I dug some small plants from this old bed, as well as a few from the flower beds.
The new bed is planted with 30 young strawberry plants. I sprinkled a couple of trowels of compost around each plant, then watered them in with fish emulsion. The over wintered oregano, in the container, also got a drink of the fish fertilizer.
Then I tackled the junk corner. Remember this, from the other day?
My junk corner, with its bird protected lettuce bed.
The lettuce was moved to "The Thing" yesterday, so I dismantled the old bed and cleaned up the corner. A lot of soil was bucketed to the new future squash container, and the rest was raked to try to get the area semi-level. I had quite a bit of old straw left from last year, so I made a new narrow bed along the fence for planting....???? Maybe it can handle the tomato plants that I know I'll have left over. For now, the garlic will have to stay right where it is. It's just beginning to recover from transplanting shock, after being moved from the east garden, so I'm not moving it again. Even with it sitting smack dab in the middle if the area behind the shed, the removal of the lettuce bed does give me room to get the garden cart out the back door and into the garden. I just have to carefully maneuver around the garlic.
Oh, you were busy!! And to think, I came home and crashed. You inspire me to go back outside and get something done. No more sitting for this girl!
ReplyDelete~~Lori
Lori, I'm ready to crash now. I'm feeling those muscles I didn't know existed :-(
DeleteYou've been busy again :) those strawberries look very nice. I'll be transplanting mine this weekend as well and i got whole bunch of Cabot and Tristar to add. If you like I can send you bunch of Alpine to try - i have many that need to be planted somewhere :)
ReplyDeleteThat would be great, Jenny. Maybe I could replace the ones I put in the kennel, and get the alpines to naturalize in there.
DeleteI started strawberries this year and just hope they do good. And I have a junk corner that really needs some help if you feel up to it! You are amazing.
ReplyDeleteChristy, I'd love to help, but *I.Can't.Move.Tonight* LOL, I'm stiffer than a board and ready for the Tylenol cocktail and hot bath.
DeleteYou have been very busy in your garden! Everything looks great! Your strawberries look awesome! Happy Gardening! Mindy
ReplyDeleteThank you Mindy. Happy gardening to you too, and thanks for following my blog!
DeleteWe were so vigilant about cutting runners last year that I don't have any small plants yet. This is the year that runners are going to get transplanted, so that I'll then have a two-year bed without runners and a new first year bed. Think that will work? I can't keep your gardening straight -- you do so much, so often. I'm going to be lucky if I can plant some summer squash and more lettuce seeds tomorrow inside. Maybe some other stuff; we'll see. You're still my inspiration!
ReplyDeleteStefaneener, I did the same thing! I had to really scrounge to find enough young plants for that bed. In fact, there are a few second year plants, but most are from runners so I think it should be OK. Usually I'm just the opposite, and the bed gets too full and matted. Yes, I think your two beds should work. I find the plants are really good for about two years, then go downhill from there. My bed was in its third year, so really needed to be redone.
DeleteI had no idea until this last year that strawberries are so hardy. I bought 6 plants at the local Farmer's Market last year, planted them in an enclosed bed, and now they're about to take over the yard. They send runners right over the marble boundaries. And, they were green all winter. Is that typical, or do I just have an extraordinary variety?
ReplyDeleteDianefaith, now that you have strawberries, you should never have to buy them again! You can root those runners and just keep them going forever and ever :-) Yes, that is typical for strawberries....at least it is for mine.
DeleteThe new strawberry bed looks good! I have a reasonably young bed and a new bed - so if I can keep the slugs out of them enough, and if the weather is not completely foul this year, I should get a decent amount of strawberries. Wish me luck on both scores - I will need it.
ReplyDelete:D
Kitsap, good luck to both of us! I always wonder if I'm doing the right thing when I completely rip out an old bed. I shouldn't have been so diligent about cutting off runners last year.
DeleteWhen I first started reading I was wondering why you didn't just renew your strawberries with the runners. And then you did. I tend to renew part of the bed every year. For the summer bearers, as soon as they are done I take out half the bed and add compost. Then let the other half spread runners into the area. The next year it will be the other half. For 4' wide beds the half s are the two outside strips one year then the middle strip the next so the runners reach better. In this garden the strawberries are in a narrow strip in front of my figs so I think just a row will be pulled out each year.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, that's basically what I've done in the past only I planted in rows, then let them fill in between and would dig out the old rows. You can see, in the old bed, there were only two rows of old plants, I had already removed the runners from in between (I had moved ten runners to the kennel garden, so I had 40 all together). When I said renew the bed, I meant actually move the berries to another completely freshly dug and amended bed, and I was thinking I might try a new variety. The old bed will hold veggies this year. Sigh....another bed to double dig and haul compost to by the bucket. I'm getting tired!
DeleteWhy not just loo=-sen the soil a bit with a fork and then dump the compost on top? The worms will being down through the soil and there are lots of gardeners who suggest we disrupt the soil as little as possible as there are all sorts of micro-organisms in there we destroy when double digging. Just a thought as it is a nice excuse to not move too much dirt about.
DeleteKelly, that's what I usually do, just scratch the compost into the top. This bed was full of roots and seemed quite compacted, so I decided to get it cleaned out and in shape for carrot planting. It's done now, and a couple of big buckets of roots removed. Not that they'll stay away, with the raspberry bed right next to it and the neighbor's walnut tree nearby.
DeleteLooks good Granny. It looks like you should have enough room to get through with the bed moved. The garlic will be out of your way come mid-summer.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to have to buy some additional strawberry plants this year. I lost quite a few at the plots from the horribly hot and dry weather we had last year. Speaking of the plots, I have to call Dora and see if they got the soil tilled yesterday or if they are doing it today. I sure hope it was successful!
Robin, I wanted to try a June bearing variety, but balked at the price when I already had good everbearing runners. It looks like I'll be getting June bearers too. Jenny is sending me some starts of Cabot, along with Alpines!
DeleteCabot berries are delicious- I hope you like them as much as we do AG. So nice of Jenny to share. :)
DeleteKelly, yes it was very sweet of Jenny. I hope the plants survived the way the Post Office handled them. They managed to tear open both ends of a sturdy Priority Mail box, and most of the soil had fallen out of the inside packages, allowing the roots to dry. I soaked them and got them planted right away, so fingers are crossed.
DeleteYou really get loads done with those nice days! Everything looks great! It's nice to save some money with strawberry runners. Hopefully they take off for you!
ReplyDeleteMegan, strawberries are like weeds. I don't think you can kill them! (Knock on wood). These should be happy in their new bed. The old bed was getting quite compacted and the soil level was really dropping in it.
Deleteoh my you have been busy! everything looks great
ReplyDeleteMrs. P., I can almost see the end of the garden preparation! And none too soon, the old body is feeling it. Rain today, so I get to rest ;-)
DeleteStrawberry bed looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarada. I'm looking forward to putting a lot of berries in the freezer this summer!
DeleteHi Annie, Your strawberry bed looks so nice! I have read if you paint some stones red it helps keep out the birds. What do you use? I also use the Fish Emulsion. Tried using the Dr. Earth stuff around a tree but my dog digs it up to eat so wherever she can get to I have to use the liquid stuff. I remember you going to AZ. We use to also but sold our little park model there this year. I have recently started a blog to record my gardening adventures. Come take a look if you like. Nancy http://cozythymecottage.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteNancy, the red sounds reasonable, as the birds don't seem to bother my red leaf lettuces, but they devour the green. We sold our AZ place last November. I don't miss that trip down and back a bit!
DeleteI hope you had a problem-free weekend.
ReplyDeleteJimmycrackedcorn, I had a cold, windy weekend that kept me inside!
DeleteThat new strawberry is awesome AG, and the best part is you up-cycled from your own garden......gotta love plants that keep the garden well-stocked!
ReplyDeleteKelly, I do like the variety for the fact that it just bears and bears smaller amounts for the entire summer. I was just kind of thinking maybe June bearers would be better for jam and freezing, so I could get them done and over with. Six of one, a half dozen of the others I guess ;-)
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