A Strawberry Almost

I posted the other day about our one lone tomato that we were able to harvest this year. We also have not had a single strawberry. I planted 25 strawberry plants. 17 of them survived the night. After that the plants seemed healthy and happy. They were soon covered with blossoms. Every day we checked for tiny little green strawberries. Eventually we started to see the tiny green berries. Then the next day, no berry. As soon as the little green berries were about 1/2 inch long, they were stolen. There were so many blossoms though that I thought it wouldn't be a problem. They will grow and soon we will have berries. As the weeks went on though it was the same thing. Nice blossoms, tiny green berries, and then nothing. Unlike the tomatoes that stayed on the vine until they started to turn red, the strawberries were gone as soon as they started to grow.

Friday I came home and parked at the end of the driveway. I saw a bird in the middle of the strawberry patch. He was working and working on something. Every once in a while I saw a bit of red pop up and then out of the bird's reach. I went out to check to see what the bird was working on. Imagine my surprise when I saw one beautiful large red half eaten strawberry still on the vine. Somehow this guy had survived long enough to grow and turn red. I'm so sorry I forgot to take a picture of it. I didn't want the bird to think he could eat out of my garden so I picked the strawberry and threw it out in the yard far away from the garden. I'm sure the bird came back to finish his treat.

Next year I am putting a net over my strawberry patch. I am planting marigolds all around my tomatoes. I'm going to fertilize everything this fall so maybe something else will grow in my garden beds. Maybe next year I will actually get something out of my garden for me. I guess this year is my learning curve. Hopefully next year will yield a few decent crops.