The One with Strawberries

Strawberry. Success!!!

If you follow us on Twitter (Shameless plug alert: Follow us @ContnrGardenPR) you know that we're very excited about our strawberry plant. Just thinking of being able to taste fresh strawberries makes us salivate. However, our excitement was subdued by the fact that strawberries are difficult to grow in the tropics (see The Holy Grail post). They are prone to fungus and root rot due to the high humidity of Puerto Rico. To avoid this make sure your plants are in a well-ventilated area and that during watering no water falls on the leaves. Strawberries may also be victim to the dreaded aphids (We don't have a solution for this one yet but we're working on one.)

Against all odds, and much to our delight, in December our little plant produced a few flowers. Excitedly (and a little compulsively), we observed each day (did I say we were compulsive) how one of the flowers started to become a green strawberry fruit. We cared for it by keeping the soil moist and providing a balanced fertilizer every week.

The time had come. After a few weeks it ripened to a bright red color. We carefully cut the fruit from the plant, washed it clean, and cut it in half (Jessy and I both wanted to taste it). Taste-wise our strawberry tastes slightly less sweet than a supermarket bought fruit. I was expecting a bitter aftertaste but I was pleasantly surprised that it had the flavor I'm used to. In terms of size a supermarket fruit dwarfs our little strawberry which was to be expected. And now we wanted more.

Mother plant sending out a stolon. 

One of the nice things about growing your own strawberries (besides that sweet fresh flavor) is that they're easy to propagate. The plants you buy at the nursery are called mother plants. They send out runners called stolons which produce multiple daughter plants. Daughters can be potted and allowed to root (or they could be removed to allow the mother plant to concentrate on fruit production). Keep the potting soil moist and they should develop roots in a few weeks. Once they are fully established you can cut the connection to the mother plant (much as you cut the umbilical cord from a newborn). Voila! You have a brand new plant. With this simple technique you are able to multiply your plants almost infinitely since each daughter plant will become a mother plant after one growing season. As always remember to #spreadthelove by gifting plants to your friends and neighbors. Finally, let us know in the comments section if you've had experience (and hopefully success) in growing strawberries in the tropics.

The Holy Grail

Strawberry plant. Easily recognized by its 3-parted leaves.

Gotta admit that finding some plants in Puerto Rico is hard. Orchids, roses, citrus trees, oregano brujo, avocado, tomato. Easy. Strawberries, especially in fall. Hard. So this is the story of how two little adventurers braved the scorching sun and high humidity in search of a strawberry plant. Cue the adventure theme music. In all seriousness we've been searching for a strawberry plant since we started our garden a few months ago. We both love strawberries and have been wanting to grow our own since we tasted a freshly picked strawberry in Verona, Italy in 2010. The difference between a fresh and a supermarket strawberry is, as we say in Puerto Rico, "del cielo a la tierra" (from heaven to earth). After months of searching we were able to buy a plant at a garden center about an hour from where we live.

Growing strawberries in Puerto Rico is not an easy task. Some say it is impossible unless you live in the mountains. Due to the high temperatures and humidity extra care must be taken to avoid fungus, root rot and burnt plants. In temperate, and even sub-tropical, climates strawberries should be grown in full sun. In the tropics full sun will most likely kill your plants so it is recommended to grow strawberries is semi-shade or 3-4 hours of early morning or late afternoon sunlight. Another precaution to take is not to get the leaves wet which will likely cause fungus (usually, powdery mildew) to develop.

Strawberry plants are technically perennials but are usually grown as annuals. The plants you find at the nursery are called mother plants. These plants produce a significant amount of berries and also produce runners called daughter plants. These daughter plants can be allowed to root or cut from the mother plant since they drain energy that could be directed towards fruit production. If allowed to root they will become a mother plant next season. A good trick is to put a rock over the stem of the runner to pin it to the ground to encourage root growth.

Strawberries are classified into three classes: June-bearing, ever-bearing and day neutral. June bearings bear fruit in June (no surprise there), ever-bearing produces two batches of fruit (one in early summer and one in late summer) while day neutral are not affected by the length of a day and produce small batches of fruit from June until frost stops them. We have no idea which plant we actually got but I will assume it's a June bearer since it's the most common. (Editor's note: Always research your plants before buying.) It would be interesting to see how day neutral plants would behave in Puerto Rico since there is no frost.

Will we succeed in growing strawberries in the tropics? Keep tuned to find out and for more information on growing strawberries.