Growing Strawberries | Grow Strawberries | How to grow Strawberries

Start with a location that gets plenty of sun and is weed free. Strawberries grow well in many different types of soils. It is recommended that the soil has good drainage. If there is no natural drainage, the strawberries should be planted on raised beds. The soil should contain at least 3% organic matter (manure, compost, peat) and have a pH between 6 - 7 for best results. If possible, avoid planting strawberries in soils that potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes have previously been grown in. These crops may harbor the fungal disease Verticillium which can infect your newly planted strawberries. Be sure you have certified disease free plants.

Make a hole large enough to spread the roots. Hill the center of the hole and place the crown at soil level. Spread the roots downward on the hill. Bury the plant so that the soil only goes half way up the crown.

Mulch between plants after planting to keep the soil temperature cool, deter weeds and to keep the fruit off the soil. Straw is the traditional strawberry mulch. Do no use black plastic since it will raise the soil temperature and optimal fruit production requires cool soil.

In colder climates, mulching over the strawberry plants will prevent injury to the crowns. Wait until the temperature drops to 20 degrees F. and cover with several inches of straw or pine needles. Be sure to use a mulch that can be easily removed in the spring.

Strawberries need lots of water until they are well established but don't water-log them. When they are established (around May), they should be OK without additional water. But when the fruits start to swell, begin to water again.

Summer fruiting strawberries planted in spring and perpetual strawberries should have their first blooms pinched off to enable a good root system to be established. Strawberries planted in September can be left to flower and fruit in their first summer.

Strawberries prefer a well-dug, free draining soil. If the soil is water-logged the plants will quickly attract a wide variety of mould disease. Feeding strawberries is not needed if you spread a layer of well-rotted compost around the plants in early spring. This will also help retain moisture without causing water logging.

If you want to feed the plants in the spring, use a weak solution of tomato feed which is high in potassium. Feeding with a nitrogen rich feed will only encourage leaf growth at the expense of fruit growth. The best time to feed the plants is when you see the fruits forming in late spring.

Because strawberries produce their fruit so quickly, it is not necessary to feed them - this makes it all the more important that the soil is prepared as described above.

In May, the plant will produce runners which have 'nodes' along them - these nodes are the beginning of new strawberry plants. The runners should be removed because they will sap the strength from the plant resulting in less fruit.

Where the plants are being grown under cloches, remember to open them wide during the middle part of the day so that insects can reach the flowers and pollinate them.

As the fruit begins to develop, their weight will cause them to lay on the ground. Before this happens (but no earlier than necessary), cover the soil around the plants with either straw or black plastic. Where plastic is used, it can be kept in place with stones - small holes should be made in the plastic to allow drainage and stop water gathering on it. The plastic or straw will prevent the fruits from lying directly on the soil which will rot them.

If you have a bird population in your garden, the plants should be protected (when the fruits begin to swell) with light weight plastic netting. This should be held clear of the plants by tying it to short wooden posts and securing the netting to them. A more permanent and effective solution to bird damage of many fruits is a fruit cage.

Problems will occur with most soft fruit, especially raspberries and strawberries, when they are grown in a chalky soil. This is because the important element, iron, is difficult for plants to absorb in alkaline conditions. Iron is needed in the manufacture of the green photosynthesis chemical, chlorophyll. Iron shortage causes chlorosis which is manifest as the development of pale coloured leaves with dark green veins. Because of the shortage of chlorophyll, the leaves and the plant as a whole fail to function properly.

It is very difficult to acidify a naturally chalky soil and when the pH is very high (above about 8.0), soft fruit growing will be particularly difficult. In only slightly alkaline conditions, however, it makes sense to apply sequestered iron once a year in spring. This is iron in an organic form that can be readily absorbed by plants from chalky conditions, and several specially formulated proprietary fertilizers provide this.

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