Strawberries Are Peaking...In Easter Baskets

Last April, Langley gardener Marcia Wiley decided she didn't want strawberries taking over her vegetable garden again this year. They do tend to colonize every bit of spare (and some not so spare) ground with thier runners.

And yet, Marcia did want fresh, ripe berries come June and July....so right after Easter, when baskets are cheapest and most available, she made the rounds of thrift shops on the island, picking up dozens of baskets inexpensively.

Marcia already had a wire and wood fence around her vegetable garden, decorated with bottles topping the fence posts. So she simply added to the folk art look of the plot by wiring the baskets to the fence. She filled them with soil, moved her strawberries up where they'd get plenty of light and sun, and last week the berries started turning red.

Not only do the baskets with berries dangling down the sides look charming, but the strawberries are easier to control and to pick. Plus Marcia opened up lots of space for more lettuces and other vegetables.....This is repurposing at its best, putting inexpensive, nearly-throw away items to artistic use while solving a common gardening challenge...

You can see Marcia's garden from the road as you drive from Langley toward Bayview - it's on your right as you drive out of town, just before the tunnel of purple leafed plums.

Comments

[Ruth]

I can see it's time for another trek up to Bayview for me! What a great idea to repurpose those baskets. Drainage guaranteed.

[DariaW]

I'll have to show this to my husband. It looks like it would be hard for slugs to navigate.

[Marie]

What a great idea!

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