Growing Strawberries in the Willamette Valley
Survey says: gardeners who grow late varieties seem to have better harvests.
Cliff notes:
In my review of garden accounts, I find that 150/260 or 58% report serious pest and some disease issues on their strawberries.
One significant issue is some cultivars that put out excessive amounts of runners that are hard to dig out, especially for those who have arthritis. Day-neutral cultivars are supposed to put out the least amount of runners.
In my garden I noticed a phenomenon where all of my earliest ripening strawberries were prone to pests, but my late ripening ones were never touched.
After reviewing the above reports from growers across the Willamette Valley and SW Washington, it appears that those who have strawberries ripening July, August, and even later are having far better success than May and June ripening cultivars - similar to my experience.
In my garden
My personal strawberry trials have have been a mix of some success, but a whole lot more frustration.
Trial #1 went ok for a few years. Seascape which is a late ripening day-neutral variety with very good flavor. But a buildup of Bortrytis fruit rot prompted me to remove the plants as it turned into a waste of space. I had no other pests on these plants.
Trial #2 was in sunnier locations. I tried many varieties to see which ones I would have bortrytis issues with, since there is very little literature out there on mold resistant varieties. I was *not* careful to purchase certified disease-free plants. Oops. These really didn't fruit at all. (Word is, strawberries build up viral and fungal diseases after a few years and need to be replaced. Often the only symptom is lack of fruiting. Lesson learned - spend a couple bucks on disease-free plants).
Trial #3 was in a sunny location with Hood being my selection. The first year, I let the blooms grow (I know, you aren't supposed to but I wanted strawberries!) but something kept stealing ALL the berries as they were ripening. I finally figured out the culprit: chipmunks! I tried various methods keeping them out, including using a live trap to get the chipmunks out of the garden, but it didn't make a dent in the population. The next year, the Hoods grew absolutely beautifully, but the damn chipmunks were at it right away. I had my trap out and trapped NINE chipmunks in a matter of two weeks, driving them miles away from here. As soon as I reset the trap, another one would appear. It got exhausting and ultimately proved futile. And before you suggest, I did try netting. Does not work at all. Birds also find their way in there and like the fruit. One chipmunk nearly choked itself to death on the netting as well.
Trial #4 is actually part of trial #2, but I'm making a note of it separately as I believe it was a disease-free plant that I purchased, and has been fruiting for me for a few years. Sadly I'm not sure what variety it is - I long ago lost the tag. I have notes mentioning Elan or Albion. Either way, it is a late, day-neutral cultivar and the squirrels and birds **don't touch it**. Seriously!! I get tons of fruit off of this one plant.
I have read that with birds on blueberries, once the birds have left the nest, they will leave blueberries alone. I wonder if the same phenomenon is happening with the chipmunks: the early plants simply coincide with something to do with raising their young.
Research
To find out what other gardeners in our area have experienced, I once again decided to poll roughly 20 Facebook groups up and down the Willamette Valley and SW Washington. I collected over 260 gardener’s notes! That may seem excessive, but boy did it give me some solid data.
Here is the long list of notes that I gathered.
After I collected all of the notes, I plucked out the ones where I could determine if there was a date associated with the notes. I rearranged roughly by timing - about half of the 260 notes I collected I was able to discern what stage of the month the gardener was referring to. I underlined and bolded the problems, and conversely I highlighted the success stories. Note that there are *very* few success stories in May. In June, especially mid-June, it gets better, but still lots of frustration. July and August show the very best months for having good harvests of strawberries. These notes can be accessed here.
One possible explanation for the largest reports of problems in May and June could simply be that more gardeners are growing May and June varieties? I have no way of knowing if that is true or not, and would love to continue hearing from gardeners as to what is working/not working for them.
Reported problems
Slugs 39/260 or 15% of growers report substantial slug damage on their strawberries. Slugs are by far the number one enemy of my garden as well, of which I’ve written about extensively. Note that incidences with slug complaints drop off completely by late June in my above report. Some folks swear by beer traps which I personally don’t like, and other folks swear by Sluggo. One gardener reported a rat eating the sluggo they had laid in their garden. Another gardener responded that rats chewed a hole through their Sluggo container to get to the bait. I personally have seen dead mice in a container of Sluggo before I determined that Sluggo just does nothing to deter slugs from eating plants in my garden and stopped using it. Note that Sluggo is toxic to earthworms and dogs and presumably other animals.
“Something” 25/260 gardeners reported some unidentified critter eating their strawberries. Curiously, the reports of some unidentified creature eating berries drops off 6/17.
Squirrels & chipmunk: 22/260 or 8% of gardeners report that they have a terrible time mostly with squirrels, some with chipmunks. The problem here is huge - as there are typically NO berries to harvest if you have a squirrel or chipmunk problem. Gardeners have built all kinds of cages to try and keep them out. In my case of chipmunks, netting doesn’t work at all and a cage will need to be very tight, otherwise the small chipmunk can maneuver around it. There is one report of squirrel issues in August, otherwise the reports of this problem drop off on 6/15, with both May and June being very problematic months. I’m so curious to know what it is about this phenomenon. I know that in my yard the chipmunks don’t go away, but they do leave the later ripening berries completely alone. It seems that other folks experience this too. Does it have something to do with how they feed their young, and once the squirrels are mature they no longer rely on the green berries? Anyone out there know?
Birds 18/260 or 7% of gardeners report bird predation, with various kinds of crows, Jays, and Robins. There is one report of a problem with birds in early July, but mostly the issues drop off around mid-June. May seems to be the most problematic month.
Runners: 19/260 or 7% of gardeners report that their strawberries are producing way too many runners. The plants choke each other out, resulting in very little berry production. Some gardeners report molding issues on plants that are crowded. I noted that folks particularly complained of runner issues on Pineberries, Hula berries, Hoods, and Shuksan. One gardener reports that they have a really hard time with the excess runner production due to arthritis issues in their hands. I personally have tried really hard to keep runner production down on my June-bearing, but found that as soon as I cut them off more would appear. And those that do root are difficult to pull out if the soil is heavy. From my understanding of this OSU publication, Day-neutral cultivars put out the least amount of runners.
Ceased production: 5/260. A handful of gardeners reported that their strawberries have ceased or never produced. My understanding from reading various literature on the topic is that some viruses build up (transmitted by aphids or other insects) and the only symptom is no berry production.
Tough, dry, mealy berries: 5/260. Some gardeners are reporting misshapen or dried berries. In looking at some of the photos, they seem to be heat or water-stressed plants, but not everyone reported on the growing conditions, so I’m not really sure what is going on. Could be viral issues too.
Ants: 4/260 a couple of gardeners reported that ants eat their berries. It seems to be a phenomenon more likely in May and June, but there is not enough data.
Sow or pillbug: 4/260 Another phenomenon seemingly more common in May and June, but not enough data.
Rats: 4/260 another phenomenon more common in May and June, but not enough data.
Rabbits 3/260 I was unable to determine any timing on this as an issue, but it is thankfully an uncommon one.
Misc insect 4: 3/260 there was a few insects posted that I am not familiar with. All of them were different. All reported in May.
Skunk: only one report of a skunk thankfully.
Variety discussions:
Seascape (Day-neutral) is the clear winner, with 13 gardeners reporting this as their preferred variety. One gardener reported “sour” berries. This may be because the berries look a tad under-ripe, maybe a mislabeling issue, or some issue with the terroir.
Albion (Day-neutral) is the runner up, with 9 gardeners reporting this is their favorite variety. One gardener reporting a little molding.
TriStar: (Day-neutral) 5 gardeners report success, although word is that the variety is a pretty small berry. Some folks prefer the flavor of this one over all others.
Quinalt (everbearing) 5 gardener reports success with this variety. Another gardener is removing quinalt to make room for more Seascape. 2 gardeners report this variety makes tiny inedible berries.
Hood (June Bearing) 6 gardeners reported this as their favorite variety. 3 gardeners reported bland flavor. I personally have had Hoods that were good, and some that were bland. Don’t know what the mechanism is, perhaps since this is a very early variety, the coinciding early rains may dilute the flavor. And 5 gardeners reported they just don’t keep well, molding very quickly. I’ve also had this experience with farm bought flats - strawberries that look great on top, molded on the bottom. That’s a very expensive and frustrating experience.
Ozark (Everbearing): 3 growers report Ozark as their favorite variety.
Misc: these varieties 1-2 gardeners report good success with: Tillamook, Heritage, Rainier, Marshall, Mary’s Peak, Sweet Sunrise, Shuksan,
Misc notes:
Pallet growing: one gardener reported trying this method, and found that they dry out way too fast, and the pallets break down and rot.
Gutter growing: one gardener reported the “gutter” method and found the plants dry out way too quickly.
Rock painting: there’s a whole lot of discussions of folks painting rocks red and placing them near their plants to fool birds squirrels and birds from eating their ripe berries. One person said they tried this without success. Two folks say it is working ok for them. But there’s not enough research to suggest that this method is effective. I imagine it is the scent that critters go for more than the color… the internet tells me squirrels cannot distinguish between red and green. More research needed.
Back to my garden:
My next trial will be a two-prong approach. I'll try late, day-neutral cultivars. Day neutral cultivars also don't set a lot of runners (which I prefer - I hate digging strawberries all over my yard - they don't come up easily). The lack of runners will allow me to make enclosed cloches out of chicken wire if needed that I can pin to the ground and just lift up when I'm ready to harvest.
Strawberries are important to my family. We LOVE frozen Oregon strawberries. Simply thawed out, they are divine. Use a little sugar if you really want to, but it isn't required.
In a pinch, I can always buy flats as many farmers near me grow strawberries. But I was super disappointed last year to spend $100 on two flats of Hoods that were all moldy once you get past the first layer.
Also, there is a u-pick farm near me that has excellent pricing. But when they open their farm it is so crowded it feels like going to a zoo concert. And my back can't handle all that much picking at one time.
Stay tuned for updates!
What’s been working, or not working in your garden?
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