When I planted my strawberry plants which I bought from Walmart into a 2.5' (Length) x 2.5' (Width) x 10" (Depth) cedar planter, I filled ~5" with top soil and then layered about an inch of steer manure and then topped it off with ~3" of top soil. Its been more than a month and we are not seeing any fruit. The plants are really healthy with big leaves. But no fruits so far :(. Researching on the internet many say it could be because of high nitrogen in the soil. So my question is, what can I do now? Can I relocate the plants to the ground so that it will reduce the nitrogen content in the soil? And then transfer it back to the planter in mid-late fall (which is ~4-5 months away) with just top soil in the planter?
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1 Answer
Patience. One of the hardest parts of being a gardener.
Strawberry plants rarely produce berries the first year they are transplanted. Instead they spend most of their resources and nutrients establishing a strong root system so they are ready to fruit next year. By that time most of the Nitrogen content of the manure will have either been A) taken up by the strawberries to fuel early growth or B) washed from the soil.
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1Indeed, many sources advise picking the flowers off for the first year, to let the plants concentrate on growing the plant, not fruit - for a better yeild of fruit in later years.– EcnerwalCommented May 6, 2016 at 13:24