Just an update near the end of the season... My row of june-bearers (Quinalt, I think) only had 5 big-box crowns survive. I may have been able to save a few more, but this bed was part of our lawn in March, so I got behind on keeping up with the weeds in a 30" x 25' row for five measly plants. (They have since taken off with a little more attention and the daughters have almost filled in the entire area behind the espalier row, but just a few blooms and no berries that I've found.) As for the everbearers: the Loran and Tristan did very well in my raised beds as a border on the short sides of each bed and, despite a few small berries from dry spells, produced a few handfuls of berries a day in peak season. That is, if I could keep the birds and ground squirrels from sampling the ripe berries (The chickens were quick to scout the discarded berries behind the garden). The plants in-ground in our "lovely" clay soil didn't take off nearly as fast, but did end up producing a bit later. I ended up replacing all of the crowns in-ground with Loran and Tristan plants, and although the slugs snuck up on me last month after a week of torrential rains, we've had a handful of berries every day or so for the last few weeks. I should note that Tristan and Loran varieties are nearly runnerless and were well-behaved even in the raised beds. That may make renewal of the everbearing bed a little more challenging! I'll have to take a pic of the comparison between the everbearing row and the (5) June-bearing plants. I'm sure that letting the everbearers produce gave them a slower start, but the difference is comical! I have to say, I love the dark pink flowers on Tristan, but the berries are slender and pointed...I got much plumper and slightly tastier berries from Loran. Tristan also seemed to bear on longer stems and berries would often rot from touching the soil before ripening--I think they would be ideal for a hanging container, though. I do have some Captan for the fruit trees, but never did spray on a regular schedule this spring. They got some neem oil and then a couple spot applications of pesticide/fungicide when the japanese beetles started munching. The strawberries maybe got some overspray, but no direct application aside from a little Grass-B-Gon (Fusilade) on the most stubborn crabgrass. We also built a garden shed in the backyard in early summer and I'm still building decks and finishing the landscaping now that the garden has slowed down and the weather has cooled...I had a busy summer!

Although This is my first year planting strawberries so I have no expertise per se but I'd my two cents. I just planted around 80 bare root strawberry plants and I hope they come up. I planted them in the ground of course because this year I dont expect berries because I planted junebearing but I want the plants to grow more plants with the runners so that I can expand the amount of plants and thus have more berries next year. A note since you live in Indiana according to this publication from Purdue University (link below) Junebearing do the best in Indiana since the heat can get to them and if they are everbearing the summer heat can get to them and ruin the mid season ones and its best to plant them in shade which is what I did. See link below. Here is a link that might be useful: Strawberries in Indiana

Ayala: I can't get your link to work, but planting strawberries two inches apart in your hanging baskets would result in serious overcrowding, which would lead to very poor berry yield. Three or possibly four plants in a 16 inch container is plenty. Strawberry plants will become quite large, and will fill up the basket in good growing conditions. I don't quite understand your second question about transplanting. Do you have strawberry pots with pockets for planting on the sides? If so put in one plant per pocket, with a couple of plants at the top. If the baskets are open and flat at the top (no side pockets), fill the baskets with soil then put in 8-10 plants. Thin them to three or four when they begin to grow up. You may have some losses, so it's a good idea to begin with a few extras. Obviously, putting in plants before filling with soil would bury the plants, which would kill them. You won't have to worry about transplanting for a while. Strawberry seeds can be a little difficult and slow to germinate. Wait until the seedlings are strong, healthy, and about two inches tall before transplanting from your seedbed to their final locations in the hanging baskets. If you can provide an environment warm and humid enough to germinate seeds, you could seed directly into the baskets and avoid transplanting entirely. Just make sure that if you do, you thin the plants to three or four in each basket to avoid overcrowding. I can't avoid the feeling that there is something you are not quite telling us about your hanging baskets, and your transplanting plans. The better your description, the more helpful the answers to your questions will be. I understand the difficulty if English is not your native language, but give it a try. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

For the bush variety above, I used about 12" between plants, in rows 24" apart. You could probably space them closer than that in the row, I think 8-9" is probably optimal. That variety is not daylength sensitive, so it will bear all summer if it is kept picked. I even let all of the first pods go for seed, and while flowering slowed down, the plants still kept producing pods until frost. Most hyacinth beans, though, are (a) pole, and (b) daylength sensitive. You will get huge vines, but flowering will not occur until the days approach 12 hours in length. The vines are incredibly vigorous, and need a tall, strong trellis. I would recommend spacing pole hyacinth beans 12-24" apart in the row; while this may appear to be wide spacing, they will branch heavily, and the vines will form a dense mass at the top of the pole/trellis. The yield will be very heavy during the time they are blooming. I'm not sure how long blooming will continue after the equinox, since my plants are killed by frost while still in bloom.