Another wonderful plant to grow in Raised Garden Beds and Hoop Houses is the Strawberry!
Strawberries do well in Colorado gardens as they are a perennial low-maintenance easy crop. Perennial means that they come back every year. We install Raised Garden Beds for gardeners, some use one bed for a strawberry patch. We do have some native strawberries here, those are fun to try as well as the larger varieties. Strawberries produce best in full sun, but the native varieties can tolerate more shade. They also produce runners so you can spread the strawberry love throughout your garden or gift to friends.
A mulch of pine needles helps to control slugs and pill bugs.
You can also grow the beautiful blue-flowered Borage around your strawberry patch, which work attracts lots of pollinators and is known to improve the growth and flavor of strawberries. Borage is also said to deter insect pests that afflict strawberry plant because it attracts praying mantis and predatory wasps.
The beautiful blue flowers are edible, as well as the leaves - they taste mild with a flavor of cucumbers.
Want an earlier crop? Give strawberries an extra early start with a Garden Bed Hoop House, which will keep them warm for faster growth in the early spring.
Reach out to us if you'd like Raised Garden Beds or Hoop Houses installed in your landscape, we love helping people expand their growing space!