Check out these strawberries. Aren’t they gorgeous? With lovely pink blooms already on May 28 they are pleading to be planted.
I was waiting for these babies to put in my hanging pots. Last year just two pots provided us with a handful of ‘pick and eat’ tasty berries every week for much of the summer.
So when Mark and Jill Humphries supplied me with these big healthy blooming plants, I could almost taste the strawberries they will produce.
If slaving over a hot garden doesn’t appeal, you can still enjoy your own fresh berries by using large hanging pots (or maybe a raised bed). Three plants fit into a large (35 cm deep) pot, lined with coconut coir or peat moss to hold onto the moisture.
They will need to be pollinated by bees, so surrounding with blooming flowers will attract more bees to the area.
In good soil, keep them watered every few days, and there you go. The best berries you will ever eat, grown chemical-free off your own patio.
To save the plants over winter, after the first frost bury the entire pot into your garden (leave plants visible) and mulch over with straw. They will need fresh soil and fertilizer in the spring.
Humphries’ Westwood Ranch is a local greenhouse business situated between Kola and Elkhorn. The Ranch has petting zoo animals to visit, lots to see.
Within Virden, Westwood Ranch Garden Centre sells plants through Valleyview Co-op’s agro centre.
