by Tony
The end of my strawberries at 2.5years
10:46 pm in Completed Window Farms by Tony
Well after a couple of years, I decided to remove the strawberries from the windowfarm. The crowns on them were getting very long and not sure how much longer they would survive. The crowns were growing pretty far out of the netpot. I took the plants out and broke them up and took some picture. Besides, I was getting a bit tired of them and want to try some new things.
As an experiment on how long plants will live in a WF, I would say they could live a long time. It kind of makes you rethink the meanings of annuals and perenials. I always thought berries die back in the fall like they do outside, but that is not the case inside.
In the beginning, the plants actually were in the middle of each netpot. Make sure you see the original post. As you can see, the crowns have grown 3-4 inches long. They were no longer very securly rooted.
Strawberries out of the pots
Here are a couple of the crowns. There are the more woody portion of the plant. New growth forms on the end of them.
Strawberry crowns
This chunk of the plant was taken off of the woody portion. The new leaves grow out of the center. New roots grow near the base of the newer growth. The older leaves form around the outside of the plant and eventually die. The older leaves I would cut off. As this cycle of new leaves and old leaves progresses the crown grows in length.
Strawberry leaves
Leaves with roots
Strawberries need to be hand pollinated when indoor. Below is what they look like when you neglect them. The fruit gets deformed.
Poorly Pollinated Strawberries
So long my berry…..
Good Bye
Follow this link below to see the entire history of these plants:
http://our.windowfarms.org/2012/04/15/strawberry-at-over-two-years/
The poorly deformed strawberries are less likely due to a pollination problem, and more likely a pH problem (usually too alkaline), because of boron deficiency. Boron deficiency is observed in basic soils with a high pH because in basic conditions boric acid exists in an undissociated form which the plant is unable to absorb. Below are copied strawberry deficiency symptoms—
Leaf symptoms:
Uniform yellowing nitrogen or sulfur deficiency or poor soil drainage
Yellowing with veins remaining green zinc, manganese or iron deficiency
Dark green foliage phosphorus deficiency
Leaf scorch potassium or magnesium deficiency or salt toxicity
Growing points damaged with restricted growth calcium or boron deficiency
Fruit symptoms:
Poor pollination (bumpy fruit) boron deficiency, frost damage or high temperature during flowering
Hard seed calcium deficiency
Soft, poor colour and flavour potassium deficiency
Boron
Younger leaves show puckering and tip-burn, followed by marginal yellowing and crinkling with reduced growth at the growing point. Figure 11.
Moderate deficiency of boron reduces the flower size and decreases pollen production, resulting in
small, ‘bumpy’ fruit of poor quality. Root growth can be stunted.
Control
“Apply a foliar spray of boron or add borax to the soil before planting. Boron is toxic to plants and should not be used excessively.”
Hope this helps. I have grown strawberries outside, and soon plan to fill a 4 column Window Farm with them!
Lynn
@ldolson Did you ever try straberries in your WF?