How To Grow Strawberries As Perennials

Can strawberries be regrown?

5 Ways To Use Your Kitchen Scraps To Regrow Your Favorite Foods > > It’s easy to turn kitchen scraps into plants that you can then eat again. By May 18 2019, Updated 6:19 a.m. ET Not only are fruits and vegetables healthy, they can have incredible restorative powers. Using only their, you can grow your own, brand new food. Depending on the type of food you’re working with, you will need to either find and plant their leftover seeds or plant a part of the original food itself, partaking in a process called vegetative propagation.

• Many fruits and veggies are remarkably hardy and can even survive indoors, or with minimal care.
• And growing your own food often means you’ll produce less waste, and spend less money.
• It also saves time and commutes to the grocery store.
• Growing your own food using scraps can also be a great way to teach kids and teenagers responsibility and help them connect with nature and the environment.

Even if you don’t have a green thumb in general, regrowing food from scraps is a great skill to learn, and one that will likely help both your health and the planet. Here are five nutritious fruits and vegetables that you can regrow using only scraps, and how to do it right at home. Easily portable, and famously sweet, strawberries are wonderful little fruits. They’re also easy to regrow from little more than a few scraps, and simple to maintain once they get growing. Strawberries must be regrown from seeds, so your first task is to gather a few strawberry pieces with seeds still attached to the outside.

• 1. Lay the strawberry scraps against a solid-colored surface (like a dish cloth or paper towel) in a well-lit area for optimal visibility
• 2. Using a toothpick, pick out at least 12 seeds
• 3. Deposit the seeds at the bottom of a paper cup, where they can dry at room temperature for two to three days
• 4. Add soil

Once your strawberries begin to sprout (in around four to six weeks) place them in an area with moderate sunlight, either outdoors (during warm weather) or indoors. After six weeks of growth, transfer the strawberry plants to your garden or a larger pot. Many people grow strawberries in large pots right on their decks or porches with great success. Avocados are known for being one of the healthiest fruits out there. High in potassium and omega-3 fatty acids, they can help your heart and brain stay healthy. They can also be grown at home-all you need is one avocado pit and four toothpicks, and a small glass of water.1.

Rinse and dry one avocado pit 2. Stick the ends of your four toothpicks into the avocado pit, an equal distance apart and firmly enough that they can’t fall out 3. Use the toothpicks to suspend your avocado pit across the mouth of the water glass. Make sure the pit is halfway submerged 4. Once the stem of your avocado plant grows to six inches long, cut the stem in half 5.

Once the stem regrows it’s leaves, transfer it to soil Avocado plants do best in warm to hot climates, so if you’re thinking of growing your own avocados, be sure to keep them outdoors only if you live in a hot climate. Otherwise, consider keeping them in a small, home greenhouse. Pineapples are known for their tropical, tangy kick. They also boast an impressive array of health benefits, from helping to improve eyesight to strengthening bones. Another great thing about pineapple is how easy it is to grow! All you need to begin growing your own pineapple is the very top of one pineapple (the leafy part, also known as the “crown”), four toothpicks, and one glass of water.1.

• Dry the crown for two to seven days-long enough that no moisture can be felt in the ends of the leaves 2.
• Stick the toothpicks in the bottom of the crown, an equal distance apart and firmly enough that they can’t fall out 3.
• Use the toothpicks to suspend your pineapple crown across the mouth of the water glass.

Make sure the base of the stem is fully submerged 4. Transfer to soil in about five to eight weeks It is worth noting that pineapples are slow-growing plants, and can take around two to three years to produce new fruit. But the good news is that they are very hardy plants, which can be grown indoors at room temperature without much trouble. Tomatoes are hardy, versatile vegetables which can find a place in almost any meal. Sandwiches, soups, salads, and pastas can all be improved with a bit of tomato. To begin growing your own tomatoes, all you need is a single tomato slice, a cup, and some soil.

1. 1. Place a few centimeters of soil in the bottom of the cup
2. 2. Place the tomato slice on top of the soil
3. 3. place a few centimeters of soil on top of the tomato slice
4. 4. Spray lightly with water
5. 5. Keep in a warm spot until plants begin to sprout (can take between 30 and 100 days, depending on which variety of tomato you have)

6. Transfer to a larger pot when plants reach three inches in height. Tomatoes can be grown indoors or out, and require little watering to thrive. Because they are one of the most commonly used produce items, they are one of the most economical to grow yourself! Article continues below advertisement Citrus fruits, such as limes, lemons, grapefruits, and oranges are known for their sharp, crisp flavors. They are also high in Vitamin C, which can improve immunity and even help to protect against the common cold. All four of these fruits can also be grown at home from scraps! All you’ll need to get started are some citrus scraps, a cup of potting soil, and some cling wrap.

• 1. Extract as many seeds as you can from your citrus scraps, using a small tool like a fork or toothpick
• 2. Rinse the seeds but do not dry them
• 3. Place the seeds on top of the soil, then cover with a light sprinkling of more soil
• 4. Mist lightly
• 5. cover the top of the cup with cling wrap, and poke several holes in the top
• 6. Keep in a warm spot until sprouts appear
• 7. Transfer to larger pot or outdoors when sprouts reach a few inches in height

Grapefruit is often eaten at breakfast time, sometimes as a standalone meal. Oranges make great snacks and juice. Lemons and limes can produce zest for salads, be baked with chicken, or can be used to enhance the flavor of beverages from tea to soda. Latest Food News and Updates : 5 Ways To Use Your Kitchen Scraps To Regrow Your Favorite Foods

What is the difference between a perennial and an annual plant?

Spring is officially here at Garden Heights Nursery! As plant and plant care experts, there are some questions that we commonly get from customers, one of the majors ones being, “What is the difference between perennial and annual plants?” Today, we’ll answer that very questions here, on our gardening blog.

So, what’s the difference? Perennial plants regrow every spring, while annual plants live for only one growing season, then die off. Perennials generally have a shorter blooming period compared to annuals, so it’s common for gardeners to use a combination of both plants in their yard. We’re sharing a little bit about both types of plants below.

Perennial Plants Perennials are plants that can live for three or more growing seasons (oftentimes, especially in St. Louis, bulbs must be planted in autumn to produce spring-blooming plants). Garden Heights Nursery carries a wide variety of container perennials grown for sun and shade.

Daylilies, peonies and hellebores are common perennial plants. Garden Heights Nursery is proud to carry a variety of native perennial plants that are beneficial to our local eco-system, providing habitat to butterflies, birds and bees! Annual Plants While annuals live for only one season, they tend to have a long bloom season.

They are usually bright and showy, used by gardeners to add burst of bright color to their flower beds and container gardens. Popular annuals include petunia, vinca and lantana. Garden Heights Nursery carries a vast variety of both full sun and shade annual plants in containers.

Check out our selection this spring! and, Biennials! You may have heard the term biennial in describing a plant and wondered what it meant. Biennials are plants that grow for two seasons, yet don’t bloom until the second year. Biennials are interesting plants because after their second season, they will drop seeds and in two years, your garden will have blooms from a new generation! Gardeners have come up with schedule to stagger biennials in order to experience blooms every year.

It just takes a bit of planning and patience to have annual blooms of biennials in your own garden. Have more questions about plants? Let us know! Our knowledgeable team is happy to answer any of your gardening questions. #annualplants #perennialplants #nativeplants #grownative #stlouisnativeplants

How do you save strawberries from seeds?

2. Sieve – The sieve method works best for slightly overripe or naturally soft-fleshed strawberries. Cut your ripe berries into smaller pieces to speed up this process. Place them in a sieve and press the flesh through, leaving the seeds behind. Rinse the seeds gently and spread them on a paper towel to dry completely before placing them in a paper envelope in the fridge for storage.

Is Basil a perennial?

Basil is a half-hardy annual, so new plants will be needed each year.

Are marigolds perennials?

Are marigolds perennials or annuals? Actually, both! Most marigolds are annuals, but a few are perennials. Marigolds self-seed so they may appear to be a perennial when in reality, they are just coming back from seed.

Are geraniums perennials?

Perennial Geranium Care: Your Guide to Growing Hardy Geraniums What’s not to love about perennial geraniums? These tough-as-nails bloomers aren’t fussy plants, thriving in all kinds of growing conditions, including the dreaded dry shade beneath established trees.

Deer, rabbits and other wildlife tend to leave perennial geraniums alone, as do pests like slugs and aphids. If you’re looking for a low-maintenance plant, consider perennial geraniums. In botanical speak, these plants are true geraniums. Perennial geraniums comprise a large collection of more than 300 species and varieties that go by a host of names, including hardy geranium, wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), cranesbill geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum) and bloody geranium (Geranium sanguineum),

The hardest part about growing perennial geraniums is choosing which one to plant. Perennial Resource.com ‘Dark Reiter’ geranium ( Geranium pratense ), a type of hardy geranium. Perennial geraniums are a colorful bunch, unfurling leaves and flowers in a wide range of hues.

Flower shades include pink, purple, red, burgundy, blue and white. Blossoms often have deeper toned veins, creating a whisker effect on petals. Many hardy geraniums bloom strongest from spring to midsummer. Geranium ‘Max Frei,’ a bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum) type, and wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) fit this category.

Other varieties, like or Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue,’ open flowers the entire growing season. Hardy geranium plants have divided leaves that bring a fine texture to garden designs. Leaf colors might include green, burgundy, gold or near-black, like ‘Dark Reiter’ Geranium pratense, a type of cranesbill geranium (above).

Some geraniums, like the native wildflower Geranium maculatum, have leaves that blaze with bright tones of orange, gold or red in autumn. Plant size varies among hardy geraniums, from a ground-hugging 6 inches to more of a knee-high, 18-inch-tall plant. Some form tidy tufts in a planting bed, while others have stems that sprawl and crawl their way through the garden during the growing season.

Perennial geraniums are usually hardy from Zones 5 to 9. Hardy geraniums typically grow best in semi-rich soil that drains well. Adding organic matter to soil at planting time is a good idea. Use your favorite locally available material, including things like compost, rotted manure, bark fines, dried seaweed or leaf mold.

Avoid tucking perennial geraniums into soggy soil, especially soil that stays waterlogged over winter. Most types of geraniums won’t survive those growing conditions. Each type of geranium plant has its own preferred amount of sun or shade. In general, most perennial geraniums grow well in full sun or part shade, although some, like wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), can grow in full shade.

For areas of full, dry shade (the kind you find beneath established trees), look to hardy geraniums like Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’ or the cranesbill geranium (Geranium marcrorrhizum) varieties. Do your homework before tucking a perennial geranium into full shade, though.

• If that’s not the ideal light condition for a plant, it won’t form as many flowers.
• Hardy geraniums planted in full sun need more water than those tucked into shadier settings.
• Water plants early in the day so leaves can dry before sunset.
• This helps to prevent fungus diseases from forming on wet leaves overnight.

Fertilize perennial geraniums once a year in spring. You can use a slow-release plant food in really poor soils, but a 2- to 3-inch-thick layer of compost placed over soil should provide enough nutrients to keep hardy geraniums looking their best. Shutterstock/Alexandra Glen Hardy pink geranium ‘Patricia.’ Once your hardy geraniums are established in the garden, they really need very little care.

Some perennial geranium varieties tend to become straggly with long, lanky stems by midsummer. At this point, many gardeners use scissors or shears to cut plants back to 3 to 5 inches tall (cut stems to the basal growth, the tuft of leaves at the base of the plant). Plants respond to this apparently harsh treatment with a flush of new growth — and flowers.

Cranesbill geraniums like Rozanne are good candidates for midseason pruning. Many hardy geraniums spread by underground stems and self-sowing. They’re not typically invasive spreaders. Many gardeners let the plants self-seed and then transplant the young plants to where they want them.

• A light pruning (just removing the flowers and their individual stems) before plants set seed can help and/or prevent self-sowing.
• Hardy geraniums are versatile in the garden.
• They blend beautifully into cottage style gardens, especially cranesbill geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum) and bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum) types.

The smaller forms fit neatly into rock gardens or along the edge of flower beds. Native wild geraniums (Geranium maculatum) naturally occur along the forest’s edge and adapt well to woodland garden settings. Perennial geraniums create a colorful ground cover, and their pretty blooms beckon pollinators, making them a great addition to a butterfly or wildlife garden.

• Plants known as geraniums actually fall into two separate botanical groups.
• The true geraniums are the perennial types.
• The when they’re out shopping for plants are the annual bedding types with lollipop-like flowers: a ball of blooms on a stick stem.
• These bedding plants fall into the botanical group Pelargonium.

A host of other geraniums belong in the Pelargonium genus, too, including ivy geraniums, scented geraniums and Martha Washington geraniums. One difference between the true hardy geraniums and Pelargonium geraniums is found in the seed capsules.

The word “geranium” comes from the Greek “geranos,” which means crane and refers to a narrow column that sticks up from the seed pod. The column looks like the narrow beak of a crane. Pelargonium comes from the Greek word “pelargos,” which means stork and refers to the same column that sticks up from the seed pod. In this case, the column is fatter and resembles the broader beak of a stork.

The beak on a geranium or Pelargonium seed pod acts like a catapult, sending seeds flying—essentially flinging them across your garden. This is how hardy geraniums spread through a planting bed or along a stone wall. : Perennial Geranium Care: Your Guide to Growing Hardy Geraniums

What is the best way to keep strawberries the longest?

How to Store Strawberries – When stored properly in the refrigerator using one of the below methods, strawberries should stay fresh for up to one week. Always examine your berries for mold and other signs of spoilage before eating them.

Place in air-tight glassware: Transfer unwashed strawberries into a glass food storage container or mason jar and make sure it’s sealed tight. Paper towel method: Place a clean, dry paper towel in a container and put unwashed strawberries on top. Close the lid and place the container in the refrigerator. Rinse with vinegar solution: Soak strawberries in a vinegar solution (one-part white vinegar and three parts water) for a few minutes. Then drain them, pat them dry, and place them on a clean paper towel in a glass container. Loosely place the lid on and store in the refrigerator.

Ania Lamboiu / 500px

Are strawberry plants reusable?

Strawberry Plasticulture – Strawberry plants can also be grown on raised beds covered with black plastic. When black plastic is used, planting stock can be either dormant plants or plants grown from rooted runner tips (called plug plants). With this system, trickle tape under the plastic for irrigation and row covers (lightweight spun-bonded material) for winter protection will also be needed.

Plants should be grown in a protected location. Plug plants are planted through the plastic in late summer or early fall; dormant plants are planted in July. Plants are spaced more closely than usual at about one foot apart in staggered double rows. Row covers are placed over the beds in mid-October to increase fall growth, and runners produced during the fall should be pinched off.

Bloom and harvest begins earlier than usual in the spring, which means that frost damage is of greater concern. About 1.5 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet should be worked into the bed prior to planting. After planting, water-soluble fertilizers need to be used since granular fertilizers cannot be applied with the plastic in place.

Three ounces of a 20-20-20 water-soluble fertilizer per 100 feet of row should be applied in the spring in each of three applications (9 ounces total) a week apart, starting when the plants make good growth. Dilute the fertilizer according to package directions to avoid burning the plants. Decrease or omit fertilizer applications if growth is overly vigorous.

Plantings can be kept for a second year of harvest. After the fruit production ends for the season, trim off the plants as close to the plastic as possible and allow them to regrow. Keep the plants watered and fertilize them with 9 ounces of 20-20-20 soluble fertilizer in late August, again decreasing amounts if growth is very vigorous.