Strawberries - the ultimate mulch AND weed!

I really cannot stress enough how sad it is that most of us

so greatly UNDER-USE strawberries!

Let's keep in mind some basic tenets of successful gardening...

(1)

  For Water Conservation, we want to protect the soil from direct sun.  Therefore, wherever

I have "tall" plants growing, I have an "understory" of strawberries that provide "shade" to the soil.

This "living mulch" is especially wonderful around other acid-loving plants, like blueberries.

(2) 

For Weed Control, we want to avoid open soil that simply waits for a weed seed to blow on in.

Strawberries are some of our earlier waking plants - they are usually fully fledged out by mid-April - giving us valuable weed protection during the dangerous Spring Weed Months (May & June).  As you can see above, they really fill up the space and serve as excellent  weed barriers!  They 

are also easy to weed AROUND when the rare weed gets a foothold.

(3)

For Easy and Self-Sustaining food producing plants, I'd have to say that only chamomile and kale canhold a candle to the wonders of the strawberry!  I have about 1000 strawberry plants 

in my garden, and they all came from 8 plants that I bought in 2005.  They are so prolific, 

it's almost a "chore" to keep up with those babies.  However, once you recognize their value, you'll appreciate each and every one of them!  

Here's are some examples of what we do with our "flocks" of strawberries!

Idea #1

I always have an idea of which beds will do what over the next two years.  Right now, I've got a bed that is hosting brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower) - but, about 6 weeks ago, I had a bed that was being "cleared out" and there were a bunch of strawberry babies - so, I planted them in my brassica bed.  They will be smallish this year, so the weed control is minimal.  BUT, by next Spring, they'll have filled in the space.  Strawberries produce best on year 2 and 3, so I might let that bed simply grow berries for two years - or I'll find something compatible.  

Idea #2

I just put in some permanent berry beds.  This year, in February, I gathered volunteer chamomile and strawberry babies and planted them all around the newly relocated berry bushes (gooseberries, blueberries, and currants).  While the strawberries are having their "slow 1st year," the chamomile is about 2 1/2 feet tall, bushy, and totally shading out any weeds that might have tried to grow in the rich new berry bed soil.  As I pull the chamomile for tea, the berry bushes are appreciating the extra light (some of them are shorter than the exploding chamomile), AND the strawberries will get the light they need just as the hotter weather comes in - weeds simply don't "start" well in July or August.  By next Spring, I'll have a thick and rich "living mulch" of strawberries covering the soil around my berry bushes, and I'll have MORE FRUIT + MUCH LESS WEEDING in March of 2011!

So, please, please, please...spread the strawberries everywhere you can, 

whenever you can, as often as you can, and enjoy

those yummy red fruits fresh from the

garden OR in some jam!

Go Strawberries!