation rocks as a border. The rocks work well in retaining the heat from the sun and allow for good drainage. 

Since that initial planting the 12 plants have exploded into a huge patch of strawberries that have begun to infiltrate the neighbouring flower bed.  I will have to re- arrange the plants in the Autumn so that I can regain control of this spreading delicious fruit.

Crop from Last Evening

Here are some helpful hints that I have used over the last couple of years from a very reliable website (http://homeguides.sfgate.com/raise-everbearing-strawberries-37755.html)

Helpful Tips

1

Prepare a sunny spot with soil that drains well. Everbearing strawberries grow best with a soil pH no lower than 5.5 and no higher than 7.0. Contact the local extension office to perform soil testing several months before you plant the strawberries so any necessary amendments have time to work.

2

Cut the bare roots of strawberry plants to 6 inches long before planting in spring after the risk of frost passes. Plant the strawberries so the crown is just above the soil, as burying the crown causes it to rot. Space the plants at least 5 inches apart with 42 inches between rows.

3

Mulch around the berry plants with straw to keep the bed clean and retain moisture.

4

Irrigate the strawberry plants just enough to keep the soil moist without soaking the plants. A total of 1 inch of water weekly between rain and watering is usually sufficient.

5

Feed the plants with compost tea to encourage growth. Fertilize everbearing strawberries every two weeks, since they prefer more frequent smaller feedings. Too much fertilizer, especially early in the growing season, causes too much leaf growth and rotten or soft fruit.

6

Pinch off the runners that develop during the first growing season to produce larger berries. Allowing runners to grow in subsequent years produces more but smaller berries. Continue pinching off the runners or allow them to grow, depending on your preferred size of berries.

7

Pull weeds by hand as they appear to keep the everbearing strawberry plants healthy.

8

Cover the strawberry plants with floating row covers if birds, mice and other pests eat the crop.

9

Dig up old everbearing strawberry plants that become less vigorous or produce poorly. Plants are often replaced after three to five years.

10

Harvest the strawberries as soon as they are ripe. Look for fully red berries that are soft to the touch. Check the berries at least every other day throughout the growing season, since berries ripen constantly. Letting ripe berries rot encourages insect and disease infestations.

11

Bury the strawberry plants in 2 inches of mulch over the winter, especially in climates that drop below 20 F. The mulch prevents heaving of the strawberry root system due to frost. Pull back the mulch each spring when the temperatures rise.

Now it's time to see if there are more strawberries!

Last Night's Snack

Working with Mother Nature - Urban Gardening

Pea Blooms

For the past few years I have dabbled in growing a few vegetables in my back yard.  Nothing major; few bean plants, lettuce, peas.  the usual fare.

Basically it was a little challenge I posed upon myself. Just to see if I remembered my childhood tasks on the family farm outside of Halifax where I spent my weekends and Summers.

At first I could only recall the unrelenting weeding and picking rock out of the garden plots. 2 chores that I found no love for what so ever.  I did remember the little sense of joy when a plant produced a product though and the amazing flavours of the fresh organic crops in mid Summer like baby potatoes, green beans, beets, and lettuce.

So this year, since I have a lot of time on my hands between deciding on a new career and grieving my old public service, I decided to expand my thoughts to actions and to attempt a larger Urban Garden in my back yard (known as the back 40ft) consisting of veggies, berries, and produce (potatoes, corn, beets)

 Other variables that convinced me to try this:

• Cost - seasonal produce is expensive if you are on a fixed income.
• Health - Gardening is a good form of exercise, and is a great form of meditation (in my opinion), Furthermost, the benefits of eating veggies is well known, but often not practiced because of time constraints. 
• Taste- nothing comes even close to fresh organic food, this means without pesticides, herbicides, or is some cases human feces. 
• Self satisfaction - the end results are so gratifying

Each year I have stepped up the challenge; adding more variety to the little backyard in the middle of the city and have somewhat pushed the boundaries of our fickle growing season by starting and growing plants to food production in my home.  Typically planting beans and spinach in containers and placing them in the South Western exposure windows.

Bean Seedling

The results have been positive! Green beans before the last frost, spinach to munch on or add to a salad before the first of May.

So this year I took it a little farther by constructing something I like to dub "the McGyver Greenhouse".  Using a 3'x 6' cold frame, 4 bamboo hoops, a sheet of plastic, and a lot of bricks salvaged from the ruins of the old home that stood on the property I found buried, I made my first attempt to cheating Mother Nature at her cruel Nova Scotian Spring.

Transplanted Indoor Garden to McGyver Greenhouse

I transplanted the plants to the greenhouse in the middle of April, secured the plastic around the frame with the bricks, and for added measure, planted more seeds around the transplants.

To my surprise, everything survived and grew!  Herbs from the previous year thrived, onion sets I had forgotten sprung back to life, and nasturtium seeds began to grow.

With much enthusiasm, I began to plan an expansion of the McGyver Greenhouse. Thankfully I have leftover supplies from the other construction and didn't have to purchase anything for the additions.  As you know, Halifax weather in the Spring can be two ways: Crappy and or Shitty; so trying to construct these greenhouses meant braving cold temperatures and hoping that the heat from the sun would keep the interior of the McGyver's warm enough to grow the seedlings and or transplants.

2 more Greenhouses (far back in photo)

To alleviate my fear, I doubled the plastic on the structures for the first month (March to Mid- April), and removed the extra plastic when the temperatures rose.  Moreover I added chicken wire to the end of the greenhouses to allow the plastic to be rolled up on unseasonably warm days so not to steam the plants and to keep my neighbour's cat from pooping in and on the crops.

McGyver Greenhouses basically become a microclimate and will draw the water out of the soil and "rain" back down on itself making it easy to water (once a week).

While awaiting growth in the McGyver's, I began to work on the landscape of the back 40ft.  Adding more flagstones, re-establishing the stone borders of the existing garden plots, and enjoying the rapid growth of the garlic and mint patch.

Mint and Garlic Patch next to stairs

Although 85% of the back 40ft is dedicated to vegetables, I do enjoy growing flowers.  I have been able to introduce tulips and daffodils into the mix by growing them among the established plants such as the mint and garlic, and the large plot where I have a "transient" plant selection.  Each year I either add new annuals or plant sunflowers, cosmos, lillies, hollyhocks, and whack of other flowers.

This year the plot has become a mishmash of flowers and veggies.  Several tomato plants sprung up in a McGyver (from my own compost) so I have relocated them away from the lettuce and other greens as they do not like each other.  Companion gardening certainly helps with produce yield.

Tomato Plants in pots, Mint and Garlic Thriving

Plant near: asparagus, basil, cabbage family, carrots, gooseberries, mustard, parsley, onions, rosemary, sage, stinging nettles

 Keep away from: fennel, kohlrabi, potatoes, walnuts: 

Tips like this are so helpful and will put your mind at ease to why certain plants are not growing or seem stunted. Moreover the internet can provide you with money saving tips on how to cultivate your crops properly.
A person just the other day asked me about "hilling" potatoes.

Although this video shows a sad looking potato, the method is correct.  I personally like the Potato Bag method.  The ones I purchased a few years ago have a Velcro flap which allows you to harvest without harming the plant.

2 Potato Bags with 3 ft Potatoes in Bloom

This photo taken today demonstrates how well the bags work. I plan on harvesting a few taters for dinner tonight!

These bags were worth the 2 for 20. dollars as the free up the garden beds for other plants and they are quite mobile.  I moved these around a few times over the past months.

Since I live alone and only entertain once in a while,the crop from last year was used up till April of this year when I used the remaining potatoes as seed potatoes for this years' crop.

Growing vegetables organically isn't difficult.  It just means you just have to get back to basics.  Save your table scraps (no meat) and peelings, old veggies and start a compost bin.   Look up natural fertilizers on -line.  I personally like using Epsom Salts.  Plants love magnesium, and this works well.

The Back 40ft. as of this morning.

Enough of this blogging. The sun is coming out and I have spinach to pick.