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lovinroses

strawberry fertilizer

LovinRoses
15 years ago

I just read on Gurney's website that they recommend a strawberry fertilizer that is 10-57-10 or there abouts. What would you kids suggest that I buy locally, like at the Grange-coop. Want to give these babies a boost. They are new this year and only have a few blossoms. Thanks so much, Suzy

Comments (5)

  • buzzy
    15 years ago

    I don't know - I just use the same stuff on the strawberries as everything else in the vegetable garden - chicken manure, bonemeal, and wood ashes - NPK. I don't lime them, tho, they like acid soil, which is why people often mulch them with pine needles

    they seem to thrive

    The first year you plant them you don't get many, if any, blossoms. It's often recommended to pinch out the runners the first year, too, so the plant puts its energy into growing stronger itself, instead of throwing out babies. Next year should be more bloom.

    I'm currently growing Italian musk strawberries from Raintree - they took 4 years before blooming! The plants were healthy but no berries. Finally, Raintree put the information in their catalog that these plants can take 3 or more years to bloom - but worth the wait. Exquisite flavor! and very productive once they get going.

    enjoy your berries

  • reg_pnw7
    15 years ago

    10-57-10?? sounds like toxic waste to me, or at least will result in major water pollution. 57% phosphorus???

    Can't be. Nothing needs that much, and you'd probably poison most of your soil microbe community if you tried it. And I shudder to think what they would have to put in it, to get it that high.

    No, I've never put anything special on the strawberries, just regular veggie or fruit tree fertilizer, and ordinary composts. No amount of fertilizer will get them to do what they're genetically programmed to not do. 16-16-16 is the highest phosphorus content I've ever used, and I haven't used that stuff for years now. You can definitely have too much of a good thing with fertilizers. They're not food exactly, more like vitamins. Plant food comes from sunlight and air.

    Are these June bearing or everbearing? June bearers won't bear the first year. Everbearers will often put out a small crop their first fall.

  • tfox000_centurytel_net
    12 years ago

    My strawberries need a little help, like i'm low
    on something in the soil, what do strawberries need the most of to produce

  • laurell
    12 years ago

    I giggled a little when reading this. My strawberries are growing (and producing) in gravel next to the bed I made for them!

  • oliveoyl3
    12 years ago

    It might not need much fertilizer, so you should check a few things 1st...

    1. Is crown @ right depth?
    2. Is spacing good or roots crowded?
    3. Does it have what it needs?

    *deep weekly watering not just sprinkle or misting
    *good drainage
    *compost or well rotted manure in April just as coming into growth
    *mulch (used coffee grounds topped with straw or white wood shavings -- pet bedding from feed store work here)
    *sunny location

    Ours are blooming (we're usually 2 weeks later than most in the Seattle area due to elevation & east toward mountains location)

    I pulled back the mulch slightly in early March & will reapply more as soon as I get to it in the next few weeks as the soil is warming now. SB want cool soil, but not 45 degrees like it's been. Thursday measured 56 degrees, so a big jump in the past 2 weeks since we've had milder temps & SUNSHINE!

    Corrine