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Strawberries in blue plastic barrels

Started by Dan_Shade, February 18, 2018, 09:38:27 AM

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aigheadish

@maple flats how much work are your strawberries? I'd love to start something like that in the back field with any kind of berries but the area is not very conducive to watering (easily).
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

maple flats

Strawberries will not compete with weeds, thus they must be kept weed free. That can be loads of work if done by hand.
If you want to plant strawberries, now is the time to begin. Start by spraying round-up to kill what's there. After that dies, rototill the area every time new weeds emerge. Sometime in this period, get soil samples from several areas around the area to be planted, mix it into one sample and submit it to cooperative extension for analysis to know what you need to do. The PH might need to be adjusted, maybe not, mine never needed adjustment. Also, they will tell you what fertilizer and how much/when to apply.
Back in the 80's I grew up to 3.5 acres of strawberries, for faster production from my land while my blueberries became productive enough, then I cut back and eventually quit growing them for u-pick sales, too much work! We only grow them for family use since about 1990.
If you're still in it, plant as early in the spring as possible, soil dry enough, frosts are ok in the planting year. For your best production remove all flowers in the planting year, that makes the plants produce more runners. In the fall, after 2-3 freezes., cover with 4-6" of weed free straw. In the next spring leave the cover of straw on until your danger of frost has passed, then lightly rake the straw into the aisles. Don't remove all at once, do it in 2-3 steps several days apart. Read up on what fertilizing to do as soon as they are uncovered. Enjoy the fruits of your harvest.
Back when we did acres of strawberries, we used a 3 PH planter a Holand 1000. It opened a trench, set a plant every 18" watered it, the water had a soluble fertilizer in it, and then closed the planting. That machine needed a tractor driver, a slow gear to drive, and 2 people on the planter to place the plants in the V holders, which moved around 2 gears, traveling from just above the workers seated position then down to where the V opened to release the plant just a a squirt of fertilized water was sprayed on the roots. Those machines are still available (the last time I checked) and are a good investment. (Mine is not for sale). Now comes the work, weekly they should be cultivated to keep weeds out as much as possible.
Immediately after harvest has finished, mow the berry plants off and rototill, leaving about 6-8" wide row at one edge of the original planting and fertilize, I used 10-10-10, cooperative ext. may have you use something else. I don't recall how much I used, but it was fairly heavy. Then cultivate and/or use a weed pesticide approved in your area for use on strawberries. Then as before add straw in the fall, it's best to add it after 2-3 freezes.
Most plantings can be kept if relatively weed free and rejuvenated as described above for 3-4 years. Then it's time to till the beds up and start new.
You will do best if you plant multiple varieties, maybe 1/3-1 acre of each if going with 3-5 acres total, if just up to 1/2 acre, try 2, a mid-season and a late season variety. We never had much success with early season ones because they flowered too early, and frost got them.
About frost, we used frost control irrigation to help, I had an irrigation system, which needs to spray 60 gal/hr / acre. If you go that route you need to keep the irrigation running until all of the ice that builds up on the plants has melted. If you shut off before then all flowers and soon to open flower buds will freeze.
Don't even try ever bearing varieties, but we have done well with day neutral varieties, they produce fewer at a time, but into fall they continue to produce until the first frost.
Have fun, if done right there is money to be made in strawberries. Back in the 80's my cooperative agent told us that if you did every task on time you made $30 and hour, 5 days late $20/hr and 10 days late $10/hr, those numbers are likely 2-3X higher now. Pre=season strawberries want 1" of rain weekly, either from God or irrigation, in season they need 2" from God or irrigation.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

aigheadish

So the short answer is a lot of work! Thank you, great info here! I'm by no means a farmer but I do have a fair amount of peripherious intrigue in the process and I'll definitely look at your post a few more times (and probably share with my wife too) as I consider things (dumb ol' day job!)

I think I could work the water out, it wouldn't be too huge a deal to dig a water line out to the field. I can't imagine that I'd ever get close to your numbers. My 2 acre field back there looks much too big to farm that whole thing, certainly for the first several years of getting used to things. 

Thanks again, I really appreciate the detailed explanation!
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

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