Growing Strawberries

When growing strawberries, it is often the first berry that comes to mind when people think of summer fruits. They are prized for their sweetness and bright color, and made all the more desired because of their brief season of availability. Store-bought berries can’t compare to organically grown, sun-warmed berries picked just steps from your door. While strawberries have certain cultural requirements, they are a versatile, easy-to-grow plant. For large scale production they are grown in long, mounded rows, and replanted every two to three years. In the home garden growing strawberries in planters such as strawberry pots, tall terracotta containers with pockets for the plants to poke out of is an easy endevour. They are suitable for hanging baskets, and are attractive in mixed container plantings as well. In the ground they can be grown in an informal patch or in neat rows.

Strawberry plants have dark green, trifoliate leaves and white, five-petaled flowers with a yellow center. There is also a variety with pink flowers. Strawberry cultivars are classified as ‘June-bearing’ meaning they have one main crop of fruit in early summer, convenient for those who wish to make preserves, or ‘ever-bearing,’ which bear smaller quantities of fruit over a longer period. A related plant, wild strawberry, has tiny, sweet fruits and bears continuously.

Contents 1 Growing Strawberries Conditions 2 Strawberry Cultivation 3 Strawberry Uses 4 Related Articles:

Growing Strawberries Conditions

Growing strawberries in full sun, in fertile, well-drained soil is ideal. They prefer a moist, slightly acidic soil, in the pH range of 5-6, but they are fairly adaptable. If your soil contains a lot of clay or drains poorly, amend soil with organic matter and plant in hills or in raised beds. Strawberries are not tolerant of salty soil, so avoid planting near roadsides in regions where de-icing salts are used. Strawberries are hardy in zones 3 to 10. There are many cultivars available, choose those suited to your region.

Strawberry Cultivation

Strawberries are easily started from seed, or can be bought bare-root or as transplants. Usually bare root plants come in packages of one to two dozen, and should be planted right away. Plant the crowns right at ground level. Some gardeners remove flowers during the first year of growth to promote stronger root and leaf growth, others prefer to have a small crop the first season. It also optional to remove some of the plant’s runners to channel energy into the parent plant, but leave some to produce new plants.

Mulch plants with straw to help soil retain moisture and keep fruits clean. Straw is the tradition mulch, and does work well. It also helps keep weeds down, which is important, as strawberries don’t deal well with root competition.

Every two to three years the berry patch or rows will become crowded and the original plants will lose energy. Remove them and rearrange the young plants produced on runners from the parent plants. If possible, rotate strawberries with other crops to prevent disease and avoid depleting the soil.

During warm weather and fruit bearing season, keep strawberries well watered. To feed plants, top-dress the soil with compost at the beginning of the season before mulching. Too much nitrogen will cause excess leaf growth and poor fruit production.

During winter in cold climates, mulch plants with straw or loose leaves to keep the ground temperature more even and prevent frost heave.

Where slugs and snails are a problem, put out non-toxic slug bait or traps or use copper strips around the plants. Aphid infestations can be sprayed off with a strong blast of water from the hose. Look for local varieties with disease resistance.

Strawberry Uses

Harvest berries daily during production season. Look for berries that are uniformly bright red and slightly soft, with darkening seeds. Pick off the plant with the stem and cap intact, and collect in shallow containers to prevent bruising. Use within a day or two, or freeze for later use.

Strawberries are great in pie, jam, ice cream, shortcake, and meringue, on angel food cake, cereal and as fruit leather. They are also fabulous just with a sprinkling of sugar or a splash of cream.

Related Articles:

• Wild Strawberries
• Perennial Foods
• Brambles
• Cranberry
• Persimmon