New Mexico isn’t known for its production of strawberries. However, a new study is underway and looking to determine the feasibility of growing strawberries as a specialty crop in the northern parts of the state. Fruit tree crops are often damaged by late frosts. These frosts decimate the production and harvest and profitability of New Mexico farmers.
Strawberries produce fruit in clusters, and their blossoms are often not uniformly destroyed by frosts. As such, the study currently underway is evaluating whether or not growing strawberries makes sense and can overcome the unique challenges of the region. So far, of the 16 varieties in the study, Kent, Mesabi, Cavendish, Honeoye, Brunswick, and Cabot have shown the most resistance to cold injury.
Continue reading Northern New Mexico Strawberries Studied
Strawberry growers have long sought to increase production to meet the demand for fresh strawberries. And, demand is high. The epicenter of world strawberry production is the state of California. Over 40,000 acres of strawberries are cultivated each year, and approximately half of that total is located in Watsonville and Salinas. Strawberry cultivation has obstacles to overcome, however. Soil pathogens have long been a thorn in the flesh of farmers trying to maximize production. Over the years, numerous attempts have been made to solve the problem of crop loss due to infection from fungal organisms.
Methyl bromide was used as a fumigant to sterilize soil. After being condemned internationally many years ago, it has slowly been phased out here as well. Methyl iodide, the replacement fumigant that followed, could have been used on strawberry farms, but was pulled last year after widespread concern over its alleged toxicity was raised by environmental groups. This void of effective chemical fumigants opened the door for a new, organic production method to prevent disease.
Enter anaerobic soil disinfestation.
Anaerobic soil disinfestation is a new treatment that seems to work as well as past fumigation techniques, without the dangers. As part of the treatment, carbon sources like rice bran, molasses and grape skins are mixed into the soil. A tarp is placed over the field, and drip irrigation is used to saturate the planting beds, thus triggering the growth of anaerobic bacteria. While not completely understood as of yet, the anaerobic bacteria probably produce organic acids that inhibit the fungal organisms. And, if that wasn’t hope-inspiring enough, the process is less-expensive than traditional fumigation methods.
Continue reading New Strawberry Method Shows Great Promise
Strawberry festivals are a wonderful source of fun and excitement for kids of all ages and adults too! Strawberry shortcake, pageants, and a host of entertaining events make for a great weekend experience for families. As temperatures rise and summer fun begins, why not celebrate the end of school and the beginning of vacation with one of these fabulous June strawberry festivals?!
The festivals that are happening in June are listed below. If you can’t make one this year, plan ahead! See the entire directory for the annual events.
Continue reading June Strawberry Festivals
Strawberry festivals are a wonderful source of fun and excitement for kids of all ages and adults too! Strawberry shortcake, pageants, and a host of entertaining events make for a great weekend experience for families. As strawberry harvest season begins in earnest all around the country, the strawberry festivals coincide. If you are looking for something to do this weekend, check out these strawberry events. If you are are even relatively close to where one is occurring, consider making the trip!
The festivals that are happening this weekend are listed below. However, even MORE festivals are going to be happening over Memorial Day weekend, so if you can’t make one this weekend, see the entire directory for those happening throughout the rest of the year.
Continue reading Weekend Fun: Strawberry Festivals!
The article linked in this post makes a few political comments, and it is not the place for this website to delve deeply into the treacherous currents of political discourse. However, the linked article points out a few of the difficulties associated with growing strawberries commercially. First and foremost of the difficulties is that strawberry plants are too delicate to plant via mechanized system.
They have to be planted by hand.
So, when the millions upon millions of strawberry plants are planted each year for the annualized plasticulture growing systems, they are inserted into the soil by human digits. That can make for some tired phalanges. For a better idea of how the planting process works, watch this video, and then click the link below to proceed straight to the full article:
Continue reading Millions of Strawberry Plants…Planted by Hand
From New Zealand comes news of a new elevated strawberry growing system. The strawberries are grown in elevated systems about a meter off the ground, and are grown in soil and pots. Although they are fertilized and watered in a precise way, they are not hydroponic since the plants and their roots are anchored [...]
A new substrate has been developed by Riococo for growing strawberries. The substrate is developed from coconut coir grown primarily in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka. The growing medium is composed and developed specifically with the greenhouse cultivation of strawberry plants in mind. Already in use by some of the biggest greenhouse growers in the United [...]
Latinos are taking advantage of the enormous California strawberry industry to carve out space for themselves and their families. Through the sacrificial decisions of first-generation farm owners, second-generation Latino strawberry growers are finding success as farm entrepreneurs. The number of Latino strawberry farm operators in California is growing rapidly.
As the ideal climate and [...]
It has been a long time in coming, but the University of California has updated the guidelines for nutrient sufficiency in strawberry plants. The last such publication was released in 1980, over 30 years ago. The study that led to the latest guidelines was funded by the California Strawberry Commission and was enabled by [...]
Thanks to the service of a few kind-hearted people, strawberries have been brought to Kenya to aid an orphanage. Irish volunteers from Wexford brought strawberry plants to Kenya to fill a need and serve the community’s demand for the tasty berries they produce. The organization Humanitarian Volunteers worked at St. Paul’s Children Care Centre [...]
It is never too early for a true Green Thumb to start thinking about the Spring and the garden that will come forth when the temperatures reverse their cooling trend and start warming again. Why not do something exotic in your garden this next growing season? Of course, our humble opinion is that strawberry [...]
Everyone loves a good strawberry. But, no one really wants to consume artificial chemicals. While still unsettled, the debate about the production methods used by the Strawberry Industry continues. For some background information, use the search box at the top right of the page to search for “iodide.” In short, to increase yields and [...]
Strawberries are a multi-billion dollar crop, and the market for them is global due to their wonderful flavor. Unless an unfortunate person has a strawberry allergy or other intolerance, the chances are good that strawberries list among that individual’s favorite fruits. Because of the popularity of the small red berries, technological and chemical advancements [...]
Strawberry plants are usually considered for new spring gardens in the middle of winter. Cabin fever has set in, and the barren brown or snowy white landscape evokes fond thoughts of green buds springing up from the ground. That is when most would-be gardeners start perusing the seed catalogs or surfing the internet wistfully [...]
New strawberry varieties are constantly being developed. Oftentimes, the improvements that are made through the breeding and selection process are somewhat significant, but small. Or, only certain aspects of the desired traits are manifest while others are not passed on during the process.
The latest release from Cornell’s berry breeder Courtney Weber is very [...]