What did you do in the garden today?

[Sally PB]

Hmmm...now to figure out if I want ever bearing or June bearing (for jam and freezing).

Maybe get Flavor Fest and compare strawberries to strawberries?

 

[Acre4Me]

We're wanting to do raised beds too, and the hope is to add compost over time so that the beds have to be made taller each year.

I mentioned this exact thing to spouse. I got a silent look, then "they are just fine as they are".

 

[BReeder!]

Confession:

I have Strawberry envy.

My neighbor 2 doors down, planted strawberries in 2020 (same as me). So, this year is the first real haul. I have 2 types of strawberries (I'll need to look them up for the name). He has a June bearing "Flavor Fest" I recall him telling me.

My strawberries are very bland compared to his. His are really full of very good flavor. Ours are Ok - still nice to have very fresh strawberries. But, Now I think I'll be planning strawberry bed #2 for next year to start new strawberry plants. Keep what we have in 2022 so we can get fresh strawberries while the new bed is growing and establishing. Hmmm...now to figure out if I want ever bearing or June bearing (for jam and freezing).

I free comment June nesting for jam. You'll have a bunch all at once to be able to make a batch of jam.

 

[BReeder!]

Question: I'm getting blossom end rot on my yellow squash. I see that it probably needs calcium as a foliar spray and then probably a fertilizer without too much nitrogen. I have some calcium tablets. Could I crush them and add to water to spray on the plant?

Also have some squash plants that seem to have only male flowers. What's up with that?

From what I understand, make flowers tend to come first on most squash plants. Then the females open up and there's pollen waiting to be spread to them thanks to the makes opening first.

 

[Elyrian1]

I mentioned this exact thing to spouse. I got a silent look, then "they are just fine as they are".

Bahaha! Eh, 'fraid I can't help you there, lol. Good luck! DH is all about any information I give him about long term garden improvement.

 

[TJAnonymous]

@TJAnonymous I'm so sorry for your broody issues! I candled mine this morning in a hot, not too dark metal shed. I didn't see much detail on day 8, but they all seemed to look about the same. I didn't see any blood rings or smell anything bad, so I let them all stay. I wonder if you have one, if it might be better to put broody number 4 in something like a dog crate you can lock since your girls play musical nesting boxes so much and she might have a staggered hatch and need to stick close to the nest for a few days. Just my 2cents.

I peeked in on her and she is still sitting on her nest. Honestly I thought she would hatch first because she was so diligent about staying on the nest. The other 3 broodies played musical nests and then subsequently abandoned sitting at all once a couple of babies hatched.

It's really my own fault. I should have candled the eggs before removing them. I just made a bad, impulsive decision and I regret it. I assumed they were all dead and starting to stink. There were definitely some that were dead but I shouldn't have assumed all of them were bad. I must have thrown out 3+ dozen eggs... I brought somewhere between 12 - 15 back into the coop. If the other new broody is still sitting tomorrow morning, I might move some of the eggs under her that aren't as far along.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Question: I'm getting blossom end rot on my yellow squash. I see that it probably needs calcium as a foliar spray and then probably a fertilizer without too much nitrogen. I have some calcium tablets. Could I crush them and add to water to spray on the plant?

Also have some squash plants that seem to have only male flowers. What's up with that?

I was getting some blossom end rot and then read somewhere that if a female isn't properly fertilized, it can also lead to this kind of rot. Essentially the fruit tries to develop but then dies.

I don't know if this is really true or not. I treated my plants with bone meal and have been hand pollinating them. So far the rot seems to have stopped...

 

[TJAnonymous]

Confession:

I have Strawberry envy.

My neighbor 2 doors down, planted strawberries in 2020 (same as me). So, this year is the first real haul. I have 2 types of strawberries (I'll need to look them up for the name). He has a June bearing "Flavor Fest" I recall him telling me.

My strawberries are very bland compared to his. His are really full of very good flavor. Ours are Ok - still nice to have very fresh strawberries. But, Now I think I'll be planning strawberry bed #2 for next year to start new strawberry plants. Keep what we have in 2022 so we can get fresh strawberries while the new bed is growing and establishing. Hmmm...now to figure out if I want ever bearing or June bearing (for jam and freezing).

My problem is that I didn't plant enough. Ideally you should have 5-7 plants per person to get a reasonable amount of berries for eating purposes.

I'm trying to propagate runners to make some extra plants from the varieties I liked best which was the Allstar.

Haven't tried the Marshall yet which penny suggested but it's flowering like crazy.

 

[BReeder!]

My problem is that I didn't plant enough. Ideally you should have 5-7 plants per person to get a reasonable amount of berries for eating purposes.

I'm trying to propagate runners to make some extra plants from the varieties I liked best which was the Allstar.

Haven't tried the Marshall yet which penny suggested but it's flowering like crazy.

Where are you buying your starts? Everywhere I see strawberries sold, they are in bareroot bundles of 25. That would certainly meet the 5-7 plants per person for most families.

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

Where are you buying your starts? Everywhere I see strawberries sold, they are in bareroot bundles of 25. That would certainly meet the 5-7 plants per person for most families.

Where are these? Online? Thanks