Devota's StrawberryTower

Devota takes the easy way out with the coir. Messy isn't she?

She pots up her everbearing Ozark Beauties. Pot 1

24 healthy Ozarks in their nesting pots. smile

Oops. She paid for 24 plants and there were 4 extra little babies. What to do?She put them in a flower pot that had a drain hole the same dimensions as the pole and settled them at the bottom of the pole.

This message was edited Mar 4, 2009 12:55 PM

This message was edited Mar 4, 2009 1:55 PM

Uhuh, I bet when you were a little girl and it rained that you played in the ditches out in front of your house too.(smile)

Ain't coir fun? I have 9 bales of coir soaking getting ready for the 5-gal tomato grow bags.

Strawberries should love this stuff.

Jerry

Atop the pole Devota inserts an "All Purpose Four Prong Thingy" [not yet patented,] which will support a bird net or an emergency frost cover.

Thanks. Yes, I was a messy little girl...still am. LOL

Devota,
Cool! I hope you get tons of berries!

May I ask where you purchased that type planter? I'd love to pick up a few for the patio area. Any info would be appreciated!

Sashagirl

Sashagirl,
Thanks. This system is an EzGro, look EzGro.com

BUT there is a much nicer system IMHO, which I am drooling over on the "Any Coco Grower Questions?" thread of this forum. Look at the BocaBob post of this morning, March 4th.

Now that's a nice job, even it it did start out looking messy.:-) You sure know how to put your own "touch" on a job. You better patent that four prong thingy quick before someone steals it!! And the pot at the bottom was sheer genius. Your drip to waste system just became a drip to pot system. And just think.......you have 6 more pots coming in the mail!! Im looking forward to seeing what you do with them.

Thanks. Genius? I don't think so Jay. I stumbled over it looking for a stob.

Sashagirl........for all kinds of vertical growing systems go to www.instagarden.com. Join us to ride the wave of the future!! I only have 90 pots so far and I am wondering if I might not have to go to commercial growing if I cant stop this urge to buy more vertical systems. I managed to break the addictive habit of smoking cigars after 50 years.....but now I am hung up on the pot habit.

hmmm...I wondered about you Jay. Thanks for the link to Bob's place. I couldn't find the new pots there.

following through on Devota's idea of a pot at the bottom of the strawberry stack to catch overflow, I am thinking of using a similar set up with a slightly larger overflow pot. This is a temporary setup with a couple pots on it. Raising the pots a little higher would allow sunshine to get into the overflow pot and I could plant............what?

Good job, Jay. Something that would trail down would hide the pot. You have good sucess with lots of flowers.

Devota: Hey, if the job works it works, who cares how it looks, my daughter chased me out to the greenhouse to pot up my stuff, she got tired of following me around with the broom. LOL Great ideas there. I'll have to delay the pots for a while. I think it's great for strawberries and the deck ones I've got my heart set on for my daffodils and other flowers if my daugther quits swiping them as they come up and moving them to her step dad's house. She has picked up on flower gardening now. Will have her into veggies soon watch me...
joy

That can only be a good thing, Joy.

Devota: Yeah, two minds are better than one; but in this case with one of those minds being mine, and the other being hers I'm not so sure about. LOL Daugher like mother maybe?
joy

It has been 9 days since I potted these babies up and this afternoon I picked off numerous blossoms thanks in part to Bob's fertilizer.
I don't know how long I have to keep taking off the blossoms with everbearing strawberries but I do know I have to let the plants use the energy, before I let them produce.

Well shucks.........why'nt you tell me!! I didnt pinch mine. Just let them start making berries. So now what.........I get less berries or what?

I don't know, Jay. "They" say to do that with the everbearing so that the plants get strong before they bear. I was sooo tempted to just let them be. If they were June bearing I would have.

Jay, what did you finally decide to put in your "underpots?"

This message was edited Mar 16, 2009 9:04 PM

Here is my second, [and last] strawberry stack. It too is the EZGro and is filled with a day-neutral everbearing called Tri-Star. I have my hoses set up to water twice a day, automatically from the white barrel which is full of rainwater and BocaBob's special fertilizer. And since the water comes out gently I didn't need the diffuser.

Oops. Here is the photo.

devota...those look wonderful...nice set up...i just put out strawberries and i pinched off the first ones too...first timer here on strawberries so i did what i read on the internet...i hated pinching them off but it made sense to me to help the plant put more effort into the plant than the berry at this time...once that was done i'm letting them bear fruit now...

virginbred,
What a beautiful settup..a raised bed? How big? I love your part of the country. It doesn't say but I'm guessing zone 8 or 9?

I know what you mean about feeling bad but we'll be glad we did later. You hear that Jay? Run out there and nip those puppies in the bud.

This message was edited Mar 17, 2009 3:01 PM

devota...raised beds are 2' x 10' and 3' off the ground...i love my part of the country too...to me it is paradise...i'm sort of confused on the zone thing...some online sites say i'm an 8 and some say 9...so if it says a particular plant is good for either i feel pretty safe...i know i can grow citrus and they come back year after year...i've got a lemon that is about 10 yrs old...stays green year round...maybe loses some leaves but for the most part anything lost rebuds the next spring...

Virginbred: That is a fantastic looking raised bed and I see strawberries in there. LOL
joy

No No Joy, Those are nipped buds. LOL

Devota: I'm sorry, I did not mean now, I meant I could just picture in my mind the strawberries that would be in there, I like that bed it is nice may I inquire where you got it or did you make it yourself?
joy

joy...my sweet sweet husband built them for me...i found the original from a fellow named cowpea on the accessible gardening forum here on daves...i wrote to him asking for dimensions and he was so kind to give them to me...my husband built a set of 4 to start and then when those filled so quickly he built another set of 4...

devota...i love strawberries but i really planted them for my grandson...the strawberry of my eye...

Oh no.......I just cant do it! In my long and illustrious gardening career, I have cruelly and efficiently eliminated, dispatched, actually murdered many plants without a whim of conscience. But to torture my little strawberry plants by whacking off their babies........no, no, no. I just cant force myself to do it.:-(

Here's mine still putting out !!!

but jay...it's for the good of the plant...at least that is what the internet says...LOL

bob...what variety do you have?

Most of my 75 plants are Sweet Charlie (big down here in southern Florida)

Virginbred: I can see why they were built, he'd have me out building at least 100 too. He is precious. Now, if I could just figger out how to get the grandkids before the kids, I'd have it made, they are so precious compared to their parents aren't they?LOL Wow, I'd love to have the directions for the above the ground gardens you have, I have thought about having some myself and then planting corn, and so many other things in it. How much medium does it hold? I would probably fill mine up with coconut coir.
joy

Virginbred: Here is a pic of my daughter from last night when I took her out for St. Patrick's day, can't tell she is Irish can you?:

And here is one for everyone's dart board, as it's me:

joy...my husband is out of town at the moment but soon as he is back i will get the dimensions for you...i know the pipe he used is a road grade pipe and it was around $180 per 20ft...it is 24" diameter...he cut it in 10ft lengths and then cut it in half to give you the basin in which to plant...so depth is 1ft...the legs are 4x4's cut to 36" lengths and then braced...he used 2x6 boards to run down the sides...he braced underneath the pipe instead of one long brace like cowpea did over on the accessible gardening forum...if you've got someone to do it and give them a pic i think they can work it out for you...oh, and don't forget to drill holes down the middle of the pipe for drainage...

i had such a blast raising my kids...it amazes me the number of kids who's parents just don't seem to get it...soon as i had my first i took it as my job to give them direction while having as much fun as possible until they were out on their own...this grand-baby is even more fun...i just wish i was as spry as i was raising my own...an aging body is the pits!!!

great pics of you and your daughter...hope you had a wonderful st. paddy's day!

Virgin Bred: I could always check with someone on building it for me if I had the directions.
joy