13 May 09 Tips For Growing your own Strawberry Plants

By Laura

When you think about plants, what do you think of first? Which aspects of plants are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

Strawberry plants have a very shallow root system; this means that weeds and other plants can easily cause damage. Make sure that you weed the garden bed on a regular basis to get rid of all the weeds. Strawberry plants should be planted this month to bear fruit next year. To be sure of a good crop of berries prepare the bed with liberal quantities of manure or compost and dry fertilizer and water well in dry weather. Strawberry plants are juicy red fruits that are sweet and attractive. They can be defined as the plant with dark green leaves which stands upright and luscious producing chilly red firm fruits which taste divine.

Seedlings can take between four and six weeks to grow their second set of leaves, which is when they will be ready to be sold. If you want to sell them as ready to plant outside, you’ll need to wean them off the warmth by putting them outside for longer and longer during the day to acclimatise them to the cold gradually. Seed ripens in four to nine months depending on the variety. As the pod ripens, it loses color and softens. Seeds suggested for March sewing, if not already in, can still be sown new. In late April or early May put in succession sowings of lettuce, beets, carrots and radishes, and the first sewing of green beans.

Growing plants in alkaline-rich soils is not impossible and with care even a novice gardener can overcome the difficulties with alkaline soils. The primary point of concern for those dealing with high alkaline soils is reducing the salinity of the soil. Growing plants without soil is often called hydroponics. The name implies that the plants are grown in water containing dissolved nutrients.

Think about what you’ve read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about plants? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs?

Growing plants is more than placing a seed or cutting in soil and seeing the results, it is actually about chemistry, economics, art, mathematics, sociology and a host of other subjects. We all know that many students don’t really enjoy learning chemistry or math or many of the other subjects taught in school, but experience has shown that they all seem to like growing plants.

Sow seed directly in the garden for the simplest way to start plants. It is usually safe to sow the seed outdoors when trees are beginning to produce leaves. Sowing is usually simple and straightforward: place the seeds in moist soil, small seeds nearly on the top of the soil and bigger seeds a little deeper. Remember to keep the soil moist.

Potted plants are also mobile – easy to move to center stage on a front porch or patio when they are in their prime. Or you can easily transport them to a protected location if foul weather threatens. Pot this into a small pot and wait about a month for it to grow. It should be salable with a flower in a matter of months.

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