# How to deal with frozen strawberries



## SolarAndWood (May 9, 2010)

Our strawberry patch was full of blossoms when the wind/freeze/snow hit last night.  Is it best to pick the blossoms off or let it run its course?


----------



## begreen (May 9, 2010)

Bummer. How cold did it get? The damage depends on the bloom stage, lowest temp and the length of exposure. If the plants were in full bloom (not closed bud stage) and the frost was like 28 for hours, it is likely they are damaged. If the frost was short and just around 32 they might make it. In the next day or two, watch to see if the centers of the flowers turn black. Is so, pinch off those blossoms. Leave the just opening to see if they made it.


----------



## SolarAndWood (May 9, 2010)

Thanks BG, I'll keep an eye on them the next few days.  The garden terraces are on top of the hill and don't see frost.  We only see it at the bottom of the yard.  However, the freak for this time of year snow caught us off guard.  The snow is almost done and most has melted already but they probably saw high 20s and high winds for a prolonged period last night.


----------



## SolarAndWood (May 9, 2010)

I'm pretty sure the tomatoes are a complete bust despite trying to protect them with grass yesterday.


----------



## BucksCoBernie (May 9, 2010)

aw man that sucks!


----------



## SolarAndWood (May 9, 2010)

We'll see what happens.  Everything stood right back up after the snow melted this afternoon.  The strawberry crop won't be a problem.  We have 1200 sq ft of them as we were a little naive when we planted them last year.  The tomatoes and peppers will just be a learning experience.  Even if they did survive last night, we have two more cold nights ahead of us before it warms up.


----------



## Oldmainer (May 9, 2010)

Hello...I don't know what zone your in there...but here in southern maine...where I live...we are in zone five. I don't plant my peppers and tomatos until Memorial day so I don't get caught by late freeze...ask me how I learned that... Franklin


----------



## benjamin (May 9, 2010)

The strawberries will be fine, the first ones may be catfaced or small, but the later ones will be fine.  The tomatoes and peppers may be "experience".  Even if they survive, they'll never thrive like they should.  You're better off putting new ones in when it's warm enough, they'll take off and not look back.


----------



## rowerwet (May 9, 2010)

my sister in lake placid, NY had 1"+ of snow this morning.


----------



## SolarAndWood (May 10, 2010)

5 here as well.  We are doing our own starts next year and I imagine they will be kept warm by the stove behind south facing glass until Memorial day.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 1, 2010)

All is not lost.  A couple weeks of 80 degree weather seems to have taken care of it.


----------



## begreen (Jun 1, 2010)

Yea! Looks like you are going to be jamming soon. What variety are they?


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 1, 2010)

It looks like we will be picking in full force this week.  Not sure on the variety, I'll check with my wife as I am just the cheap labor in the garden.


----------



## timfromohio (Jun 2, 2010)

We're in picking mode as well.  Eating fresh all we want and wife will soon be making jam and also trying out a new dehydrator.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 2, 2010)

I think we have production just about figured out but it seems the real trick with a big garden is to turn the product into something that stores well.  I suppose its not that different than firewood.  It was a nice easy hobby when it was a cord or two for entertainment but requires more planning and better infrastructure when you rely on it exclusively.  Otherwise, it turns into work.


----------



## timfromohio (Jun 2, 2010)

SolarAndWood - indeed, especially when lots of things are ready all at the same time.  If this year is like last, we'll have a 3 or 4 week period after which we'll actually be tired of fresh strawberries, and strawberry shotcake, and strawberry muffins, ....  My wife started making freezer jam last year and it's excellent - a way to continue enjoying the fruits of our labor well into the winter.  We purchased an Excaliber 9-tray, top of the line, dehydrator to try out this year and hope to freeze and dehydrate some berries as well.  

Do you can?  We're hoping to getting into that as well this year - thus far we have eaten everything fresh and experimented a bit with freezing.  Never canned before.


----------



## Adios Pantalones (Jun 2, 2010)

Looks yummy!!
I picked over a half a gallon in the past 3 days (most yesterday).  I'm freezing them until I can make jam etc.  I love store bought dehydrated strawberries, so I'll be trying those as well.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 2, 2010)

We do a lot of canning.  Pickles, sauce, curry, peppers, tomatoe products, etc.  Last year, we tried the dehydrator and liked that as well.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 4, 2010)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> What variety are they?



June bearing Surecrop from Burpee last spring.  Not available from them now for some reason.


----------



## begreen (Jun 4, 2010)

Thanks. I have had Catskills and Sparkles back east in NY that were delicious, but haven't tried Surecrop. Here's a description from Millers:

http://www.millernurseries.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=66

We have grown Shuksums and Hoods, both very good, but now grow day-neutral (everbearing) Tristars for the past decade or so. 

http://millernurseries.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=6


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 6, 2010)

Picked 5 gallons yesterday and have a shelf full of jam now.  Any idea why Millers recommends replacing them every 3 years?  Is it a yield thing or do they stop producing entirely?


----------



## benjamin (Jun 6, 2010)

Some places recommend only renovating them once if at all, ie plant each year for the next years picking and till them in after one crop.  

The idea is that it's so easy to establish a new bed, and so hard to get an old bed to produce that it's cheaper and easier to only pick the very best crop.  The plants will keep producing for many years, so yes it is a yield thing, but also a work thing.  They claim it's easier to put the work into a new bed than pick the smaller and fewer berries.  The small ones seem to have a more intense flavor than the monsters though, not sure if this is fact or perception.

I made the mistake of planting a mid season and a late season variety so no berries for me yet, a few for the mice.


----------



## begreen (Jun 6, 2010)

Strawberries taper off in production after the third year. They will still produce after that, but not in as great a quantity. If you carefully thin out the 3yr old  mother plants and nurture the babies, you can keep production going at a good pace. 

Ben, having a later variety can be a good thing, especially when there is a cool spring and the pollinators are not out. Our berries produce continually from about mid-June, through October. My wife prefers the steady stream of berries to one giant batch. You are correct that the biggest berries are usually not the tastiest. Same thing for blueberries. A couple years ago we planted a jumbo variety of strawberries on the recommendation of the nursery owner. They were big alright, but they were poor seconds for flavor, just like the giant Calif. strawberries they sell in the store. We ripped them all out and replanted the bed with Tristars last year and had a nice, delicious crop. This will be our second year with these plants. If it ever warms up, we should get a bumper crop this year.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 7, 2010)

Do the old plants become obvious after 3 years?  Maybe it would be easier to transplant the babies into a new bed the Spring of Year 3 and then till the original bed under after they are done producing?


----------



## timfromohio (Jun 7, 2010)

SolarandWood - we are trying to transplant the very new/obvious runners that spring up in an effort to keep the beds going.  We also have 3, 4'x8' beds full of berries and hope to replant (if required) one bed at a time in successive years rather than a single, step-fuction changeout all at once.  From what I've read, the plants just run out of steam after 3 or 4 years.  Next year will be year 3 in production for us, so we'll see how it goes (year one we pinched off all flowers).


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 7, 2010)

Have you seen any drop off or is it too soon to tell this year?  We started with 100 plants last year in two 100' by 42" wide beds bordered by my tractor prints that are about a foot wide that I wood mulch.  We also did the pinch thing year 1.  This year, we have given up controlling them on three sides and just try to control them on the fourth side so that they don't overrun the rest of the garden.  You can't even tell that there is a row of wood mulch between the two beds or around the edge.  So, we end up with 12'x100' of mayhem and the critters are enjoying what makes it through the fence on the three sides.  Your raised beds must be a huge advantage when it comes to control.

So, I'm thinking that I will transplant 100 plants into the bottom of the upper terrace year 3 to start the process over.  Then, after production dies off, till the bottom of the lower terrace under and plant some kind of cover crop to build up the soil.  I may eventually convert to raised beds but the tiller on the back of the tractor makes quick work of cleanup in the fall, prep in the spring and the subsoiler does a nice job of breaking up the clay/glacial till we are so blessed with.


----------



## Adios Pantalones (Jun 7, 2010)

I didn't really think about the production drop off... mine put out so many runners that it's crazy, so I'll transplant those out fresh.  

Good stuff!


----------



## timfromohio (Jun 7, 2010)

We have not noticed any drop-off in production this year - it's their second year of producing fruit and I'm hoping next year will be about the same.  We are starting to transplant runners to other areas around the property though - too hard to do anything in the raised beds themselves as far as controlling runners, taking out older plants, etc. - we started with 75 plants, 25 per bed, and the beds are incredibly dense with plants at this point.  We're trying to do everything "by the book" with the plants we have - I cut all the plants back in the Fall and cover the three beds with a thick layer of straw after a couple of hard frosts.  They have been very healthy and prolific since we've put them in - I believe we originally purchased them from Nourse Farms.  The one problem we have run into this year has been slugs - we have noticed a few berries with slugs on them enjoying the berries.  We have a container with beer buried flush in the bed and that has gotten quite a few slugs and any toads I see at night get scooped up and placed in the garden area.  

Unrelated question - what model Kubota do you have?  I'm seriously considering a small, 4wd, diesel tractor.  I use a BCS walk-behind tractor for tilling, but could easily justify a small tractor for (1) snow-duty in the winter, (2) moving compost/dirt around (would need bucket on the front), and (3) using a bottom plow.  Would ~30hp be sufficient?


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 8, 2010)

It is an early 80s 4wd 29hp at the PTO Ford.  The last one was a 2wd 25hp Kubota which was a great machine but nearly worthless for pushing snow.  4WD makes a big difference in the small machines when you have any kind of weight in the loader.   30hp is more than enough for rototilling, subsoiling, grading, raking, pushing dirt around, etc.  However, I think it is a little big for mowing unless you have a wide open lawn.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 8, 2010)

timfromohio said:
			
		

> We are starting to transplant runners to other areas around the property though - too hard to do anything in the raised beds themselves as far as controlling runners, taking out older plants, etc. - we started with 75 plants, 25 per bed, and the beds are incredibly dense with plants at this point.



It is amazing how fast they fill in and how dense they get.  I think we will do the transplant thing as well and till them under when the time comes.


----------



## timfromohio (Jun 8, 2010)

Thanks for the tractor advice - I had thought I remembered a picture you posted with an orange tractor and assumed Kubota.  I figured 4wd was key, especially for snow duty!  My grandfather had an early 80's Ford 1520 - I wish I had it now.

Regarding the strawberries - my wife made 18 jars of jam yesterday and will probably do the same again tomorrow!  I love strawberry season.  

I'm not sure how you trim yours back, but since mine are in raised beds I found it easy to use electric hedge clippers.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 8, 2010)

This is the Kubota.  It was fine for pulling the 6' finish mower and the rototiller.  Just didn't push that well.  That 1520 would probably be perfect especially with a 6' belly mower on it.  My 1910 is just a bit big for the acre I cut given all the trimming.

What's the deal with trimming the strawberries?  How far down do you cut them and when do you do it?  Any reason other than raised beds not to run a mower over them?


----------



## timfromohio (Jun 9, 2010)

Other folks I know use a mower, it just won't work in our raised beds.  Last year I started to clip by hand and completed one bed before my "ah-ha" momement.  The hedge clippers worked great.  The plants were probably 4" to 5" in height, not nearly as low as one could cut them with a mower.  I should try to cut them shorter this year.  I think I cut them back sometime in the beginning of the Fall when the nights started to get cool.

Nice tractor!  Pushing is key as we have a pretty long driveway and I have a 2wd truck (without a limited slip differential - 1 spinning wheel to work with in NEOhio isn't much ....).  I'd count on the tractor to successfully make short work of the driveway.  So you think something around the size of a 1520 would pull a sub-soiler type plow?  This sort of implement would really help break up our clay-rich soil.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 9, 2010)

Mowing lawn is probably the determining factor.  If you are happy with whatever you are mowing with and you don't mind owning two machines, you will prefer a bigger machine for loader and soil work.  After I get my property done and go into maintenance mode, I will probably move to a single machine the size of the 1520.  Until then, I wouldn't want anything smaller than what I have for the loader work and box blading.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Jun 9, 2010)

This evening's pick.


----------

