By Sam Bellamy, Indigo Farm, Calabash, NC.
- Try to prepare yourself mentally. It is a lot of work and consistency is a must. One of the hardest adjustments is that you have to think opposite the season.
- Be prepared to “run” before you ever set the plants. With this crop it is crucial to start the plants going as soon as you get them.
- Be observant. Set goals for weekly, monthly progress to see if the plants are on course or if you can nurture better performance.
- Anticipate insect pressure, more so than in the springtime. The year 2000 has been kind in this regard so far. Perhaps this is due to the nice cold snap we had in early October. Usually, insects invade the setting quickly, especially after frosts.
- Fungal problems can be horrible under plastic, so be on the lookout. Remember you are creating a warm pleasant environment that insects and diseases find attractive.
- Bees can work all winter here, so think of them and encourage their help.
- Use a diverse and friendly spray program. You are going for a long haul. Encourage the good insects. Be prepared to hand-clean the field at least once in the winter for sanitation. There are limitations on most chemicals so you have to learn to use a wide assortment or find ways to minimize the need for chemicals.
- DON’T think of these strawberries as ordinary strawberries! They are special and rightly deserve to be “HOLIDAY BERRIES”. You can’t afford to sell them cheap.
- There is a lot of manual labor in growing off-season berries, especially in late December and winter. There may be some good reasons for shutting down all or part of your planting. This could have an effect on production and quality of the spring crop.
- You will have to monitor for spider mites throughout. They seem worse under plastic and they will sneak up on you. This can be very serious before you know it.
- I find vented plastic alone gives minor protection against low temperatures. Although it means more labor, I usually use a spun-bonded polyester row cover (like Reemay) as well.
- This year we are using a walk in tunnel to see if we can lower labor and to determine if low-temperature protection is enhanced.
