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Hi there frugal friends! I hope y’all are all having a great week! Here at the Frugal Country Life we are getting excited about spring!  

Last year in early summer we built 3 raised beds and planted strawberry plants. We built the raised beds with the old decking boards from our back deck. We had to replace it because the boards were getting a little too weak for walking on. I hated to waste the wood. So, I did some internet research and found out that all the dangerous chemicals have leached out of treated decking boards after about 20 years. Honestly, we are several years passed that.  

Mr. Frugal and I built the planters in just a few hours. The boards are 8 foot long, so we decided to make the planters 8×4 to make it simple. We had a few 4×4 posts from the railing that we used for corner supports. We just screwed the ends of the boards into the corner posts. We didn’t need to put a bottom on the planters.  

Once the raised beds were built, we put them in place. We built them in the garage where all the tools are, but they were super heavy to carry to the garden area LOL. After setting the beds up in the garden area we put landscape fabric in the bottom then Mr. Frugal filled them with composted manure from last year’s barn clean out. I know that may sound gross but honestly it doesn’t smell like anything but freshly dug dirt. It is full of nutrients and worms. 

You may not have used boards you can recycle like we do, but you can look around your property and see if you have anything you can use. Strawberries can also be planted directly in the ground. They also have some nice tiered planters or strawberry pots with the little holes on the sides. You can even plant them in hanging baskets. You can definitely grow strawberries in a lot of different ways. If you search Pinterest you can find a way that will fit your needs I’m sure.

The strawberry plants were given to me by a friend who made an ordering error and ended up with way too many plants. I divided the plants up between the beds and plated them in the rich soil. They didn’t look too promising when they were planted. but I knew in time they would flourish.  

They grew well the first summer. They didn’t have any strawberries the first year. I pinched the blooms off so they could establish good roots. They also set out many runners. I tried to pinch those back but some got away from me. Strawberry plants reproduce and spread by sending out tentacle like growths called runners. These runners will root and a new plant will start growing. During the first year of a new strawberry bed, it’s important to allow your plants to become well established with a good root system and a strong healthy plant. You should pinch off any blooms and runners so the plant can focus it energy on establishing itself. 

This spring we have some beautiful plants full of blooms.  

I have this bed that’s just gorgeous and so full. 

I have this bed that’s pretty good. 

And then there’s this bed…  

That’s how it is in gardening, for me anyway. All three beds were made and planted exactly the same way. They even had the same number of plants.  

I’m planning to transplant some of the strawberry plants from the really full bed over into the sad bed. I’m going to wait until after I have harvested most of the berries though.  

I’m hoping to have enough strawberries to make some freezer jam. I will keep y’all posted on that. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you come back soon! Y’all have a great day!

Missy