Strawberry plants

One of our neighbors brought over some strawberry starters a few days ago! We are definitely enjoying the friendly-neighborly life out in the sticks! The strawberries are planted where our compost dune used to be. It was about 20'x6' (at its widest)x3'. As you can see it was huge! Almost all of the compost has been added to the garden (what's left instead ready yet) and is now a wet, fertile strip just waiting for something. Why not strawberries?

This is only a some of the starters she brought over! We have the nicest neighbors! I'll definitely have to bring her some eggs once the flock starts laying.

I started the planting process by transplanting dirt from other beds to build up mounds for the strawberries. What's left of the compost is wet and doesn't drain well, as you can see by the puddles. Each plant has it's own little hill of dirt and compost. Each hill is about 2' apart. Once they are all planted I will be covering everything with mulch to help with drainage, weeds and pests. I planted 21 plants and still have more to give away! The little mounds are doing great, they dry out after the rain and morning dew while the ground is wet or have puddles. A few even have tiny little flowers starting!

It's too bad we won't get any berries this year. Gardening isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. 

I had a great idea for mulch, using the shavings from the chickens. Why not? It goes into the compost anyways, strawberries do well with pine and I've got a never ending supply. 

Are you planting this year? I know it seems like winter is never ending for much of the country, but hang in there. Spring is coming!