GrowLog
Successful

Albion strawberry crowns in a Farm 12 and Kratky: successful fruit with intensive pH management

Grow log by lynnee · Original thread

18 visual updates36 photos80 replies
View recap
CropStrawberry
VarietyAlbion
MethodAeroGarden Farm 12 hydroponics, Kratky hydroponics
EquipmentAeroGarden Farm 12, AeroGarden Grow Light, timer, battery-operated toothbrush
Plants13
AudienceAdvanced

What you can learnOne of the strongest experimental diaries in the set, documenting a controlled Farm-versus-Kratky comparison and the close relationship among pH, calcium uptake, root health, and strawberry quality.

Actions:5 Solution5 Harvest4 Pruning3 Nutrients3 Pollination2 Equipment2 Finished
Useful practices
  • weekly complete solution changes
  • daily pH monitoring
  • CalMag supplementation
  • electric-toothbrush pollination
  • runner removal
  • comparison with a Kratky control
Problems encountered
  • rapid pH decline
  • calcium-deficiency leaf-tip burn
  • potassium-deficiency leaf edges
  • black roots and reservoir sediment
  • fruit flies or gnats
  • high maintenance burden

*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.

Day 88
UPDATE#18
Grower update

Update #18

Actions taken

SolutionPerformed full solution changes and washed the bowl.
PruningPruned brown leaves and undergrowth.
HarvestHarvested eight ripe strawberries.

L By lynnee

Day 88. 5/21/22 update. Strawberries seem to be very sensitive to nutrients and pH! Even with weekly R&Rs, my Albion strawberries end up with acidic water after a few days (red-orange, not pale blue-green in the pH test).Two weeks ago I was too busy to test the pH every day, and the roots looked mostly black at the R&R 7 days ago. The water was brown, and there was brown sediment at the bottom of the bowl. (I was siphoning out the water at the R&Rs, which always leaves some water at the bottom.) The foliage looked okay and the plants were still flowering, so I did a full R&R that included emptying and washing out the bowl. I also pruned out the brown leaves and other underbrush.At today's R&R, the roots looked much better, with white roots visible. There was still visible sediment in the water, so I emptied and cleaned the bowl again. Healthy strawberry roots seem to be light brown to dark gray. These plants have always had black roots at the bottom. the crowns came with long dark brown roots that I was afraid to trim very much--and the black parts aren't mushy.I harvested 8 tasty strawberries, and there are more developing on the plants. Hopefully my prima donnas will require less upkeep if I keep the pH fairly constant at 6.5-7.0!
Conversation
S
Sher

I am glad they recovered, lynnee. Prima donnas, indeed!

S
Shawn

They have recovered nicely. I wonder if all the sediment is from the soil/dirt they were in prior to you getting them?

L
lynnee

Some of it was that, I think. I rinsed the roots when I planted the crowns, but it's hard to get all the dirt out. Some of the sediment was probably from nutrients left behind when I siphoned the bowl. And some was probably from deteriorating old roots that came with the crowns.

L
lynnee

Day 114 (Ended 6/16/22) Yesterday I ended the Albion strawberries, because I was tired of (1) testing the pH all the time, (2) doing complete R&Rs (including washing the bowl) every week, and (3) watching the fruit flies or gnats fly up whenever I touched the leaves.Turns out it was a good idea, because nearly all of the roots were black again. This happened after I did a siphon-only refill the last time and failed to adjust the pH every day.I won't try to grow strawberries in a Farm again, because they need so much daily attention! It's much easier to change the water completely if they're in a Bounty, and the plants don't need much vertical space. The roots keep to smallish root balls, too.The Albions grown from Burpee crowns purchased and planted at the very beginning of the growing season produced quite a few delicious strawberries. They probably would have done even better if I had monitored the pH and the roots from the start.The strawberries started from sale-priced crowns purchased at the end of the growing season have produced lots of tall leaves, but few strawberries.

S
Sher

That was an interesting summary, lynnee. I agree, that's a lot of work for an Aerogarden!

S
Shawn

I too agree, your write up was good and can see how much you put into them. I am happy you were able to grow and eat them and enjoy too!

A
agfarm

This is amazing work! Sorry I took nearly a year off after getting discouraged. Your instrumented approach reveals a lot of insight as to why I kept seeing unhealthy roots during my first attempt.Rinsing on a weekly basis is not feasible. Too much work indeed! I am going to give growing berries one more try and will post pictures in a few days. But if it takes a weekly rinse to keep things going I'll end the grow and move them outside. Thank you for the hard work and excellent documentation!

L
lynnee

agfarm, don't plant a crown in every pod opening, and keep the pH at a comfortable level for strawberries, and you should do okay!

Day 63
UPDATE#17
Grower update

Update #17

L By lynnee

Very few of the Burpee strawberries have been misshapen. Today I found this one, the first that is truly deformed.The commonest cause is frost damage, but it may also be the result of incomplete pollination. It's possible that the garden was too cold at night when I had the central heating turned off a few weeks ago.Strawberry frost damage The strawberries generally continue to do well. They seem to like being maintained at a pH between 6.5 and 7.0 (more or less). There are quite a few developing berries in among the leaves, and a few are visible in the dark area of the photo if you enlarge it.It intrigues me, that the flowers mostly show up above the leaves, but the ripe berries are always found underneath the leaves, at the very bottom of the plants. DcKpvN
Conversation
S
Sher

The misshapen strawberry looks eerie! And I do see those rubies hiding in the dark. I used to collect wild strawberries. They did the same thing -- flowers high above the plant, with the fruit hidden underneath. I wonder if it is an adaptation to protect the fruit until it is ripe? Then the critters scatter the seeds.

S
Shawn

Wow, all the fruit/seeds are on the bottom. That is odd. But I too see some fruit in the darkness.

L
lynnee

It could well be a means of protecting the fruit. My grandmother, a farmer's wife, was always complaining, "The birds got most of my strawberries this year."

Day 52
UPDATE#16
Grower update

Update #16

Actions taken

HarvestHarvested ripe strawberries for snacks.

L By lynnee

Day 52. I'm thrilled to see new blossoms on the plants! Today there were half a dozen ripe strawberries. I've been harvesting one or two every couple of days--enough for the occasional snack.I'm still amazed that these plants are producing full-size strawberries. They're a little smaller now, but they're juicy and sweet.
Conversation
S
Shawn

I am so happy these are thriving.

L
lynnee

Thanks! I'm still amazed, because my AG strawberry crowns did so poorly. That made me think that "grow strawberries in your Aerogarden" was mostly advertising hype. I have another dozen crowns from the same Burpee shipment in the garage. Before long I'll take the Zebras out of the Farm Plus 24, and plant the crowns if they still look okay. (The Zebras really belong in a Farm XL, because they're indeterminates that grow fairly tall.)I want to find out whether strawberries (Albions, anyway) will do well from the outset if you do nothing other than weekly R&Rs with close pH monitoring (6.2-7.0).

S
Sher

lynnee, your gorgeous strawberries continue to amaze me!

Day 48
UPDATE#15
Grower update

Update #15

Actions taken

SolutionPerformed the usual weekly solution change.
HarvestHarvested another half dozen strawberries.

L By lynnee

The strawberries received their usual weekly R&R on Saturday (Day 46), and now the roots look gray. Still healthy, I think. Today I harvested another half dozen strawberries, and they were juicy and sweet. There are maybe another dozen berries still developing.What I was able to learn from Google research is that everbearing strawberries like the Albions should produce 2 or 3 crops per season. I didn't find anything about forcing new blossoms, so my plan is to continue the weekly R&Rs, along with supplying all the things that strawberries need (especially calcium and potassium) and monitoring pH daily.The ideal pH for strawberries is 6.2 to 7.0. I'm using a simple test kit, and aiming for pale or light yellow-green color. Very scientific!
Conversation
S
Sher

The roots look good to me. Don't mess with success. Keep on doing what you are doing!

S
Shawn

I would continue with what you are doing as you are getting some wonderful strawberries.

Day 44
UPDATE#14
Grower update

Update #14

L By lynnee

Day 44. The strawberries are continuing to ripen. No new blooms, so I need to read up on when to expect more from an "everbearing" variety like the Albion.In growing strawberries, I now think it's very important to maintain the pH in the "golden" 5.5-6.5 range. The water in the Farm 12 Plus gets acidic (pink to red) if I do nothing--probably that would be mitigated by connecting the garden to an Aerovoir so that 7.0 pH tap water would be feeding in all the time.The photo below shows a new leaf set (at left) that appeared AFTER I started monitoring the pH closely to forestall a calcium deficiency. The set at right shows what happens when the plant can't take up the available calcium due to low pH--leaf sets are stunted and don't open right. The partly opened set in the middle (arrow) got adequate calcium for most of the time when it was developing, so only the leading edge of one of the three leaves is brown.The strawberries today (4/7/22) in the Farm Plus and the Kratky.
Conversation
S
Sher

Beautiful, beautiful photos! lynnee, are you using AG nutrients? I am puzzled by your pH fluctuations. Do you see that only in your strawberry gardens?

S
Shawn

My mouth is watering for strawberries now.

L
lynnee

Thanks! Yes, I'm using AG nutrients (24ml per weekly R&R) plus CalMag (10ml per R&R). It's only with mature, fruiting strawberries that I have extreme pH changes.The mature Mini Munch cuke sometimes drifts toward acid, but it hasn't needed pH adjustments between R&Rs since I added the Aerovoir. It consumes a lot of nutrients, according to the TDS readings that may go to 200 or less between biweekly R&Rs.Strawberries need a lot of calcium when they're growing and fruiting, which accounts for the need to keep the pH adjusted. Why the water gets acidic even with weekly R&Rs is a total mystery to me. Maybe it's because they are consuming the nutrients so quickly?This excerpt from an article at Strawberryplants.org stresses the need to maintain a healthy pH level. I think that you can do this adequately with weekly R&Rs with only AG nutrients, but strawberries do seem to need extra attention once they're growing and blooming. FWIW, I am still shaking my head at the strawberry plant in the Kratky. I wouldn't have believed it possible to grow harvestable, tasty strawberries that way! Now I'm really interested in Kratky culture, because it uses so much less water than soil culture. California's drought is getting pretty serious.

S
Sher

Once again, you have given us fantastic insights on strawberry nutrition, also widely applicable to other plants. Thank you, lynnee. it also occured to me that calcium raises pH, so if your strawberries are using lots of it, that could also contribute to the increasing acidity, I would think. As for Kratky, it's phenomenal, even on large scale projects. Here are a couple of mind boggling videos for you from vloggers I like: Peter Stanley - Changing out 45 gallon Kratky trash can nutrients Matt Garver -- Giant Kratky squash and cucumbers

Day 40
UPDATE#13
Grower update

Update #13

Actions taken

HarvestHarvested six ripe strawberries.

L By lynnee

Day 40. Today I harvested 6 ripe strawberries (one from the Kratky), and they tasted good but not as sweet as I'd hoped for. The one from the Kratky was the sweetest, and almost perfect.Kratky strawberry is on the left. The other harvested strawberries were comparable in size to these.Now that I have healthy Albion strawberry plants growing, it's time to figure out what the optimal nutrition should be. From these two web sites, I've learned that sweetness depends more on the plant variety than anything else, so nutrition is key to improving flavor, I think. strawberryplants.org/www.yara.us/crop-nutrition/strawberry/nutrient-deficiencies/The Yara photos make it clear that the new leaf sets that are coming in with burned leaf tips are signaling a calcium deficiency (add more CalMag, maybe). The brown leaf edges (which one AG growing guide says is normal for strawberries) is a potassium deficiency (add more AG nutes, maybe).Something else that I've learned is that strawberries really like having a weekly R&R. Probably it's because adding fresh plant food weekly corrects the above deficiencies. Strawberries also benefit from some pH testing and correction. The water in my AG gets too acidic if I don't watch it. When the pH is low, the plants have difficulty taking up calcium, so that probably explains why the plants show calcium deficiency despite receiving some CalMag already. The Albion is an "everbearing" variety that is supposed to continuously produce fruit over a summer growing season.
Conversation
S
Sher

Your strawberry experiment is an impressive success, lynnee. I love Kratky, and used to do a lot of it. Space and light are my limitations. Still, I am surprised that the Kratky strawberry was bigger and tasted best.

L
lynnee

Kratky definitely grows on you! I can't believe that the strawberry crown survived, let alone that it is producing fruit. It even has unhealthy-looking roots. It has received extra R&Rs, because I wasn't sure about how much AG nutrient to add to 1 pint of water. It seems to be happy with 1.5 ml, along with weekly/biweekly rinses.

S
Shawn

They look juicy sweet

Day 36
UPDATE#12
Grower update

Update #12

Actions taken

HarvestHarvested and tasted the first ripe strawberry.

L By lynnee

Day 36. One ripe strawberry! It tasted like a juicy strawberry, but probably would have been sweeter if given another day or two before harvesting. I counted at least 27 more developing strawberries on the 12 crowns!
Conversation
S
Shawn

That one ripened really fast. I also spy a few others in there.

S
Sher

lynnee, it is HUGE! And so beautiful, it almost doesn't look real!

L
lynnee

When I ordered the crowns, I thought they were dwarfs. Now we know that you can grow Albions, which are not dwarfs, in an Aerogarden.

Day 34
UPDATE#11
Grower update

Update #11

Actions taken

PruningContinued removing strawberry runners.

L By lynnee

Day 34. Strawberries seem to like having a weekly R&R! There are a lot of strawberries developing, and the roots still look healthy (mostly white or light brown).Burpee says to leave a few runners on the plants; AG says to remove the runners. Does anyone know which is right?For now I'm removing the runners, because I'm not going to save the plants for another season, and I won't be transplanting them outdoors.
Conversation
S
Sher

Wow! So healthy and beautiful! My guess is that Burpee's advice is more for soil grown plants, and AG's is more for hydroponics.

S
Shawn

Look at that strawberry ripening. Beautiful.

A
agfarm

Amazing progress!! Your leaves look excellent and I like the size of those berries.I want to offer advice on runners but full disclosure...both my strawberry attempts are not doing well. Having said that, I have been trimming away runners.

Day 32
UPDATE#10
Grower update

Update #10

L By lynnee

Day 32. The Albion strawberries are definitely NOT miniatures, which Is good. The largest strawberry is starting to ripen!
Conversation
S
Sher

I am so happy they are not miniatures! More bites for the effort!

B
belugaleuca

That looks fabulous!

S
Shawn

DcKpvN

Day 29
UPDATE#9
Grower update

Update #9

Actions taken

PruningRemoved new leaf sets with brown tips.
PollinationUsed a battery-operated toothbrush to pollinate blooms.
FinishedAdded pH UP to correct acidity.

L By lynnee

Day 29. Strawberries are doing well, but leaves have some brown edges. I'm removing any new leaf sets that are showing up as brown-tipped, because the leaves don't open properly. Lots of developing strawberries, but none are ripe as yet. Pollination with child's battery-operated toothbrush works fine, and doesn't damage anything.TDS was 879 ppm, so they probably don't need more nutes (last R&R was 3 days ago). pH tested at 4.5-5.0 (mildly acidic), so I added 4.5ml pH UP (blue). pH now tests in 5.5-6.5 range (yellow). Weekly R&R may be advisable for strawberries. Pump still set to always on (60/000).
Conversation
S
Sher

I am so excited about your developing strawberries, lynnee! And your bottom photo highlights the unusual veining pattern of the leaves in stunning detail. I had never paid attention to that before seeing your photo.

L
lynnee

You have a sharp eye, Sher! That's why your photos of little wildflowers are so enjoyable.

M
maskedsonnet

So many berries!!! Very exciting!! Do you trim your plants at all? Mine are DENSE and I'm starting to think maybe I should, I haven't done any cutting on them since the initial thinning

L
lynnee

maskedsonnet, When I'm learning to grow something, I let the plant do what it wants until intervention is clearly needed. So I haven't done anything besides (1) pollinate every blossom, repeating every day until the petals fall off, (2) remove new leaf sets with blackened leaf tips, (3) remove runners, and (4) do weekly R&Rs.Mine were started from Burpee New Albion crowns, not from seeds like yours. Much to my surprise, the single Kratky crown has three strawberries developing.I think that Burpee crowns must be particularly vigorous!

Day 26
UPDATE#8
Grower update

Update #8

Actions taken

SolutionChanged the Farm strawberry solution.
NutrientsAdded AeroGarden nutrients and CalMag+.

L By lynnee

Strawberries got an R&R today (Day 26). Added 24ml AG nutes and 5ml CalMag+. The roots look healthy.
Conversation
S
Sher

They look very healthy!

Day 24
UPDATE#7
Grower update

Update #7

Actions taken

FinishedRaised the pH from roughly 4–4.5 to 6.0.

L By lynnee

It's Day 24, and the strawberry crowns are doing very well. I've no idea why these are growing so fast and easily. Maybe it's because I pre-ordered the crowns from Burpee, so that they were very fresh?One problem has shown up. Some of the new leaf sets are coming in with brown or black tips. I was removing these (see photo) until I saw that a set on one plant was opening with brown tips on otherwise healthy-looking leaves. I left those, and we'll see what happens.This did prompt me to test the pH, which was very acidic at 4-4.5. The TDS was 630, with an R&R coming in 4 days, so I decided just to adjust the pH for today. Adding 4ml of pH UP (blue solution) brought it up to 6.0.The ideal settings for strawberries are something like pH 5.8 to 6.2 and TDS 800 to 1000.This is the plant with the biggest strawberry. So far the plants haven't produced many runners. I've been removing them as they show up. The Kratky strawberry is also healthy.
Conversation
S
Sher

lynnee , I know absolutely NOTHING about growing strawberries. But sometimes brown growing tips are because the plant is growing faster than it can uptake adequate calcium.Sometimes a fan will make a plant respire faster so it draws up enough calcium. Other times a bit of calmag can help.I have no idea if that applies to your strawberries. Or the reservoir could be so acidic that that is what is affecting the uptake of calcium. Here's a pH chart that might help. (And I bet Shawn already has it posted, but I forgot to check.)

L
lynnee

Some of the older leaves are brown at part of the edges, Sher , so it could well be a calcium issue. I'll add 2ml CalMag+ now.Not that I'm knowledgeable about the science like you are!

S
Sher

Aw, lynnee, I am not that knowledgeable. I just like reading geek hydro stuff!

S
Shawn

Yup, it is posted Sher LOL... In the Nutrients and Supplements Section

S
Sher

Thanks. I realized it probably was.I need to go through that board and familiarize myself with everything it contains. It is a gold mine!

S
Shawn

No you don't I just refer to where everyone should look LOL

L
lynnee

It IS a gold mine, Shawn! I need to get in the habit of looking there before I start Googling.

Day 20
UPDATE#6
Grower update

Update #6

Actions taken

SolutionChanged the Kratky solution early.
PollinationPollinated the visible strawberry flowers.
PruningRemoved three runners.

L By lynnee

Yesterday (3/13/22; Day 22), I gave the Kratky an early R&R, after 1 week. Today it rewarded me with a blossom! It just blows me away, that this strawberry crown is doing so well in a Kratky.The AG strawberries are doing fine. I'm pollinating all the blooms, regardless of whether the crowns have 6 leaf sets. I just can't bear to cut off the blooms, because they're so pretty.agfarm , we'll see whether the plants go downhill from here--I have another 12 crowns in the garage, so can start over if they do. (I don't totally trust the Aerogarden growing instructions, because the AG tomato instructions didn't work out well for me.) I took three runners off tonight.The first photo below shows a newly pollinated blossom with a developing strawberry just below it. The petals do fall off of the pollinated flowers. The second photo shows a pollinated bloom with a lot of yellow pollen underneath.
Conversation
S
Sher

This is like following an engrossing saga!

S
Shawn

I love it. The flower is pretty and I see that strawberry forming. YAY

Day 14
UPDATE#5
Grower update

Update #5

Actions taken

SolutionPerformed a rinse and refill.
NutrientsAdded AeroGarden nutrients.
PollinationAttempted manual pollination of the flowers.

L By lynnee

Day 14. Time for an R&R, plus 24ml AG nutes. The Kratky (1.5ml nutes in 100ml water--slightly less than a pint) is keeping up with the rest, it seems. I found an old AG thing on growing strawberries that advised removing flowers until the plant has at least six leaf sets (3 leaves each). Only one of my crowns has flowers, so I left them in place just to see what happens. I tried to pollinate them, but am not sure that I did it right. The blooms take a more delicate touch than Fairy Tale eggplant, I think, though AG says to pollinate strawberries with the "be the bee" accessory.
Conversation
S
Shawn

They look so good.

S
Sher

Someday do a search for Rick, who tried repeatedly, unsuccessfully, to grow strawberries in a Harvest. Your garden would have looked like heaven to him. (I think he must has passed away before ever achieving success.)

A
agfarm

Your progress looks great! And excellent write up. It is very clear and has all the key details starting at post 1. I too saw that note about removing flowers until the crowns have grown some more. I feel like that is part of how my seascapes started to decline (when I decided not to cut off flower trusses). It is just too painful to kill off those beautiful flower trusses. Maybe try on a select couple to see how they compare?

L
lynnee

agfarm, that's a good suggestion, and I'll experiment. Did you remove the flowers on the pineberries?

A
agfarm

That's a great question/point. I did not cut any flowers on the pineberries. At first, the pineberries dragged in progress when compared to the seascapes. The pineberry fruit is growing very very slowly. What's confusing is only half the pineberries are flowering. All pineberries are making runners.Seascapes are not making any runners...interesting.

A
agfarm

Also, at the beginning, I trimmed the roots of my seascapes to about 6 inches. I see you did not, instead you modified the pods.I think that's a key point to your early success. My seascapes took time to recover their roots after I cut them. Roots are arguably more important than leaves.

L
lynnee

Not trimming the roots may have allowed the crowns to grow faster. I didn't even think of trimming the roots, because I didn't have the AG instructions in front of me when I did the planting! I love growing new types of fruits and veggies for the first time. Figuring out what they need to flourish and to taste good is more fun than actually eating the final produce.

S
Sher

Oh, lynnee ! My deepest sympathies!You have an utterly incurable case of Aerogarden addiction!

Day 9
UPDATE#4
Grower update

Update #4

L By lynnee

Day 9. Big surprise this morning!
Conversation
S
Sher

The BEST kind of surprise! Short of the first strawberry, anyway!

Day 7
UPDATE#3
Grower update

Update #3

Actions taken

EquipmentAdded a dedicated AeroGarden Grow Light and timer for the Kratky strawberry.

L By lynnee

So far the strawberry crowns are doing fine, even the one in the Kratky! The AG newsletter had the Grow Light on special for something like $83, so I bought one for my occasional Kratky projects. (I don't have much space for plants next to windows.) I also felt sorry for the strawberry crown in the Kratky. The Grow Light doesn't have a timer, so I have a simple on/off timer coming from Amazon today. The shiny black top of the Grow Light is highly reflective! That's a table covered with a pink towel that's visible in the photo.
Conversation
S
Sher

lynnee , I used to use those lights a lot for Kratky -- some on the stand and some suspended in a closet when the plants got too tall. They worked great! Your little strawberry should love it. And your strawberry plants all look amazing!

Day 3
UPDATE#2
Grower update

Update #2

L By lynnee

Day 3. The strawberry crowns are producing leaves!
Conversation
S
Sher

They look so happy, lynnee!

S
Shawn

On their way to a successful grow.

Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update

Update #1

Actions taken

TransplantInstalled twelve Albion strawberry crowns in a Farm 12 and one in a Kratky container.
NutrientsAdded AeroGarden nutrients at planting.
EquipmentCut the ends from pods and used split sponges to support the crowns.

L By lynnee

Started 2/22/22 in Farm 12. Burpee New Albion strawberry crowns, planted according to the official AG instructions. These may be too large to grow in an AG, but we'll see. www.aerogarden.com/blog/growing-strawberries/No mention is made of pump settings or nutrient amounts. Guessing that crowns won't need a germination stage, I started with a pump setting for high-growth tomatoes--60/000 (pump runs constantly)--and 24ml AG nutes. The crowns were very dirty. Although I rinsed the roots thoroughly, the lukewarm water for the recommended two hours' soaking ended up with a lot of dirt.The roots were too big to thread out of the net portion of the pods, so I cut off the ends of the pods. Then I had to use split AG sponges to hold the smaller crowns up at the top of the pods. (When you cut off the pod ends, there's nothing to hold the sponges in place.) Perhaps the crowns are planted too high? Naturally I counted wrong, so I soaked one extra crown. Number 13 went into a Kratky (now covered in tinfoil). That's my GZ tomato project in the background.
Conversation
M
maskedsonnet

Good luck!! Strawberries are the best

S
Sher

I have seen people really struggle with strawberry crowns. I think your setting yours way up high might be the magic solution. Crossing my fingers that they are a stunning success! DcKpvN

L
lynnee

The height can be adjusted, I think, if it looks like the right thing to do. I have another dozen of these plants, so can try again if this batch fails quickly. I don't know how long bare root plants remain viable.These crowns seem much healthier than the ones that AG used to sell. The AG crowns were much smaller, and very dried out. A couple of them were actually DOA.Anyway, agfarm's and maskedsonnet's great strawberry projects here are what inspired my second try at strawberries from crowns..

S
Shawn

Following and wishing you great success with them.

Enlarged photoClick outside the image to close