Strawberry problems

It's with great regret that I inform the internet of the passing of one of my strawberry plants.

Dead strawberry.

This is one of six I picked up at the Union Square farmer's market for $5 this spring. The tag helpfully calls it "Everbearing", not like everbearing versus June-bearing, but like that's the variety's name?

If you've been reading along you'll have seen photos from harvested strawberries, so you know I haven't been following recommendations to cut off all runners and berries in the first year, to allow the roots time to get established. I actually did do that with four of the plants for the first few months, but it seemed a little silly with plants in such small pots, especially as I might be moving them again before the fall. The dead plant is one of the two I've harvested from since the beginning though, so maybe I should have given them the recommended time.

I also ended up with a few runners when I got more lax about trimming them off, which ended up in the back, in the rubbermaid container I repurposed.

Baby strawberry plants in the back deck.

As you see, one of them is maybe, probably dead too. The middle plant was added a day after the first two but then got pulled out by a squirrel and never seemed to recover. I haven't pulled it out yet since I'm still not sure it's really dead and I don't have anything needing that spot.

So far I'm not sure if this is a problem with feeding or watering, or caused by discarding common strawberry wisdom. Probably all three!

First, the bad news

The transplanted eggplant isn't exactly flourishing.

Two days in.

It's not totally dead either, but I'm not sure what I can do for it. If anything the pot it's in has too much water, so I'll just wait and see some more, again.

Then there's the figs, which haven't grown at all since the first couple of weeks they came in.

I wasn't expecting them to get huge, it is a tiny plant in a tiny pot after all, but I worry they don't get enough water/nutrients/whatevs and I'll be looking at tiny green figs in October, wondering where it all went so wrong.

Finally the cucumber that had one end cutely supported by the plant is growing all funny, even though I clipped it free the day after I took the picture, just to avoid this scenario.

It's not a huge tragedy or anything, but these variable thickness cucumbers I seem so adept at growing are harder to pack into jars for pickling. Maybe I'll just end up with a lot of slices for sandwiches.

The good news is I can console myself with at least a few berries or cherry tomatoes every day.

This morning, from the front garden.

Friday, from the back garden.

Thursday, from the front garden.

And my first eggplant is almost big enough to harvest, any day now...

An eggplant!

First eggplant developing! Also more cukes.

Things are coming along out front, with the first eggplant already 3" long. Last week it was still a flower! I moved the cucumber and eggplant pot as far away from the tomatoes as possible on Friday, but yesterday the cucumbers were still finding inappropriate things to wrap around.

That sage isn't going to help you get anywhere, buddy.

There's a newer crop of strawberries coming in, I wonder if they'll taste any different from June's berries.

I had no idea there were so many until I went to take a picture.

I worry a little as I've run out of fish fertilizer and the hardware store has none in stock, while the closest nursery has never had it. Maybe it's time to try out some of that (expensive) bat guano fertilizer they carry?

There was also a honey (and/or mason?) bee out front yesterday, which was exciting since I never see this kind in the front, only in the back. Out front it's usually tiny bees only.

What I think of as a "regular" bee.

The herbs are doing alright, I'm starting to move some to the back since the direct sun plus the heat wave can be rough on the plants. July and August in NYC isn't for the faint-hearted. The one nasturtium out front bloomed and was a lovely peach color, but the plant has since gone back to looking like I singe it with a flamethrower every few days, just for funsies.

Last Monday. 

I've always thought of nasturtiums as fool-proof, probably because they were some of the first flowers I grew, but haven't had much luck this year. In the back the leaves look healthy, but are leggy and never flower, while out front they dry out. I do have two in a window box upstairs that have bloomed prolifically, but the leaves are in a terrible state from the heat and sun.

Eventually I'll find the spot for them—there are probably about ten other microclimates around the building I haven't tried yet.

Portable strawberry bed

Today I put together a new container using a rubbermaid bin (about 14"x20", 10" deep?) I pulled off the street some time ago. First I drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom.

Using a 1/2" bit, because that's what was on hand.

Then mixed up some potting mix using coco coir

The coir before water was added. Next to the watering can you can see the "Premium Cow Manure" from Agway. No ordinary manure for me!

and compost, or rather composted cow manure.

This is what premium quality looks like, apparently.

I ended up with a mix that was around 60-70% coco coir, just mixing until it looked and felt right to me.

Partially mixed, I added more coir after this.

I'll see how it works out over the next few days, hopefully it'll hold the right amount of water. I used the white bucket above to mix them at first but I think the next time I'll just add a thin layer of each to the container and then mix it up with a garden fork, repeating until it's full.

Before I filled the bin I placed in some broken pots and plates, and then a bit of plain coir, just to be sure any clumps of compost I missed didn't block the drainage holes.

Then the container was filled, though not to the top. I didn't think it needed that much depth and I didn't want it to be too heavy to lift. As it is, it's still pretty heavy.

With two baby strawberries. In front is my leaf lettuce and current arugula.

In my head this is a portable strawberry bed, but I have to admit it could be difficult getting it down the ladder, or out to the front steps, if I did want to move it to get more sun. For now it'll stay here, with some netting on top.

While I was out back I photographed one of the dragonflies that have shown up this week.

Resting on a mix of cables and dried vine parts.

I spent some time watching a giant one fly around down in the backyard. It seems the damp and shade that make our yard so attractive to mosquitoes is also nice for them.

I also snapped the seed pods forming on the flower stems of my winter arugula.

 I hadn't realized they grew like that, as I've never harvested the seeds before; it's a relief to see them because earlier on I'd torn open a dried flower and was worried there was nothing in there looking like it could form into seeds. Another crisis averted!

Front garden introduction

I say garden, but it's actually just the front steps with some containers. If it were feasible this is where I'd grow almost everything, as it's south-facing and gets a lot of sunlight, unlike the back yard. As it is I'm planning to have some cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplant here, as well as herbs since it's much easier to get to then the beds in back.

Right now there's a lot of little plants that will be set out back, but the large pot at the bottom has some cosmos and poppies planted and will stay put. Then going up there's the fig tree, some dill seedlings, strawberries, rue, more seedlings, and parsley that I've actually had growing in the window since January.

Close up of strawberries and the rue.

The rue is also an indoor window plant, which I picked up last year at the Union Square farmer's market. I've never grown it before and don't cook with it but I love the leaves and the weird scent. According to the internets dried rue is good for repelling insects, so maybe I'll harvest some for that. I'd actually like to get seeds and grow some more since a couple of the plants out back were the only non-shrubs to survive winter (plus the dog and other wildlife), but I suspect they'll need to be mail ordered since it's not very popular.

Closer to the top are scallions, dwarf sugar snap peas, and lettuce with a couple of baby herbs (rosemary and sage).

I've got a couple of 16" pots to bring out front, whenever I get it together to pick up some potting soil to fill them, and plans for two planters. We'll see how much actually gets done.