Tips for Growing Strawberries

I love fresh strawberries from the garden as a snack, or to put in my salad.  Strawberry shortcake, strawberry shakes, and oh so many uses for strawberries.   Follow these simple tips for growing strawberries, and you’ll be eating fresh strawberries in no time.  Unless you live near a strawberry farm where you can get your strawberries fresh picked, you can’t get a great tasting strawberry.  They are very perishable, so the ones you are getting from the grocery store has been bred for firmness, ability to be shipped and are picked early. Taste was an after thought when they were developing the variety.  The reason your strawberries purchased locally or grown in your own garden taste so sweet when compared to the grocery store strawberries is the sugar turns to starch soon after picking.   So, eat yours fresh, or freeze some for eating later.  You can wash the berries, cut the leaves off and place them whole on a baking sheet for freezing overnight.  Once they are frozen, place in a zip-lock bag.  Berries can stay in the freezer for up to a year.  I guarantee you they won’t last that long.

Depending on what source you read, there are either two or three varieties of strawberries.

• June Bearing Varieties:  This variety of strawberry produces their fruit all at once over a period of a few weeks.  If you like to grow strawberries for jam or jellies this is the best choice.  They produce larger berries and a larger crop than the other two varieties.  If June bearers are planted in the spring, you will have to  wait until the next year for a crop.  They set their buds in the fall, and flowers and fruit the next spring.  In areas with a milder winter they can be planted in the fall.   June bearing varieties produce more runners, so you will need to space those about 12-24 inches apart.   Remove the flowers the first year to encourage the plants to establish good root systems.
• You can also eliminate all but 3-4 runners.  The runners will establish new plants for you that can be transplanted to a new bed the next spring.
• Everbearing Varieties:  This strawberry variety bears their biggest crop in the summer, and then a steady smaller crop through fall.  They do not produce as many runners or berries as June bearing varieties.  Remove the blooms and berries until June to encourage the plants to put their energy into become established. Everbearing varieties produce smaller strawberries.
• Day Neutral:  You sometimes see this term interchanged with everbearing because they produce a steady crop throughout the growing season.  They do not produce as many as the June bearing varieties.

If you have enough room, you could plant both varieties to have a larger berry from the June-bearers that will produce a large crop in the summer, and an everbearing or day neutral variety for a smaller continuous harvest until fall.

 

Planting Strawberries

• When to Plant:
• In most regions, plant strawberries in early spring as soon as the soil is workable.
• In mild climates, they can be planted in the fall for an earlier harvest the following year.
• You can purchase either strawberry plants or bare root plants. I prefer buying strawberry plants.  They cost more but you get an early start on a strawberry harvest.
• If planting bare-root plants, soak the roots in water for 30 minutes before planting.

How to Plant:

• Choose a location with full sun (at least 6-8 hours a day).
• Strawberries prefer well-draining, slightly acidic soil (pH 5.5-6.8).
• Space plants 12-18 inches apart, with rows 2-3 feet apart.
• Plant so that the crown (where the leaves emerge) is at soil level—not too deep or too shallow.
• Mulch with straw or pine needles to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
• I like to mix fertilizer in my new garden bed before planting.  I use an organic fertilizers that is made for berries such as Fox Farm Happy Frog Organic Fertilizer for Acid Loving Plants.  You can also use on your blueberries, azaleas, and other acid loving plants.  If the berries are June bearing, you can fertilize in early spring, and then again after they are harvested.
• For everbearing varieties,  fertilize in the spring with an organic fertilizer.

 

• Monitor for slugs which are pests to strawberries.  You can buy slug traps and fill with beer, or sink a small bowl into the ground to trap and kill them.
• Cover your plants with insect netting once berries start to develop.  This will keep the birds from stealing your berries. They love them as much as we do!  I don’t like to use bird netting.  The holes are larger and the birds may get their feet twisted up in it.

When to Expect Berries

• First Year:
• June-bearing strawberries: Pinch off flowers the first year to encourage root development, then expect berries the following year.
• Everbearing and day-neutral varieties: Can produce fruit the first year, though yields will increase the second year.
• Subsequent Years:
• June-bearing varieties produce a big crop in early summer (late May-June, depending on location).
• Everbearing varieties yield two main harvests (early summer and early fall).
• Day-neutral varieties will produce smaller amounts consistently from late spring through fall.

Separating Runners & Replanting

• What are runners?
• Runners are long stems that grow from the mother plant and produce new baby plants.
• While they help expand the strawberry patch, too many runners can drain energy from the main plant.

 

• When & How to Separate Runners:
• Late summer to early fall is the best time to root runners for next season.
• If you want to expand your patch, let a few runners root naturally in the soil.
• If they are crowding the bed, cut off excess runners so the main plant stays productive.
• To transplant, snip the runner when the baby plant has developed a strong root system (usually after 4-6 weeks of growth).
• Dig up and replant new plants in a prepared strawberry bed or container. If you have space in your current bed you can plant them there.

Need a couple of recipes for all those strawberries you will be harvesting.  Watch these strawberry videos from  my friends “Cooking with Moe and Deb” on You-tube.  Strawberry jelly, and strawberry milkshakes!

Happy Gardening!

Karen

*This post contains affiliate links for Amazon.  When you purchase anything from Amazon from these links, I receive a small commission.

 

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Keep all your recipes handy using this Printable Strawberry Recipe Card

Happy Gardening!

Karen