North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net>]

On Mar 2, 2008, at 9:02 AM, Jim Fruth wrote:

> A year ago, I got no snow here in North Central Minnesota.  The frost 
> penetrated down 6', more is some places.  I hadn't covered my strawberries; 
> I never do. The plants were just as healthy as ever and I got the same 
> amount of berries that I normally get.  Honestly, I don't know what all the 
> fuss is about with people thinking they need to cover their strawberry 
> plants.  You know, it is really difficult to kill a strawberry plant.
> Could it be......................I have a soil test done every year to 
> keep my strawberries at optimal fertility.  Could it be that strawberry 
> patches that aren't maintained at proper levels of fertility are the ones 
> that need winter protection?  Possibility?

I wonder if it's freeze-thaw cycles, and not primarily minimum temperatures. Did your field stay solidly frozen all winter once it froze up the first time? 

--Rivka
Finger Lakes NY; zone 5 mostly