It is that time again--time to replace the old strawb plants. A while back we removed all the old plants and now...the middle of august, it it time to acquire and plant the new ones. We took some orders from the allotmenteers near us and headed off into the Flevopolder to pick up our order from the strawberry chap that we use every two years.. The day we got back it was late in the afternoon, so we postponed the planting until the next day which was forecast to be rainy. Mycorrhizal fungi is something that I used for the first time this year...and then only in half of the bed. I want to see if there is any difference at all after the two years. This is a substance that occurs normally in the soil and makes it possible for roots to take-up nutrients, stated simply. I have not been able to get hold of any of this to try, after learning about it years ago. We see it used regularly on BBC shows, but here it is all but unknown. It is so highly praised that I asked some folks that were coming to visit us from GB to bring some. I have to add here that they asked if they could bring something for us from the Island. I was thrilled when they did. Using it on my strawbs for the first time was a thrill and I am now impatient to see if indeed there is any noticeable difference in plant development, bud forming and/or fruit harvest. I know that Odif uses this sometimes, but I am wondering if anyone else on here does.
My strawberries did NOTHING this year. I don't have lots but usually enough for the grandkids to go on search and eat missions a few times. This year they searched and found nothing. Such a long cold snowy spring and then cold 'til June - ah well - maybe next year.
Mycorrhizal fungi,..is very interesting Sjoerd,..its hard to believe how much it helps plants grow and in turn it gets help from the plant,..i must admit i first came across it through a Manager in the Mushroom Growing Plant just down the road from where i live,..up to then i presumed Fungi was only related to Mushrooms and the breaking down of matter,..boy was i surprised at the relationship between plant and Fungi and the benefits to each other without doing any harm,..it will be interesting to see the result in your case with the Strawberries.
Oh ISLAND--I am so sorry to hear that. Yeah, its difficult to be successful when Mother Nature is against you....like you said--perhaps next year. On the other hand, you could make a proper bed and keep it covered with plastic or fleece during the winter months. Of course this would take away some of the mystery that kids enjoy. PHILIP--Soil and its components is a deeply interesting subject to me. It is the basis of gardening. So many interesting things go on under the surface. I have a feeling that the more one understands about soil the more successful a gardener they can be. At any rate this one aspect--mycorrhizal fungi, is really important to understand in the life of a plant. glad that you liked the posting this time.
