Strawberry Bed

I really should have done this in October.  Once again I refer you to the title of this blog.

The strawberry bed was very productive last year.  I got loads of tasty berries. I made many jars of super delicious strawberry jam. But I must confess that there were not as many strawberries as there were the year before.  There were enough so I chose to ignore the fact that the strawberry bed was due for an overhaul.

It's a tedious job and it is made worse by putting it off for two years.

Now that we are in isolation because of the Covid-19 pandemic I am forced to do all the jobs that I really should do but never seem to have the time.  All I have is time.  It really is a luxury.  I am actually quite fortunate and privileged to have a big garden and all the time in the world to tend to it.

Because we are forbidden to go anywhere, the weather has been quite nice.  It has also been dry.

Last week, I washed the front of the poly tunnel.  It made it look almost NEW!

If you look just around the corner, you will see that it is not new.  The green algae has had a couple of years to get a good build up. 

This is the north side of the poly tunnel is where by law it will be worse.  I made a few cursory swipes at this algae and decided that I would have to get the hose out another day.  Only the front is clean for now.  That's okay, that's the part that people can see from the road.

We have two vegetable beds in there.  One to the right and one to the left.  There is a big strip down the centre where we grow NOTHING.  The lawnmower is kept there and a seldom used rotovator.

The vegetable bed to the right of the tunnel is where we grew a little bit of everything.  It gets the best sun and the soil is rich and well drained.

Radio on the old cobbler's lasts in the right bed

The vegetable bed to the left is where the strawberry bed is.  The berries are safe (well, safer) from the birds and we can gather them in the rain without getting slightly damp.  It is so easy to harvest them that I have ignored regular plant maintenance.  I should have staked out runners two years ago so that I could have fresh plants. . . . never mind.  You get the idea.

This is what the strawberry bed was looking like when I went in this morning. 

Old matted strawberry bed

There is a thick mat of old runners and dead leaves and a big area in the middle that will give us nothing if this isn't sorted now..  There are a few weeds dotted in there punctuating the reminder of my lazy ways. 

Despite all the neglect, nature wants to live.  There is plenty of healthy growth on the old plants yet.  I know that when I split things up and give them a bit of love they will bounce back. 

So armed with a portable radio, a mug of tea and a garden fork I set upon the task.
The soil under the old plants is delightful.  There are plenty of earthworms. 

Diving the plants is easy but it takes a long time because I am careful and want to save everything.  Throwing aside a perfectly good but surplus strawberry plant horrifies me.

I am definitely keeping the ones that show the most promise, popping them straight back into the dirt.

The others will be kept in a holding bin to be potted up and given to the anybody who wants them. 
Who wouldn't want some nice organic strawberry plants?

Strawberry plants in the holding bin

This is the bin where the "maybe" plants are being stored.  This time of year they will not die if I don't replant them immediately.  I will select what I need and then pot up the rest.

a bit of progress

I decided to replant them immediately.  I wanted to see how the refreshed plants would look in their newly cleared places.

I think they look good and seem that they will survive my attentions.

I managed to get a third of the strawberry bed dug up, sorted and replanted today.  I will do a bit more tomorrow.  If I get everything done all at once I run the risk of being industrious.  Can't be having that!  I will also run out of really big jobs before this isolation is over.