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Cleanup day. Spent the 30 minutes cleaning up the wicking bed. Weeds pulled up easily, thanks to the good soil and getting to them early.
With the impending rain, I also decided it was time to start moving the strawberries to their new home in the comfrey bed. The strawberries and the comfrey are not a part of the thirty minute challenge, but I thought I’d write about them anyway, since weeding is a rather mindless task, like washing dishes: it has to be done, and it’s a great time to think, or listen to the news.
The strawberries are in an over grown area of the garden that is being moved. I am surprised that they came up, after digging under them with a shovel and then trying to tease the strawberry roots out. The hack here is a good time saver when you’re separating the strawberries from the root ball: Have a 4″ or better spike? Hold the strawberry/grass ball with the roots up. Holding the spike in your dominant hand, have only three inches exposed, holding the spike like a table knife. Use the point to separate the roots from the strawberry plant. a little careful picking will loosen it enough that you can wiggle it right out.
Making the new beds, I am moving soil from another bed. I decided I wanted to plant the strawberries more in line with the directions 12-18″ apart). I had created a sifter a couple of years ago, made from four 3ft 2×10’s and a 1/4″ mesh stretched across the bottom. “Orderly Bed Hack”: Turned the sifter upside down, placed it on the area I was going to create the bed. Shovel full at a time, I put the soil in the middle, then scraped the soil (by hand toward the edges. About six shovel fulls of soil created a four inch raised bed, all neatly blocked out. Lifting the sifter and placing it right next to the new fluffy bed of soil, do the same thing again. Plant within the hour and press down the soil. Fill the edges with mulch to suppress weeds.
Looking back at the strawberries, I see a lot of real estate where a companion plant could either live or “visit” until it’s harvest time. A good “visitor” will be lettuce, bush beans (like my favorite “providor”) would live all year.
Shop Locally First! If you can’t find them locally, you can find Seed/Plant Sources on Amazon:
Junebearing Strawberries Chandler 10 plants
Constant Fruiting Albion Strawberries 25 plants
Organic Provider Bush Bean Seeds
Lettuce Romaine Parris Island Cos Certified Organic Heirloom Seeds 275 Seeds
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