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	<title>Comments on: First strawberry!</title>
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	<link>http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2011/07/first-strawberry/</link>
	<description>Gardening: from a West Coast, urban, organic perspective.</description>
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		<title>By: Andrea Bellamy</title>
		<link>http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2011/07/first-strawberry/comment-page-1/#comment-339045</link>
		<dc:creator>Andrea Bellamy</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:06:26 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Helen - Unfortunately, there could be a number of reasons why your strawberries aren&#039;t producing. Often when a plant has great foliage but isn&#039;t producing fruit, excess nitrogen is to blame (that&#039;s the nutrient responsible for leafy growth. Rock phosphate is a good vegan source of phosphorus, which helps fruit production. You could scratch a bit of that in around the base of your plants.

If you planted an &quot;ever-bearing&quot; type (rather than a &quot;June-bearing&quot;) they tend to produce fewer berries over a longer period of time. Although fewer doesn&#039;t usually mean none ;) 

It could also be that strawberries produce best in their second year... maybe patience is the answer? I also recommend snipping off any runners (those long shoots strawberries send out to make new babies) in order to force the plant&#039;s energy into fruit production. 

Strawberries also don&#039;t like full shade, or competition from weeds. 

Hope this helps!]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Helen &#8211; Unfortunately, there could be a number of reasons why your strawberries aren&#8217;t producing. Often when a plant has great foliage but isn&#8217;t producing fruit, excess nitrogen is to blame (that&#8217;s the nutrient responsible for leafy growth. Rock phosphate is a good vegan source of phosphorus, which helps fruit production. You could scratch a bit of that in around the base of your plants.</p>
<p>If you planted an &#8220;ever-bearing&#8221; type (rather than a &#8220;June-bearing&#8221;) they tend to produce fewer berries over a longer period of time. Although fewer doesn&#8217;t usually mean none ;) </p>
<p>It could also be that strawberries produce best in their second year&#8230; maybe patience is the answer? I also recommend snipping off any runners (those long shoots strawberries send out to make new babies) in order to force the plant&#8217;s energy into fruit production. </p>
<p>Strawberries also don&#8217;t like full shade, or competition from weeds. </p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
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		<title>By: Helen</title>
		<link>http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2011/07/first-strawberry/comment-page-1/#comment-338948</link>
		<dc:creator>Helen</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:46:21 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[The little strawberry seedlings I planted a couple of months back are now big, but I haven&#039;t seen any berries. Am I doing something wrong, or do I just need to cultivate some patience?]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The little strawberry seedlings I planted a couple of months back are now big, but I haven&#8217;t seen any berries. Am I doing something wrong, or do I just need to cultivate some patience?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>By: Andrea Bellamy</title>
		<link>http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2011/07/first-strawberry/comment-page-1/#comment-338943</link>
		<dc:creator>Andrea Bellamy</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:11:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://heavypetal.ca/?p=3260#comment-338943</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Zoe - I know! Bizarre, isn&#039;t it?]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Zoe &#8211; I know! Bizarre, isn&#8217;t it?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>By: Zoe</title>
		<link>http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2011/07/first-strawberry/comment-page-1/#comment-338938</link>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:56:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://heavypetal.ca/?p=3260#comment-338938</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[But you&#039;ve already picked tomatoes! I am always blown away by how differently the season progresses on the west coast. Enjoy your berries :)]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>But you&#8217;ve already picked tomatoes! I am always blown away by how differently the season progresses on the west coast. Enjoy your berries :)</p>
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