Potting new strawberries from runners

The photo above is some Tristans that I potted off runners from my original pot of Tristan strawberries. I actually had 2 runners, but gave my brother one when I realized the pot of French strawberries I was going to give him had several runners coming off of it. Since he's planning to plant a lot more strawberries for his granddaughter, I told him I'd write up a tutorial on how to handle the runners.


So first things first- a plant that is sending out a lot of runners is putting energy into that, and won't set as many flowers or berries. So if you want a plant bearing a lot of fruit, you want to cut off the runners as soon as you see them. But strawberries need to be replaced every few years, so the best method to keep them going is to have mother plants to make babies, and have some of those babies be next year's mother plants. Nature does this all on it's own with wild strawberries, but since it's your garden, container or otherwise, you probably want a little more control over the process. Also in cases like my precious Tristans- they do better in pots, and with pots I can overwinter them under my porch so they don't get as cold.

So, this is the plant that had a bunch of runners-

The runners are the long bare stem like things coming out of the pot. A couple inches from the end of each of these is a node, like a little elbow in the stem, that will have a couple leaves on it.

That's what you want to plant. Sometimes they will have roots starting when you catch them, sometimes they won't. This pot is full of organic soil, compost, and a bit of perlite to keep the soil mix light and easier to lift and to help drainage. I use perlite or vermiculite in all my pots to make them lighter, and as I switch out pots, dump that soil mix into my raised beds to make up for erosion and also to help keep the soil in my beds from getting too compacted.

This is a node with some roots starting.

Now what you want to do is anchor that node in the pot. In my beds, I've used small pebbles to do in the past, but for pots, I usually go with a hair pin. Easy, cheap and I always have a lot of them on hand. So if the node has roots, I'll dig a small hole and put it in then sweep some of the soil over them. Otherwise, I just pin the node in place.

This is what it looks like when it's done-

In a week, I'll check to see how they are doing. The one that had roots already should be ready to cut the runner at that point. The rest may or may not be. If it looks like there is a fair amount of growth- and they do grow fairly fast once they are rooted, I'll cut all the runners. 

In the spring, feed the pots, or pot up to a bigger pot if you think the soil is exhausted and watch your strawberries grow! 

Book Review- Modern Homestead

Renee Wilkinson is the author of the blog Hip Chick Digs and of a book on homesteading in urban areas called Modern Homestead : Grow, Raise, Create

There are a lot of books out there about getting started in homesteading in urban environments now, and the truth is, I don't think you can have too many because a lot of them offer different approaches and information.
This book is great for beginners. It's easy to get overwhelmed when you're first getting interested in trying to grow more produce for your dinner table or when you're considering taking the next step in homesteading.Renee writes in an easy and clear way. It's so easy to read that I spent a day in the sun with a choice between this book and a trashy novel I was reading and wound up happily reading this.

Grow:
It's in bits and bites, and she recommends that you start with what you think you can realistically handle, then lays out methods to handle it. Where to go to get information, how to set up a garden club to exchange ideas and seeds, and how to start planning and planting. She offers practical suggestions for planting in very limited spaces and how to find the best areas for sunny plants in those spaces.

Raise:
Then she gets into livestock. Are you able to have chickens? She gives plans for a minicoop that will fit on some balconies. It's sized for bantam sized chickens and includes a worm bin for compost. She gives lots of practical advice about how to raise chickens and care for them. Then gets into other things like ducks, goats and beekeeping,what kind of space, time and supplies you'll need to raise those.

Create:
The final section of the book is recipes, for cooking seasonally out of your garden or farmer's markets, jams and other food preservation methods, non-toxic cleaning supplies and beauty items.

One of the things I love about this book is how down to earth it is. It's fun to read, with great photos and lots and lots of information. She gives ideas for having a party with friends to make jams or bath salts. I really recommend this one, and it's one that I'm going to have my husband read as well.

You can get this book directly from the publisher, Fulcrum Publishing You can get more information about my review policy here.

Book Review - Tips for Container Gardening

The editors of Fine Gardening Magazine have put together a book of tips for container gardening.
The tips are both from the magazine editors and from readers, but it's not just tips. There are some lovely ideas for creating displays.
It's a lovely book. If you're like me and have a yard that's just not suitable for serious gardening for size reasons or because of the type of ground and area you're in, then you've probably planted some containers. Limited space has made container gardening very popular.
I suffer a complete lack of inspiration for making gorgeous displays of plants. So the many photos in this book are an inspiration for me. Even better, there are a lot of lovely displays that are used for vegetable, fruit and herb type plants. A lot of the planter ideas are budget minded and use re-purposed containers.
There are a lot of great tips as well, people who know a lot about gardening will appreciate this book more for the display ideas than for the tips. People like me who are still really learning how to garden will find ideas to incorporate into their garden plans to help improve the yield and appearance of your plants.
Wonderful reading while you're waiting to plant for spring or for all you lucky people who are already planting, ideas for adding new containers to your existing garden.
You can get this book, or subscribe to Fine Gardening Magazine, or just browse for lots of garden information at The Taunton Press website.

You can get more information about my review policy here.