Transplanting strawberries

When I was about twelve, Mum and Dad bought a small berry farm in our home town and I recall many asummer's day picking strawberries, loganberries, boysenberries and raspberries! Picking strawberries is especially backbreaking. But, I absolutely love strawberries, they are one of my favourite fruits. Did you know they are part of the Rose family (Rosaceae)?

We have some in hanging baskets, one of which has continued to fruit over the winter months, which is amazing! Strawberries tend to put out runners each year and the main plants can last up to three years before you need to replace them, although the fruit gets smaller with each year. I transplant them each year and have enough now to do just that this time around, which is great!

It's really easy to transplant strawberries. Usually you would do this towards the end of winter (particularly in Perth's climate) as the plants are usually dormant in the cold weather.

Pull apart plants and remove old leaves and dirt from roots.

First, dig out the clump of strawberries plants and gently pull each plant away from the others and remove the dirt from the roots by swishing in a bucket of water. You can add a very small amount of seaweed solution to the water (but no more than a capful). If the roots are especially long, trim them with a sharp knife or secaters.

Next, pull away the outer leaves (those that come away easily is usually enough) so that you have about four left on the plant.

Now you are ready to plant! Strawberries are susceptible to mould and mildew so it's a good idea to plant them in a sunny, well drained position. You can create a mound of soil on which to plant your strawberries to increase the airflow and drainage around the plants. Some gardeners use black plastic to stop weeds from crowding the plants - we did as our berry farm was a commercial operation, which also housed trickle irrigation to minimise mould and mildew. For the home gardener, mulch does just as good a job (and doesn't fry your soil either).

Make sure your soil is beefed up with good compost and blood and bone, and add some rock dust too if you can get some. Strawberries like a slightly acidic soil.

Space plants for good airflow and apply a good layer of mulch.

Finally, to plant, simply make a hole with your trowel handle large enough to ensure the roots have plenty of wriggle room and drop in your plants. Cover to the small crown and firm down the soil. Water in well and apply a good layer of mulch (this helps to keep your fruit clean too).

You should check your plants daily for the first couple of weeks just in case some don't take. Replace these with other plants. Keep them watered regularly.

Water in well with a weak seaweed solution.

If you want a decent strawberry crop, you probably need at least ten plants minimum. We have three hanging baskets plus a planter box. Baskets and planters are also a good way to minimise snails and slugs if they are a problem in your garden - they LOVE strawberries!

If you are into companion planting, lupins, beans and borage are good helpers for strawberries as they feed the soil and attract pedatory and pollinating insects such as bees and wasps.

Happy gardening!

Ah-choo! Spring is here

Ah-chooooo! Okay, it is most definitely spring! The bees are out in full force, flowers are everywhere, there's that familiar haze across the urban landscape that is no doubt full of pollens and other stuff small enough to tickle noses - at least my nose is telling me that!

Star flowers at Lake Monger by margoc

Our garden has been ticking away in the background over recent weeks, so not much to report, except that a jolly good mow was required last week, as Alfie, being almost one and a half, nearly disappeared in the tall grassy weeds!!

The spuds are rocketing along and the rocket has been severly cut back to allow the spuds to do so :o)
They have needed a bit more water of late - we haven't been all that consistent in their watering, but they seem to have produced in spite of the neglect!

Our artichoke has three lovely big flowerheads which can almost be cut - can't wait to make a nice, fresh stew with them!

Artichoke by margoc

The snowpeas have finally finished and we pulled them out yesterday - this year we will plant some capsicums in their place and see how they go. I'm keen to make a capsicum puree for the kids, to replace lots of the tinned toms we go through (in the bucketload!) - it will be a nice change in flavour and sweetness I think.

We have had to water again after recent rains and it always amazes me how quickly the ground becomes quite dry and the sand once again seems to take over (as much as the weeds and grasses).

By the feel of the sun, Summer is just around the corner - it won't be too long before we are complaining about the heat!

Happy gardening!

Autumn goodness continues

We've had close to 60mm of rain over the weekend which makes it a perfect time to plant and sow in the garden!

We picked up two olive trees at the local garden shop: a kalamata and a manzanillo.



Kalamata


Manzanillo

We had two half wine barrels from a friend down south which are a perfect size for these.

Alfie and I also planted out our Desirée potatoes on the weekend, plus some mixed lettuce and rocket.



Simon and Clancy planted some purple garlic on ANZAC day which sprung up only about 5 days later with the rain and the relative warmth!


Water (via rain) is an amazing elixir. You can just see how alive everything becomes after a decent rain! It's renewing and rejuvenating :-)

The birds obviously love it too - the Willy Wagtails are such great gardeners too!



What a special time in the year! Happy gardening!

TLC for our tomatoes

We look like having a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, starting with our Beefsteak variety. Also growing are Romas and Gross Lisse varities plus numerous compost-derived specimens - all doing fabulously!

However, we've had a lot of blossom end rot plus fruit worm through them - the Romas have taken the biggest hit by the looks. Given their hybrid background the compost tomatoes are the least affected. We've done a big clean out and given the toms a dose of calcium nitrate in liquid form, hoping to remedy the remainder of the crop, which is looking decidedly healthier after two weeks of TLC! :o) Next year we will need to dose the soil more with gardening lime I think - not enough in ourno-dig bed it seems. Might also be worth tracking down some powdered or pulverised rock minerals to provide more trace elements.

Beefsteak tomatoes with fruitworm.

In the other bed, our second planting of dwarf beans and the purple king beans are coming to an end - the warmer drier weather has meant a smaller crop, but my affection for them has not diminished in the slightest!

Purple King Beans in flower.

The cucumbers are flowering with little cucumbers on the way as well. Our corn is growing taller everyday too - we love corn, but again will need to keep an eye out for fruitworm as I've heard they love corn.

Burpless cucumber in flower.

The Perth weather is surely getting hotter and the days longer, so we are being more rigorous with watering and regularity is the key. A regular dose of liquid seaweed (or fish) emulsion seems to push the vegies along nicely too. A dose every fortnight seems to be having a positive effect.

So, bring on Summer and happy gardening!

The water's rising mamma!

Yeah baby yeah! Garden is loving this rain! Our timing on connecting up our water barrels was good too - that's 400 litres we didn't have before!





Thank you forces of nature and happy gardening!

At Home with Josh Byrne

At Home with Josh Byrne a photo by margoc on Flickr.

We visited Josh Byrne's home garden last weekend. It's amazing what you can do in a small space! The front garden is a water wise native garden and looks so lush. The retaining recycled limestone wall really gives the garden form and structure and no doubt acts as a bit of a water diversion to other parts of the garden. Clancy loved the sleepers, stepping along to different areas, one part with a sort of wishing well again made from the same material as the retaining wall - there was a sense of adventure about it all.

The rear yard is amazing: an edible garden and sensory feast using raised beds, pots, bins, a vertical herb garden, plus a sandpit and cubbyhouse for the kids, surrounded by aromatic herbs.

I'll say Josh certainly has an eye for design, using the space well to create areas of activity and relaxation - I especially loved the pergola overgrown with a passionfruit vine and the inviting lounge suite beneath!

Mostly, I wanted to see firsthand his greywater set up - very high tech (well it looked that way) - water is probably the biggest issue Perth gardeners face.

Well, happy sustainable gardening... it's going to be another long, hot Summer!