tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-602250472916777531.post8322455569618343571..comments2022-06-07T03:16:08.269-07:00Comments on Oak House Permaculture: Year Three In ReviewNancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14399431490690923877noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-602250472916777531.post-41008431116542001842015-02-26T11:39:16.369-08:002015-02-26T11:39:16.369-08:00Shame about your strawberry experiment. Strawberri...Shame about your strawberry experiment. Strawberries don't need much help or attention, just sun. I decided to use strawberries as a cover crop to stop weeds in my fruit bush garden. I planted a dozen or two strawberry plants and now have thousands. They have become a very good weed suppressant with the added bonus of loads of strawberries.<br /><br />I also have a problem with my wild area being too dominated by big tough grasses so I made a small mound and planted a strawberry on it. To my surprise the experiment worked as the 1 strawberry plant became 12 and has cascaded down the mound and I have strawberry plants growing in the long grass. They may be too shaded for too much fruit but they are certainly creating gaps in the grass. I'm hoping this year they will spread more and as the leaves die in the winter it will kill patches of grass and keep the grass under control.<br /><br />Raspberry is another fantastic plant to have and let spread into a larger area with strawberries as a cover crop in between them to stop weeds. <br /><br />If you have the space and don't mind them spreading you can obtain a lot of fruit for almost no work. As they spread the older strawberry plants can be lifted and used to start new colonies elsewhere and the raspberries are easy to split and replant. Cutting them back is just a hedge trimmer job.<br /><br />Raspberry cane cuttings can then be dropped for a soil improver in a forest garden. Strawberry leaves are a mulch in themselves.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15081292016016946981noreply@blogger.com