Container Gardening in the Alberta Urban Garden!

[Northernfox]

Oh I love this subject !!! I have so many container ideas in the Alberta Urban Garden !! I believe container gardening can allow more people to grow which is a great thing!!

From my garden tours !

To my container peppers

 

[Melissa]

Wonderful garden. I lot all my cilantro to a rat. Last year I had a rat that ate all of the herbs I had and my carnations. I am on the second floor. I was surprised he could get up here, but then I never lived where rats were. I used a lovely strawberry in the rat trap to catch the little guy. I am not sure what kind of rat he was, but he was young, and no others have come up to the deck since. I love all the veggies. You have so much room. It looks great.

 

[Northernfox]

That is the first time I have been accused of having room but I guess that is true

We are rat free here in Alberta but I have rats on wings that raid my garden. Silly birds were looking for worms one day and roped out one of my seascape strawberry plants.

 

[Canesisters]

What's a seascape strawberry?

 

[Northernfox]

It's a variety of strawberry developed in California in I believe the 1970s. It produces medium sized high flavor fruit and is cold hardy to -40 c.

It belongs to a class of strawberry called Day Neutral. There are three wide classes of strawberries out there.

June which produce typically the largest fruit however only once a year and it depends on what the sun is doing.

Ever bearing produce typically two times a year and are less dependent on what the sun is doing.

Day neutral will continue to produce until frost with no real defined "crop" time.

Below are two videos I have done this year. I am comparing a number of varieties. Soon I should be able to do the taste test

 

[the1honeycomb]

I love having raised beds of strawberries Very interested in the varieties you are talking about mine I only harvest for about a month. right now they are making new plants for the new beds in the fall Good luck keep us posted!

 

[the1honeycomb]

loving gardening!!

 

[Melissa]

I tried to do alpine strawberries a couple of years ago, but nothing ever germinated. I am hoping to do strawberries again, but this time buy seedlings.

 

[Northernfox]

Honey you must haw June bearing strawberries you want a new type in the spring you can pick up dormant root balls at around 25 for 10-13 bucks with shipping included in the US. My seascape cost me 25$ but it is rare to find in Canada

 

[Melissa]

Well I will be looking for them I think next year. By then I should have an idea where I can put them. My roommate teases that if I put anything else out there the deck will fall.

 

[Northernfox]

Melissa the same thing !! My alpine grew under grow lights for 3 months to get what I did. I also grew the Sierra F1 from seed. If I were you I'd so the Sierra from seed or buy dormant root balls of the seascape. My next garden tour I hope to so this weekend should show the insanely huge strawberry plants seascape are !

 

[Northernfox]

Lol my wife always teases me about the same thing. My garden area has 110% of the room taken up!

 

[Melissa]

Actually you can find strawberries sold on the roadside year round here. They are HUGE! The little rascal in me wants to raid a field for a plant.. But that would be wrong, and I am sure I would be caught. I am not very good at being sneaky. I will have to do some research on planting them here, as far as timming and types for my deck. But I am not in a hurry..

 

[Northernfox]

if it is on your deck I have a great Idea. do you have a railing?

if so you can get a 6inch rain gutter and a moisture control soil. you wont get the same production level as if they were in the ground but you can get some great production.

OOOOORRR

you can get a strawberry towner. there are a number of products out there but the best ones I have seen are the home built PVC pipe ones.

I would love to brainstorm with you!!

 

[Melissa]

ohh.. such great ideas! I do have a railing, I had thought of doing the tower idea, but had not thought about a DIY solution.. both sound like cool ideas..

 

[Northernfox]

The largest size rain gutter is best and a good moisture control soil and you will likely need to feed them while they are producing fruit with Nitrogen.

I have a video that shows mine. This one shows it a bit and I am fairly sure my earlier 2012 ones show more

the ones i have are shallow and really only good for basil and flowers

 

[Melissa]

Nice. I am going to have to see what I have available from friends in the area, before I go buy anything. That is my biggest struggle, I am not working, and finances are pretty tight.

 

[Northernfox]

if you have time and can find a home renovation you can pick up a LOT of free "trash" material that should be able to be converted into a good strawberry planter. lumber is the easiest. I can design something for you that is nice and easy to build and should serve the purpose. the soil however may cost you. let me know where you are heading

 

[Melissa]

Will do...