University Research on Winter Growing of Container-Grown Strawberries Translates to Grower’s Farm Trial

Figures & data

Figure 1. Total weekly marketable strawberry weight for all cultivars evaluated at the University location. There were 240 plants total in this experiment

Table 1. LSMeans for marketable berry weight per plant (per pot) per cultivar for the entire 30-week project and partitioned for fall and spring at the University greenhouse experiment. There were 240 plants total in this experiment

Mean Berry Weight Per Plant (kg)
Cultivar	Harvest weight for duration of project	Fall only (WK 37–52) harvest weight	Spring only (WK 1–15) harvest weight
Evie-2+	0.299 ± 0.036 a	0.090 ± 0.009 a	0.567 ± 0.036 a
Evie-2	0.268 ± 0.036 a	0.082 ± 0.009 a	0.508 ± 0.036 a
San Andreas	0.454 ± 0.036 b	0.045 ± 0.009 b	0.413 ± 0.036 b
Seascape	0.395 ± 0.036 b	0.018 ± 0.009 c	0.376 ± 0.036 b
Seascape+	0.304 ± 0.036 c	0.045 ± 0.009 b	0.259 ± 0.036 c

LSMeans in columns followed by the same letters are not significantly different at P < 0.05.

Table 2. LSMeans for marketable berry weight per plant (per pot) per cultivar for the entire 30-week project and partitioned for fall and spring at the grower cooperator experiment. There were 1044 plants in this experiment

Mean Berry Weight Per Plant (kg)
Cultivar	Harvest weight for duration of the project	Fall only (WK 37–52) harvest weight	Spring only (WK 1–15) harvest weight
Evie-2	0.485 ± 0.032 a	0.091 ± 0.005 b	0.395 ± 0.032 a
Evie-2+	0.481 ± 0.027 a	0.122 ± 0.005 a	0.358 ± 0.027 a
Seascape+	0.399 ± 0.027 b	0.073 ± 0.005 c	0.323 ± 0.027 ab
Seascape	0.390 ± 0.032 b	0.041 ± 0.005 d	0.349 ± 0.032 a
San Andreas	0.295 ± 0.036 c	0.036 ± 0.005 d	0.263 ± 0.036 b

LSMeans in columns followed by the same letters are not significantly different at P < 0.05.

Figure 2. Total weekly marketable strawberry weight for all cultivars evaluated at the grower cooperator location. There were 1044 plants total in this experiment

Table 3. Costs associated with construction of the hoop style greenhouse at the cooperator site

Site Preparation	Excavation	$600
	Fill	$180
	Ground Cover	$556
	Utilities (water, gas, electric)	$4,570
	Sub-total	$5,906
Greenhouse	Structure	$4,932
	Covering and Fastening	$4,744
	Hardware	$1,417
	Concrete	$150
	Installation Labor	$2,075
	Sub-total	$13,318
Equipment	Heating and Controls	$2,150
	Cooling and Controls	$1,825
	Benches	$1,440
	Installation Labor	$1,738
	Sub-total	$7,153
TOTAL COST		$26,377

Table 4. Strawberry expenses and income at the cooperator site

Revenue	Pints	$4,280
	Quarts	$1,300
	Total Income	$5,580
Production Expenses	Starts, pots, media and planting labor	$1,644
	Production labor	$1,910
	Heating and Utilities	$7,488
	Fertilizer	$68
	Beneficials and pollinators	$734
	Sub-total	$11,844
Marketing	Packaging	$364
	Delivery (Mileage and labor)	$1,640
	Sub-total	$2,004
TOTAL INCOME	LOSS	($8,268)