Strawberries - 3

I could have posted another 3 - 4 pics like this of different parts of our strawberry plants. They've erupted in strawberries, at least 20 are growing right now :D Over 10 on one plant even! 

Strawberries - 2

This year, we found a second gardening center/greenhouse and bought strawberry plants from both. The first store we went to only had two sets of 6 and 2 weren't doing so well, so when we saw the plants at the greenhouse, we added some of those as well. 

We'll likely go back to the greenhouse and get some more because those plants are doing MUCH better than the ones from the first store. The 2 that weren't doing well died completely and I'm having a much more difficult time strengthening the ones that did. Todays post shows a plant from the greenhouse rather than the gardening center. :)

This plant is doing really well. It's grown a ton, did well after the transplant and I'm hopeful that it will continue doing so :) Along with all the others one we got with it as well. Like with the tomatoes, we figure we'll transplant all the strawberries outside in about 2 - 3 weeks as well. And then just watch them grow!! 

Strawberries

Last year, strawberries were the only thing I actually got to eat that I grew... and I think the kids and I shared 2 rather small ones lol - Gardening was a bit of a fail for me last year. I've learned a ton more and am definitely hoping to be more successful this year though.

And to start off, we got 15 strawberry plants!

This one shows the most perfect flower, so I figured I'd share the picture of it. And the one behind it already lost its petals and looks to be on its way to forming into a strawberry :D YAY! :p

Being prego and all, strawberries have been one of my LARGEST craving... and if these plants make it where I can go out, pick a pound of fresh strawberries and eat them all in one sitting I shall be one very happy prego lady :p 

This is another one of the plants and the bud in the middle is taking on the starts of forming into a strawberry. Color me excited :p

I had these plants all inside because of the cold weather (though I'm using todays nicer weather to work on "hardening" all of my plants. I actually took to hand pollinating the flowers to see if we could go ahead and get a start on some actual strawberries! If you look at the bud going towards the bottom that gets cut off, it is also turning into a strawberry.

Beautiful. Just beautiful. And oh lord are they going to be tastey! 

Strawberries - 7

As you can see, my strawberries are continuing to do well! Each one of these is about 1" long so far and still not quite done. And, we got a new flower going on with two new buds. With any luck, the next time I take a picture of this plant, I'll have even more to show! 

Here is another split strawberry. The last one I took a photo of died shortly after the image. This one is getting a little farther. Who knows what will happen with it :p It kind of looks like a hippo nose and mouth though. :p If the hippo got punched in the nose that is. 

This strawberry is starting to get hues of pink in it! 

And here is my second little plant that is still holding on somehow! There are three or four buds on it and one that just lost the petals and should start turning into a strawberry soon! 

Strawberries - 6

I am so excited! I have strawberries growing!! And yes, you do see an ies instead of a y at the end of that word there. I'm thrilled. And curious. Let me show you why.

So first here we have a newly growing strawberry that just started up a few days ago. You can even see the white petals from the flower still curled up around it, right? In the background you can see a future flower and hopefully a future strawberry. This hand pollinating thing is harder then you'd think. I can't help but wonder if  caused what you're about to see next. 

I have no idea what this little guy is going to turn into. A deformed strawberry... or is it going to die? I suppose we will find out at some point! 

And finally we have this strawberry which has happened since my post about hand pollinating. yay for it working. Mostly lol 

This one is a bit farther along then that first one. It's starting to turn white and then, it shall be red. I can't wait. It is going to taste so good! 

Strawberries - 5

Family gardening - strawberries

This is my 5th post about my strawberry plants but this is the first one where I actually show a tiny strawberry that is forming. Turns out, that if the flowers don't get pollinated you won't get any fruit and because my garden is so small, it isn't attracting enough bees and other pollinating insects. There IS a solution to this called hand pollinating which, at least for me, involved a very fine and soft paint brush and me "painting" across the sprigs from the middle of the flower to the petal.

And, as a result I have this little growing strawberry for it! It's about time. I had gotten so excited about all the flowers I didn't even bother to really look into how they work and what role insects play in them.

So, while I have no idea how many strawberries i will actually end up with... I will end up with some! :D

In this second picture we see a different part of my strawberry plant. We have one bloom on the far left that has already bloomed and begun to turn into a strawberry. Then we have a bright strawberry flower that will soon do the same (I need to go and paint it) and then we see two other blooms that haven't quite opened yet. From what I read, my kiddos and I should be eating home grown strawberries within 6 week! Woot.

Strawberries - 4

I have a couple of pictures for you today of my strawberries. The first picture is of a plant that nearly got torn to shreds TWICE. Both times I considered just digging it up rather then waiting for it to die. Instead, I tried to group the soil around the roots (it had been lifted out a bit) and continued to water it with my other strawberry plant and somehow... it is sprouting a little flower that will turn into a strawberry. If it doe indeed produce a strawberry by the end of the season I will be amazed! 

The second image is of my fuller strawberry plant. It is up to about 9 strawberries (crazy right). And when I say strawberries I just mean blooms that flowered and wilted (or whatever the proper word is). This particular picture shows a flower right before blooming. I imagine in a day or two it will be a beautiful white strawberry flower but thought it looked so innocent and beautiful so I had to capture it.

:)

Strawberries - 3

Here we have my beautiful strawberry plant. Everything kind of blends in together but you can spot 5 strawberry beginnings for sure (they may be hard to spot but click the picture to make it big and you might find them all) and we have a total of 7 (one that you can see towards the top hasn't opened and turned into a flower yet). So, we have a total of SEVEN strawberries that all should come from this plant.

I'm excited. This is one of my two non-organic plants (which I will remedy next year) but I knew it would be the most fun for my three year old so we got it. :p

This is the plant we picked all of those spider eggs from. Ick. I do think we got them all though and my plant seems to be alive and well! (And making babies.)

Strawberries - 2

Here is the update on my strawberry plant. I noticed a new little strawberry set up that's about to become a flower (I think). That will make a total of FOUR strawberries that this little plant is working on. I wanted to share this photo because I just think it looks so cool. You can totally see the tip of the strawberry (again... I think - haha). 

And the 2-day comparison photo - 

The one that shows most because of my fingers is the same one as you see in the second photo. You can see a good bit of difference here too! And the white flower is no longer around... it's working on the same transformation as the one in the second photo. 

Strawberries - 1

So this is one of two plants that I have going that I did not start out as seeds and that are not organic. Next year I'll start them sooner so I can either start them as seeds myself or at least get in on the organic selection before they are gone! They will appease my children for now.

In an earlier post I mentioned that my strawberries had a story. Originally, they were an "on whim" buy as I thought they would give my daughter a good experience. And boy have they. After either my youngest (my son) or my dog ate the leaves off of my second plant I got a new one that had strawberries already on it (it was a bit farther along). That one is barely hanging on. Most of it is gone and I don't know if what remains will make it. My first little strawberry plant has done great though. It hasn't produced strawberries but it is about too!

Two flowers just closed up and a third bloomed today. I'm excited!

See!! Within a few days I'll be seeing little white buds pop up from both of them. The second one is harder to see but they are both right next to eachother and look like little strawberrie hat leaves (that's what I call them anyways). 

I love strawberries. I have a couple of lbs of them currently sitting in my fridge waiting to be dehydrated (the cherries are going right now). They make such perfect little "chips" and are good for baking too. I didn't get any more pictures of the strawberrie plants but I can see a couple others prepating to let out some flowers and will definitely post more about my strawberries. 

Before my daughter killed off (well, almost killed off) the second plant, it had a tiny strawberry on it that would have gotten a lot larger but since it got pulled off... small is better then nothing so I somehow managed to get a little taste in for me and the two kiddos. It was heaven in strawberry form. I am not exaggerating. ;)

Because I've only got one little plant and it will only put off a few strawberries, the family and I are going to a pick-ur-own farm in August (or two) to pick a whole ton of fresh strawberries. We'll eat some and dehydrate some. I'm excited for August haha.