Last month when I was at the Garden2Blog at P. Allen’s Smith’s place in Little Rock, AR, one of the event sponsors was Corona Tools, and they invited bloggers at the event to participate in their new project. The “Strawberry Fields for Everyone” project was created as a contest to show gardeners that however small their garden plot is, anyone can grow food! To help us demonstrate this, Corona has teamed up with Stark Bro.’s to send participants 3 free Tribute strawberry plants and a new Corona trowel.
Now, I was really excited about this and couldn’t wait to get my goodies in the mail. I’m not that experienced as a food-grower, and in particular, I’ve never grown strawberries! So I thought I better do Corona, Stark Bro.’s and my readership proud by boning up on strawberry planting in Austin. Much to my dismay, I found out that strawberries should be planted in the fall in this area, not in May! But, I’m a stubborn girl, so I’m plowing ahead! A contest does not wait til fall. So here we go–here’s the planter I’m turning in to my own little strawberry patch:
I know, pretty gross, right? I thought I’d make the pic extra-grande big so you could better appreciate the nastiness I started with. It wasn’t always this bad, in fact, 6 weeks ago it was really nice! I had lemon thyme, basil and chives in this little rail planting. I had visions of the thyme billowing over the edges of the planter and making pesto from all the basil I would harvest. But alas, it was not to be–I had three trips out of town in one month, so my 3rd story balcony plants took a beating!
So I cleaned out the planter, got my strawberry plants, new trowel and some organic Jobe’s fertilizer* and went to work. Since this is a contest, there are rules:
- Creativity: planting method that maximizes space
- Production: planting method that yields the greatest number of berries
- Comments: the greatest number of comments and questions generated on your blog
- Bonus points: additional points for any rhizomes your plants may produce
So I know I’m already starting out with a couple of strikes against me: my strawberries aren’t likely to produce any berries since I’m planting at the wrong time for our area, and I would be surprised if they produced any rhizomes. The reading I’ve done says I’ll be lucky to get my wee seedlings through our brutal summers at all, so what am I going to do? I’m going for the creativity and bonus points!
I planted all three Tribute strawberries in my planter, which gets full morning sun and bright afternoon shade. With how strong our Texas sun is, most plants that typically demand full sun will appreciate a bit of afternoon relief. Let’s hope our strawberries agree.
Then I polished it off with some wine corks to act as mulch–these hayrack planters dry out so easily, and 3rd floor balconies are so windy that they dry out even quicker. But, it still seemed a bit, well, brown, until my little plants take off, so I added an adorable ceramic mushroom for a bit of bling. So I’m hoping I’ll score points in the creativity department, and if you all add comments and questions then we’ve got the bonus points covered!
*I received my Jobe’s organic fertilizer free after the Garden2Blog event; Jobe’s is developing their line of organics and graciously sent participants samples to try out. Thank you, Jobe’s!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I just started getting strawberries in my Farmhouse Delivery produce last week, so you’re not the only one in Austin planting strawberries in spring. Make that “spring”…
Corks as mulch! Brilliant! I shall now start saving all of mine
Think the fake cork ones will also work?
We’ll keep our fingers crossed, Julie! And, about the wine corks, I saw them at Lucinda Hutson’s garden back by what she calls her “Tequila Cantina.” I think one or two that I used are the plastic ones, but all the others are real cork. I’m experimenting, so I’ll let you know what I find out!
love the cork…!! and never fear… if you can keep your plants living and growing then you will have trailing rhizomes… they just need a place to root if they are to live long and prosper…
Oh goodness, Jenny, LOVE the cork idea! I’ve definitely got enough of those on hand to put to use… ::whistle::
Can’t wait to see how those Tribute Strawberries turn out! & I’ll be at GWA2011 to celebrate the contest winners, yay!
Thanks, Iris & Meg! I’ve been checking and they DO seem to be keeping the soil from drying out. AND I got my first little strawberry flower today; now, that was exciting and unexpected!
MMM, strawberries! This reminds me of this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Throw-Grow-windowsill-kitchen/dp/1603420649/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306210549&sr=1-2
Grow It, Don’t Throw It is a book I received a few years ago for Christmas. I haven’t planted anything using the book as a guide because I move too frequently to set up a mini garden, but the reviews pretty much say it all–that it’s a fun guide for the beginning gardener or anyone who wants to grow one’s own food.
Are you going to update us on the progression of your strawberries?
Cool idea! Would be neat if the corks were made of some slow release fertilizer. There’s a new product idea for someone and I’ll take the royalties, thank you.
Jenny… love the idea of using the corks to hold moisture. I planted strawberry plants last year but haven’t really gotten very many berries. They did survive the crazy winter that we had and I think I’ll try moving them to a different spot and see what happens! Good luck with your project!
Thanks, Karina, I’ll check that book out!
Carl, let’s develop your idea and split the benjamins.
Terri, I’m having to water mine every day with this heat–they look a bit limp in late afternoon. I’m nervous! Come on, little strawberries, you can do it!
Jenny, I just found your strawberry post! That is an awesome planter you came up with and I love the corks. Decorative and functional
And don’t worry about the strawberries producing. The goal of the project is to inspire people to stretch their creativity and start growing. Looks like you are doing a great job of that so far 
Looking forward to seeing how they turn out for you. Thanks for the post and participating in the challenge Jenny!
The obvious question is how long did it take you to accumulate all of those corks??
I once transplanted peonies in Oklahoma at the end of June. Man, they hated it. But, they survived. Keep it watered and shaded in the heat of the day and I bet they’ll make it.
Jean Ann, it took me a whole WEEK to drink enough wine to collect those corks! I’m telling you–give me a contest, put me on a mission, and there’s no limit to the lengths I will go.
Love love love your balcony strawberry garden in hot hot Austin. I live in the northeast and just moved to a place with a spacious third floor roof. I do some community gardening in some 4 x 8 plots in the neighborhood, but looking for inspiration to throw down some luscious green on this tar type roof. I am super inspired by the cork as mulch…I ended up collecting gobs and gobs of corks when I worked for a bistro waiting for a great project to put them to use.thanks for your savvy and excitement and good tidings for many rhizomes and berries to come!
Amanda, you lucky girl, to have a rooftop garden possibility! The corks are doing well–holding up to intense sun and heat. Please let me know what you come up with– I’d love to see!
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