Alpine Mignonette
Strawberries: Enjoy these sweet petite, succulent strawberries all season long!
Although a strawberry by
name, these petite, tender, succulent and sweet strawberries bear little
resemblance to the large and tasteless varieties that you typically see in
grocery stores throughout the
The Alpine Mignonette
Strawberry is an improved cultivar of the heirloom Renee de Valee, producing
small, sweet berries all season long. Alpine Strawberries steadily produce
dainty red, sweet berries with an almond undertone. The plant,
like the berry, is smaller in stature than the standard strawberry and the yields
are also much less, but don’t let that deter you from planting this tasty
strawberry. Despite the fragile appearance of the berries and the plant, Alpine
Strawberries are amazingly tough and resilient.
The Alpine Strawberry
plant is an attractive perennial addition to any garden. Alpine Mignonette
forms a soft, airy runner-less mound of light green foliage that works perfect in
container plantings, as a front of border perennial, in a hanging basket,
planted in a strawberry pot or placed in a herb garden. The Alpine Strawberry
will produce fruit the first summer it is planted. In addition to the delicate
flowers and tasty fruit, Alpine Strawberry plants also offer brilliant fall
foliage in shades of red, gold, orange and burnt umber.
Where to Plant Alpine
Strawberries:
Plant Fraises des bois
Alpine Strawberries in full sun or partial shade. Alpine Strawberries thrive in
well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter. You can amend your soil with
aged compost and a good organic fertilizer, such as Down to Earth All Purpose
Fertilizer at the time of planting. Proper drainage for Alpine Strawberries is
essential, so mound the soil to form raised beds, or amend soil if necessary to
create good drainage. Avoid planting Strawberries where Potatoes, Tomatoes,
Eggplants, or Peppers have been grown before. Soils in which these plants have
grown may harbor the wilt-causing Verticillium fungus, which can affect your
plants.
apart in the ground. Allow 1cu ft of soil per
plant in containers, less soil in Strawberry jars.
Planting Alpine
Strawberries in the Ground:
Dig a wide, shallow hole large enough to accommodate the roots comfortably.
Then spread the roots evenly inside the hole and cover them with soil, setting
the crown (the point where stem and roots meet) at soil level. Firm the soil
with your hands and water thoroughly.
Planting Alpine Strawberry
Plants in a Strawberry Jar:
Place the soil mix in a plastic tub and slowly add water and stir with your
hand until the mix is moist but not soggy. Then fill the pot with mix to the
rims of the first three pockets. Push one plant through each pocket, pulling
gently on the roots from the inside until the crown (the point where stem and
roots meet) is level with the soil mix in the pocket. Firm the plants in place
and add soil mix up to the rims of the second set of three pockets. Plant those
pockets as you did the first set. Then add more soil mix, stopping 1–2in below
the top of the container. Next plant 2-3 strawberry plants in the top of
the container.
Watering and Fertilizing
Alpine Strawberry Plants:
Strawberries require 1–2in of water a week. To prevent disease, avoid watering
in the evening. Heat and drought bring flowering and fruiting to a halt and may
kill plants outright. Mulching with 2in of an organic material helps the soil
retain moisture and stay cool, prevents weed seed germination, and keeps the
fruits off the soil.
Don’t fertilize at planting time. Later, when Alpine Mignonette Strawberry plants begin to form berries, fertilize with a liquid organic kelp based fertilizer. In subsequent years, fertilize in early spring with an organic fertilizer and once again in late June.
Harvesting Alpine
Strawberry Plants:
Check Alpine Strawberry plants frequently for ripe berries and collect them in
a bowl or basket as you pick them. Keeping ripe fruit picked will encourage
production throughout the summer season. Clean the fragile berries by floating
them in ice water and gently rolling them around. Dirt will sink to the bottom
of the bowl.
Winter Protection of
Alpine Strawberries:
Alpine Strawberries overwinter well even where winters are cold and snowy. If
the Alpine Strawberry plants are planted in the ground treat them
as you would any other hardy perennial. If strawberry plants are planted in a
pot, place the pot in a barn or shed where the plants can go dormant, but the
pot is protected from cracking due to freeze / thaw winter conditions.
You can enjoy Alpine
Strawberries straight off of the strawberry plant or drop a few in your morning bowl of cereal.
At the farm we mix them in our world's best bran muffin batter or use them in place of
raspberries in a wonderful Almond Torte.
