I’m pretty excited about these guys.
They’re an everbearing alpine strawberry and I got two because I’ve had a free low bowl for a while since I moved the leeks to the former mint thunderdome.
The blue pot is a goner- huge crack down it’s side. So I’ve revived it as a pot stand, and set the low bowl into it!
Then I got real technical about soil.
These strawberries are much more likely to be a gardener’s snack rather then anything I make a pie with. That’s the issue with everbearing types rather then ones that fruit once a year- you’ll always have a strawberry to pop into your mouth, but you won’t have the volume to make a dish with.
I’m ok with that! So I’m being real particular with soil. The base layer is the remains of a bag of fox farm ocean forest, for drainage and nutrition.
Yes that’s the soil people grow pot with, but it’s really really good for a variety of veggies and fruits.
But I only had a small amount left of that, so the rest is that good old organic potting, which I mixed with a good heavy handful of perlite to increase drainage.
Great! Then it was a matter of actually planting the strawberries with a good handful of sure start in each hole.
But strawberries are heavy feeders…
So I top dressed them with some compost.
Yes this is clearly overkill.
I apologize for nothing.
Then all my pot in a pot needed was a deep watering and a nice mulch with some shredded redwood.
I’m looking forward to yummy alpine strawberries, and since these guys like to throw off runners like crazy, I’m also looking forward to having yet another plant I can take cuttings from to give as gifts.
Everybody is going to get a strawberry plant!
Many months from now.
They do have to grow.
The Neanderthal Gardens 
They look like common strawberries. I have never grown them. (I do not like strawberries much.) I sort of thin that they appreciate what might seem like too much mulch. I do not remember if it is because of soil borne diseases, but they like to be above the soil. Disease won’t be much of problem for a while with new medium anyway.
Alpines are tougher then regular ones, the berries are smaller but to my mind tastier. You are correct on the thickness of the mulch! Strawberries really don’t like to touch soil, they much prefer bark or even stones. As to disease I’ll probably use some nematodes for the whole garden in the spring and I’ll give a dose to the berries just in case.
‘Regular’ ones are not so great anyway. I think the old cultivars are rather good, but modern types that are so weirdly genetically modified are so bland. I can not imagine why anyone would want to grow some of those really big ones.