Quinault

Here is the description regarding the Quinault variety of strawberry:
"Here is a great tasting, heavy bearing, everbearing strawberry developed by Washington State University. It is well on its way to being the greatest performer ever. Quinault Strawberries have been tested in 13 states and Canada and have an excellent performance record for size, taste and plant growth. It was found to be the most disease free everbearer we have ever tested. Quinault Strawberries appear to have all the properties to make it a very popular --- if not the most popular variety of everbearing strawberries."


I became interested in this variety after reading a post on a hydroponic grower's site expounding their virtues, and stating that it was the only berry he would consider growing.
My wife knew I was looking for strawberry plants and picked up a plant at Wal-Mart. As luck would have it, it happened to be a Quinault.
I am not overly impressed with it so far, but I have not ruled it out either. So far, we have had two berries and they were large and sweet. The plant, however, is not setting the world on fire. In the top photo the Quinault is in the green pot on the right and the two white pots contain Seascape plants. The Quinault was already growing when we bought it, the Seascape were bare runners.
Judging by the performance so far, the Seascape will surpass the Quinault very soon.
Why are they in soil when this blog is about hydroponic gardening? Well, the Quinault was already in soil, and I really wanted a runner. As you can see by the photo I am in the process of rooting one. The Seacape plants are left over from a dozen plants I bought at Agway. After I planted the runners I wanted for the hydro systems I had several of these runners left over, and no one wanted them. So, I put them in soil and will let nature take its course.
I am rooting a runner in the small pot next to the Quinault and I am rooting that in soil also. It is still attached to the parent plant until it develops a decent root system. At that point I will cold store it, or place it in one of my one plant wonders for hydroponic growing. As the Seascape runners were grown in soil, and they are now being grown hydroponically with no problems, I have no hesitation about cleaning up the runner and then placing it in a hydroponic environment.
Another recommendation I might make is: never never drain the hydroponic systems into a sanitary sewer. Dilute the solution by half, and use it to water shrubs, your garden, your lawn, or whatever. The potted plants in the photo above get a drink of used solution every week or so, and so does my garden and any plants I have growing about the property.