The Rusty Hoe: Rusty Hoe Strawberries

"So, what kind of strawberries are these?"

When I’m asked this question, I always answer with; “The best kind, of course!” However, truth be told, I have no idea what the actual variety might be. Several years ago, I started a small strawberry patch on Ozone mountain and at the time I know I had Ozark Beauty, Cardinal and Chandler. Over the years, I harvested the “runners” from those original plants and brought them here to Lamar. In 2020, I added Sweet Charlie to the mix and planted several of those runners as well. Now it’s anyone’s guess on which is what!

Back when the above ground pool was all the backyard rage, we put a big 18-footer in for the kids. Over time, they lost interest in keeping it maintained, but it had sat there long enough on it’s leveling bed of sand to make a permanent bald spot in the yard. Since the strawberry crop I had at Ozone was thriving in the sandy soil up there, I thought the old swimming pool spot might be good for a new berry patch here, and that’s how we ended up with the round strawberry patch with goodness only knows what type of strawberries growing in it!

If you find yourself with a similar backyard bald spot, it’s super easy to convert the area into a delicious strawberry patch.

Getting Started

You’ll need a bale of peat moss and a bale of garden soil, strawberry plants, a bale of straw (or mulch), black plastic, and a shovel. I used rock from the yard to hold everything down, but if you don’t have rocks to use you’ll need something to secure the plastic to the ground.

Step One

Using the shovel, mix the peat and potting mix thoroughly into the sandy area where the swimming pool once was. Then “windrow” the mixture into hills and valleys.

Step Two

Cover the hills with black plastic, line the valleys with straw or mulch.

Step Three

Poke holes into your plastic on the hilltops about 6 inches apart and plant your strawberry plants like “ducks on water” - which means, just barely push the roots into the soil mixture. They’ll make their own way down into the soil below.

Step Four

Water the hills in, but don’t drown the area. The straw or mulch will hold in the water and leech it to the hills as needed so you won’t need to water very often (if at all.)

Tricks of the Trade

Never allow the strawberries to come into contact with soil. If the developing or ripening berries touch the soil, they will form a fuzzy mold and rot on the vine.
Pinch off all of the fall "runners" and plant them in containers - then you can replant them outside in the early spring and never have to buy strawberry plants again!