Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Pipes full of strawberries

I enjoy strawberries and have grown them in the usual manner in the past. (I still have evidence from that growing as weeds in the yard.) I was always dismayed at the amount of space they took up and sought another way. I had heard of strawberry jars and thought about that and then I saw hydroponically grown strawberries and thought that if it they'll grow in a jar with soil and a pipe with liquid, maybe they grow in a pipe with soil. This is my third year experimenting with this method and it seems to be working much better now.

I use about a four foot section of 6" PVC pipe, capped both ends and drilled ten 1 1/2" holes along one side. There is also a small 1/4" hole drilled into one of the caps for drainage. The pipes are filled vertically. The growing medium is sifted compost and peat moss. I used bare root strawberry plants. I filled the tube up to the first hole, added a plant, then more soil to the next hole add a plant until all holes were filled. Then the pipe is topped off and capped. The caps are snug, not permanently glued.

I used concrete blocks to provide a stable support for them when laying horizonally, but plan to use another structure to create a larger wall of strawberries. I water when the soil is dry to the touch and let nature take its course. The plants have set out runners that I may try to root and use them to fill next years tubes.

The best thing is there have been zero slugs and no dirty berries!

Hilltop Home and Garden Tour


My garden was just on the first Hilltop Home and Garden Tour. Nothing like a little pressure to get provide motivation to get all of your projects done. After a great flurry of activity, including a visit from a news crew, the yard was ready for the big day. It was a fantastic experience. Many positive comments, lots of interest in the methods of gardening that I employ. Several people have asked for me detailed information on how and what I do. I plan to provide that here. I will include both successes and things that still need improving. This is how the house looked the day of the tour. That is a PawPaw (Asimina triloba) tree in the front right. There are actually two. The second is immediately behind the one seen in the photograph. They have fruit on them now and I am looking forward to early September to taste their tropical goodness. More on them later.