It's official...Spring has arrived to my backyard ahead of schedule.

The Robin appeared on Friday!  That's my sign that Spring is officially here.  Yeah!  Now the fun begins.  Time to dig and prune and plant.  My finger nails will never be completely clean for the next few months.

Planted Strawberry Plants in Early March

I've decided to go ahead and plant strawberry plants even though the weather can still get below freezing here in Fallon, NV.  Both local nurseries have plants for sale, so I figured it must be time to plant them.  However, I did not purchase my strawberry plants from any of the local nurseries.  I purchased my 30 bare root strawberry plants at the local Walmart.  The price was right:  10 plants for $3. 

The variety I planted is 'Aromas'.  It is an ever bearing variety.  I found a site on the Internet that describes this variety as "High production of fruit, later than others with large quantities in fall.  Medium to large berries with good flavor.  Extra weather tolerant."

I also discovered that the 'Aromas' are patented by the University of California.

I decided to plant in a raised bed.  So I turned an old cabinet into my strawberry planter.  I had my husband drill holes in the bottom for drainage.

  I then mixed two bags of garden soil and one bag of steer manure with several, sifted shovel fulls of my local soil.  I filled the planter as shown below.

I then planted the strawberry plants in 4 rows and added some shredded small bark for mulch.

For extra protection I stapled a clear plastic cover.  My plan is to cover the strawberry plants at night when the temperatures are much lower.  This cover will also be extra protection from snow that will most likely fall sometime in March, April, or May.  Yes, we had snow last year for Memorial Day Weekend!

Update:  March 19, 2011