Strawberries try #2

[maskedsonnet]

I don't know if the thrip problem I suffered before came from my strawberry crowns or from the dirt I had for my potted plants, but I vowed never again to bring outside plants into that room again. So trying stawberries from seed! A red version and a yellow version of Alpine Strawberries:

[campingcorgis]

Yum!  I look forward to watching this project!  Do Alpines produce fruit in the first year?  

[maskedsonnet]

They're supposed to! It's why I chose these instead of a regular garden variety of strawberry. We'll see!

[campingcorgis]

I think that's what I remember too.  I hear they are very, very tasty too!

So, true confessions: How many AG's do you have?!  They gotta keep you pretty busy, at times!  

[maskedsonnet]

I have 7! They would keep me a LOT busier if I didn't have the extra reservoirs, and with my schedule it would be unfeasible to care for them all without them. I have a Farm 24XL, Farm 24 Basic, Sprout, Harvest 360, Harvest, Bounty Basic, and Bounty Elite. They keep me plenty busy on my days off, with the trimming and harvesting and watering, which is nice! Especially in the winter, when I get so bored with nothing to play with in the outdoor garden!

[campingcorgis]

Jan 24, 2022 22:13:04 GMT -5 maskedsonnet said:

I have 7! They would keep me a LOT busier if I didn't have the extra reservoirs, and with my schedule it would be unfeasible to care for them all without them. I have a Farm 24XL, Farm 24 Basic, Sprout, Harvest 360, Harvest, Bounty Basic, and Bounty Elite. They keep me plenty busy on my days off, with the trimming and harvesting and watering, which is nice! Especially in the winter, when I get so bored with nothing to play with in the outdoor garden!

Good deal, but I count the Farm 24's as TWO gardens!  So, with my math, you have 9...and that would keep anybody busy!  

[maskedsonnet]

I've been thinking about getting another Farm 24XL too, but I'm not sure where I would put it!! It'd probably fit on the bottom shelf under the Farm Basic, but I'm don't want to sit on the floor to tend a garden - my knees don't like getting back up once I'm down there! Although with the garden kneeler my parents got me for Christmas it wouldn't be such an issue, it has nice tall handles to grab onto to help you get up

[campingcorgis]

Jan 24, 2022 22:25:55 GMT -5 maskedsonnet said:

I've been thinking about getting another Farm 24XL too, but I'm not sure where I would put it!! It'd probably fit on the bottom shelf under the Farm Basic, but I'm don't want to sit on the floor to tend a garden - my knees don't like getting back up once I'm down there! Although with the garden kneeler my parents got me for Christmas it wouldn't be such an issue, it has nice tall handles to grab onto to help you get up

My Farms that are on the floor, are on a dunnage rack.  It doesn't raise them a lot, just 8 inches, but it helps.  That way, I can sit in my rolling office chair and just move from Farm to Farm.  There are still times that there's no choice but to get down on my knees.  I have a knee pad for that.  

I'm totally with you!  The floor is not fun with the knees.  I have a lot of vinyl records in a low cabinet.  I use a pouf ottoman to sit on for that.  It works well and keeps me from sitting on the floor, so getting up isn't toooooo tough!  

Your garden kneeler sounds like a great option!  

[Shawn]

I have a Dunnage Rack also (8"H) and then have the Farm XL on that and the Basic on the XL.  I do need a step stool.

I can post a pic uf needed

[campingcorgis]

I was able to find a plant stand from Amazon that is very close to spot on for holding the reservoirs next to the stacked AG's (2 Farm24+ models) on top of the dunnage rack (currently out of stock, but better price than restaurant supply as I don't get charged for shipping).  

[maskedsonnet]

My ceiling's not high enough in the room I've got the gardens in to stack another XL on top of my current garden, which is a shame. I could fit another basic on top of it, but not sure I want another garden with such low clearance.

I just measured the height of the shelf I was thinking of, and it's not quite tall enough for an XL but I could definitely fit a couple of Bounties there! Maybe if I ever move out of this house I'll be able to fit some more Farms in my life, but right now that room is completely packed full of all the shelves and tables I can get in there. Unless I find a new home for my papasan chair. Right now the best I could do would be bagging it up to protect the cushion and putting it in the garage for storage, but I like to sit in that room. But I am for sure going to buy a couple Bounties at some point to fill in that empty shelf! I keep holding onto the hope that the red Elite will be back in stock sometime, I want some of those so much

[campingcorgis]

I'm with you on that red Bounty Elite!!  

[maskedsonnet]

Have some faint signs of life in some of the strawberry pods

I seeded them all pretty heavily, both because of how small the seeds are and because I'm still not totally sold on strawberry seeds having a high germination rate. We shall see!

[Shawn]

I see them

[plantlove]

Jan 29, 2022 20:45:31 GMT -5 maskedsonnet said:

Have some faint signs of life in some of the strawberry pods

I seeded them all pretty heavily, both because of how small the seeds are and because I'm still not totally sold on strawberry seeds having a high germination rate. We shall see!

Yay! looking good.  Are you feeding it nutrients yet? My alpines just sprouted today and I will put multiple to a pod until i see leaves.  I heard strawberries are fussy about too much nutrients.I don't wanna kill my seedlings. It took nearly 2 weeks to get 4 seeds (out of about 14)  germinated with the paper towel method.

[maskedsonnet]

Yes, I fed them 15mL of the AG nutrients on each side when I put the pods in the hopes it would speed along germination. They can be sensitive to nutrient burn, so when it’s time for a second feeding I’ll probably cut it back to 10mL

[plantlove]

Jan 30, 2022 12:51:15 GMT -5 maskedsonnet said:

Yes, I fed them 15mL of the AG nutrients on each side when I put the pods in the hopes it would speed along germination. They can be sensitive to nutrient burn, so when it’s time for a second feeding I’ll probably cut it back to 10mL

thanks! i hope you see some more progress soon with them.

[lynnee]

maskedsonnet , this "Growing Strawberries From Seed to Strawberry" video is interesting. You have to admire him for keeping the plants going after they developed root rot!

www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj424DJoN_1AhWbD0QIHfUnCwgQwqsBegQIBBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7SoYyifZqlA&usg=AOvVaw25g_jCIZP6hZ-zx3FDxt7u

He has a few more strawberries videos, but I haven't watched them. I'd rather watch the experiments here.

[maskedsonnet]

Pretty much all my pods looks like this:

Which is exciting! Waiting until the plants get much, much bigger to thin anything down.

lynnee , thank you for the video!! I think the most amazing part was how big and LUSH his plants were at 5 weeks! And the flower at 7 weeks! Makes me super pumped to see how these plants develop! Hopefully I can avoid his root problems though, I'm not sure I'd have his patience with that

[Shawn]

I am glad to see them growing.  Can you take a qtip and gently remove the green or will you leave it?