komet

Hello!

Well I have been gardening now for almost four years and in that time I have grown Wheatgrass, Aloe, various herbs and spices...and ofcourse weeds. But all my experience has been in pots...This year is the first time in my life that I will actually be putting something in the ground. So thought I would start a mini journal here to keep up with things and maybe get some feedback.

You can see from the pic how I have layed things out. Strawberries will go in the center with a path around the outside. In the outside border will go some Garlic Chives (I have heard that they act as a natural insect barrier)...I will probably throw in a couple of other herbs in the outside border also. Oh and some Banana Passionfruit in large pots.

For the last three weeks I have been setting things up. And here is where I am at the moment...



Week 1:
Dug up the soil with fork, spade and crowbar (ouch, my back!!!). Added some organic Gypsum to help condition the soil aswell as organic Life Lime.

Week 2:
Constructed the borders. I used PVC down pipe in the center bed so wood rot wont be a problem. Also added a bird net around the main bed to keep the bad kitties out.

Then to the prepared soil I added:
100 ltrs of premium garden soil from the local nursery.
90 ltrs of Organix Nutri-Blend5 compost.
30 ltrs of Perlite.

Today:
I brought a bateria brewing kit. Nutri-Life 4/20 Microbes which I will brew for atleast 24hrs then add that to the soil tomorrow. Also will add some liquid humus and fresh worm castings

Oh and below are the selection of runners. I will probably have 8-10, 30-40cm apart in a staggered row. I have Red Gauntlet, Sweetest, Tioga and Japanese Ichigo



Well that is about it for the moment. I think all danger of frost has passed so I will prepare things a bit more then throw in the runners next weekend and setup a small irrigation system.

I know I have probably done something wrong, so anyone with some experience please feel free to speak up

Attached Thumbnails

   

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outdoors

You are going to have very happy strawberries..

Peace-
OD

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dontask

Looks great buddy, proffessional clean job you did there!

Planting Marigolds, Onions, Garlic, can all help keep bugs away!

Mullein plants can help by providing a "home base" for predatory insects and parasitic wasps.
'
Do you have a compost?

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komet

Hi dontask thanks for having a look...and the tip on the Mullein.

At the moment I only have a worm bin. I was thinking about a compost bin though.

I planted out the runners last weekend and gave them a full strength dose of cold pressed kelp...I'll take some more shots this weekend.

Say...strawberries can handle 'colder' temps ok-right??? Last night it got down to 4c (i think thats about 35-40f)...I hope I did'nt plant them out too soon well I think all danger of frost has passed anyway.

Dont be a stranger dontask

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TheGrower420

I'm doing strawberries in my outdoor 4" PVC pipe.
Its a thin film constant flow hydro system that i built from old crap and should give me some nice berries.. if the sun doesn't take its toll.

Your Garden ROCKS !!!

Thanks for the post..

Later...
TheGrower420

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dontask

Shrubberies ( especially fancy cultivars ) arent fans of cold nights, but they should be okay if frost is passed.

Worm bin ( vermiculture ) is awesome, a compost bin would help you as well.

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* Anything I say is a result of complex chemical and electrical reactions occuring in my brain and should not be taken as any sort of tangible existential proof.

komet

Thanks dontask...Emm just one more question-I promise

I was doing some reading and found out that strawberries should not be grown in the same soil that potatoes have been grown in because they can harbor a disease called verticillium wilt which is especially bad for strawberries.

When I started my worm bin I put some potatoe peelings in there (I was pulling sprouts for months )...The same bin that I used when preparing the soil for the strawberries. Do you think I should be worried?

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Lady Gardener

Strawberry patches are quite common here......

I went to one farm and I dunno if all strawberry farmers put straw around the plant!

I've visited a couple and they have
a few things in common......like raised beds, straw and planted in a light loom soil!

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ItalRas

Do you grow them from seeds? The strawbwrries I mean, Forgive my stupidity.

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dontask

Verticillium will be found in any general compost, potato peels or not. It is considered "ubiquitous" because unlike many obligate pathogens ( which only exist and survive within their host ) many types of Verticillium can persist for up to 15 years living as a saprophobe ( as in munching on your decaying matter ).

Therefore, I would say your best bet to avoid Verticillium is to use a proper microbial innoculation ( Rooters Myco is good, use in conjunction with General Hydroponics "Subculture". ) as well as keeping the moisture of soil under control.

Question at will, im here to help!

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* Anything I say is a result of complex chemical and electrical reactions occuring in my brain and should not be taken as any sort of tangible existential proof.