Strawberry Patch Update

This promises to be a busier winter than usual because we are learning a new skill. You probably remember a few weeks ago when we planted our first-ever strawberry crop. The planting went well, and timely rains have helped get the plants established. Mild weather, for the most part, has helped generate some early growth, and we can see the new dark green leaves emerging more and more each day. We are now in the process of "sanitizing" the crop. All that actually means is going down each row and manually snipping off any runners or dead/damaged foliage. When this is finished, we should have a field of healthy plants free of any weak foliage that could harbor disease. We will be preparing row covers next. The idea behind row covers is to protect the plants in the coldest parts of winter from extreme weather. They will also be necessary in the spring to protect blooms from frost. It's new and exciting, it's also a little scary, and comes with a steep learning curve. Wish us luck. We are gonna try as hard as we can to bring some delicious strawberries out of this dirt come spring.