{Pin This}

In case you missed it… Successful Strawberry Patch PART 1

Strawberries are really easy to grow and very rewarding.   Did you know that one plant can produce one quart of strawberries!?!  And they are pretty forgiving little plants too.  Even at that, there are a few important things to consider when planting your strawberries.

I helped my Mom plant another bed of strawberries this week!  I’m sure there are many methods of planting strawberries.  This is just the way that has been easy to maintain and successful for us for years.

Decide what kind of strawberries you want to plant.

1. June Bearers- they produce a large crop of strawberries in June and then a few berries here and there for the rest of the season.
2. Everbearing and Day neutral - these plants produce well all growing season long.  They do not send off as many runners as the June bearers.

Prepare the Soil

1. It is very important to prepare the soil before planting your strawberries.  Strawberries are a perennial which means they come up every year so it is difficult to change the soil after they are already planted.
2. Peat Moss and organic matter are very important to have in the soil.  The Peat moss aerates the soil and the organic matter obviously fertilizes it.
3. Till or turn the peat moss and organic matter into the soil 6-8″ deep.
4. We plant ever-bearing strawberries so we use the “hill system”, basically a raised bed 8″ high and 2 feet wide, plants are staggered about 12 inches apart.

5.  To control the weeds, keep the fruit off the ground and keep the runners under control we put down landscaping fabric.  The landscape fabric is preferred over black plastic because the moisture will sit on top of the plastic causing the fruit to rot.  Secure the edges with stakes.  You can also use straw as a ground cover.

How To Plant Strawberries:

Cut Slits in the landscape fabric big enough to dig a hole and plant the bare root plants, but not too big so too many weeds grow.

Hole needs to be large enough to fan out the roots and cover to the crown of the plant.

Strawberry Water Needs

1 – 2 inches of water per week is needed for juicy fruit. Water is especially important while the fruit is forming, from early bloom to the end of harvest.)  In a couple of weeks the plants will have lots of leaves!

{Pin This}

In case you missed it… Successful Strawberry Patch PART 1

More Strawberry Planting Tips:

Cleaning Out Your Strawberry Patch
How to Care for Your Strawberries. (coming soon)
Keeping Birds Out of Your Berries (coming soon)

Need Strawberry Plants?  Find out how to get yours HERE!

Grow the Best Strawberries: Storey’s Country Wisdom Bulletin