Successful Strawberries Growing

Fresh, juicy red strawberries cost big bucks at the store.

For a small investment in time, you can have homegrown berries every year.

Let's Grow Strawberries

What Do You Want to Know About Strawberries?

Varieties
Planting
Getting the MOST Berries

Choose the Right Strawberry Variety for Your Area

Special Strawberries for Northern and Southern States

Oregon  Hood, Shuksan, Totem, Benton, Tillamook, Puget Reliance. Fort Laramie, Ozark Beauty and Quinault,  Albion, Seascape, Selva, Tribute and Tristar.

Colorado Guardian, Kent, Honeoye, Redchief, Delite, Jewel, Mesabi, A.C. Wendy, Cabot and Bloomiden, Ogallala, Fort Laramie, Tribute, Tristar and Fern

Minnesota Honeoye, Cavandish, Ogallala

New York Earliglow, Allstar, Honeoye, Jewel, Blomidon,Fletcher, Catskill, Sparkle, Geneva,Ozark Beauty, Tribute, AllStar

Hew Hampshire – Annapolis, Cavandish, Allstar, Jewel, Sparkle

Nebraska Earliglow, Early Red, Chandler, Honeoye, Jewel, Surecrop, Dunlap, Red Chief, Guardian, Robinson, Sparkle, Bounty

Virginia Allstar, Earliglow, Flavorfest, Jewel, San Andreas, Seascape

California – Douglas, Pajaro , Chandler, Oso Grande, Sequoia, Selva , Muir, Irvine

Texas Albion, Benicia, Camino Real, Chandler, Camerosa, Douglas, Festival, Oso Grande, Radiance, Sanandreas, Seascape, Sequoia

Florida Sweet Charlie, Strawberry Festival, Treasure, Winter Dawn, Florida Radiance

June-bearing, Ever-bearing and Day Neutral

  • June-bearing strawberries produce a large, concentrated crop in mid-June to early July.
  • Ever-bearing types produce two crops, one in early summer and the second in early fall.
  • Day neutral plants produce fruit throughout most of the growing season.

Day-neutral varieties can bear fruit three months after planting, and June-bearing will fruit the next spring.

Berries can ripen a month after flowering. Pick after plants have dried in the morning. Harvest about every three days.

Harvest will be about four to six weeks long depending on the variety. .

Planting

Where should I plant my strawberries?

  • in a sunny location
  • well drained sandy soil
  • on a gradual slope
  • not where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplants, raspberries or strawberries have been grown
  • not in recently plowed grass
  • near a water source
Raised Beds
In Pots
In the Ground

How Do I Prepare Raised Beds for Strawberries?

Raised beds are great for strawberries for soil drainage, soil warming, weed control and easy harvesting.

In beds with plastic or mulch, put plants 8 to 14 inches apart.

A single bed measuring 3 feet by 15 feet can contain 30 plants.

Avoid filling the bed with only ordinary garden or top soil, because the surface will crust over and the bed will dry out faster. 

Add potting mix, garden compost, composted manure and a bit of sand. Mix 1 part organic matter (peat moss, compost, etc.) to 1 part sand or perlite to 2 parts soil.

Can I Grow Strawberries in Pots ?

Yes.

Select a day-neutral variety and plant 4 berries in a 12 inch diameter pot. Replace new plants each year for best harvest. 

Remove all runners and baby plants.

Use potting soil. Add slow-release fertilizer if desired. 

The potted strawberries may require more water and fertilizer than an in ground or bedded plant. 

Strawberries in pots will warm more than in the ground, which can be bad for fruit production. In hot weather, shade the pot and spray very lightly several times a day to lower the plant temperature

How About Growing in the Ground?

 Planting will take two years.

Year One – test the soil to find out what nutrients need to be added.

Fertilize with manure or with one pound of 10-10-10 for every 150 square feet.

Work organic material (compost, sawdust, peat moss, etc.) into the top four inches of soil with a rototiller or shovel.

Year Two – In the spring, create raised mounds of soil about 1 to 1.5 feet tall if you soil isn’t well drained or the water table isn’t at least 14 inches below the surface. 

Adding organic matter to the top inch or two is a good idea. 

 

How Do I Plant Strawberries?

  • Plant as early as the ground can be worked or when plants are available.
  • Choose a well drained, sunny spot.
  • Space 18 inches between plants. Allow four feet between rows. 
  • Dig the hole deep enough that the roots aren’t squashed.
  • Back fill to the depth of half way up the crown.
  • DON’T allow the flowers to make berries the first year .
  • Water the plants.

Getting the most berries

Provide 1 inch of water a week. Water in the morning to prevent leaf diseases.

Fertilize with 5 pounds of 10-10-10 per 100 feet of row when renovating the bed. Don’t fertilize before a harvest or in late fall.

Mulch between rows to conserve moisture. Don’t bury the plants with mulch during the growing season.

Renovate beds. 

How do I Renovate Beds?

  • Start as soon as the last berry is picked
  • mow
  • fertilize
  • narrow bed to ten inches
  • water

How do I prepare strawberries for winter?

Temperatures below 20 degrees may damage plants. Mulch in November in Northern states.

Clean straw or corn stalks are a good choice. Leaves are not .

Add two to three inches of mulch.

If you take care of your strawberries, you can look forward to tons of berries.

A well selected and properly grown plant can produce about a pound of berries a season. 

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