Fruits
My Oh My! It's Time to Plant STRAWBERRIES!
By
Apr 21, 2005 - 3:46:00 PM

Strawberries are a delicious and versatile fruit to plant in your garden. As tasty as they are, strawberries can sometimes be a rather challenging fruit to grow. To grow strawberries effectively, you have to take care how you plant them and you should also familiarize yourself with the pests and diseases that may affect their growth. If you take a little extra time and effort to care for your strawberries, they are a very rewarding crop. Just think of all the delicious things you can do with homegrown strawberries—strawberry jam, strawberry shortcakes, strawberry bread, strawberries and cream….the list goes on and on!

First, let’s get acquainted with the three main types of strawberries so that you can decide which you’d prefer to plant. Certain varieties called “Ever-bearers” produce fruit in two to three major phases during the spring, summer, and fall, and can provide small quantities of strawberries throughout the growing season depending on where you live. Ever-bearers can be considered fairly hardy but do not produce many runners. “June-Bearers” provide fruit during a shorter period of several weeks, typically in June. June-Bearers usually have the largest fruit of the three classes. Finally, there are the “Day-neutrals,” which will provide you with strawberries in six week cycles, with around three cycles during the growing season. Day-neutrals and Ever-bearers can be grown in a smaller space and work well as a groundcover.

Next, it’s important to know the possible pests and diseases that can threaten your plant. If you know what to look for, you’ll be able to quickly treat the problem. Strawberries are susceptible to several different fungus diseases. You’ll need to look out especially for powdery mildew, fruit rot, leaf spot, red stele, black root rot, and botrytis. Depending on what part of the country you live in, these may or may not be as much of a threat to your strawberry plants. Weevils and aphids are common pests you may have to control. Another important tip to avoid diseases is to purchase a disease-resistant variety from your nursery, and make sure that the type of strawberry you select is properly adapted to your area. This webpage from the University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Department is a great resource to learn more about problems you may have with the strawberry’s pests and diseases.

Additionally, avoid stressing your strawberries by keeping them adequately watered, providing enough sunlight, using healthy soil, and planting them the correct depth. Stress leaves your strawberries more susceptible to disease. Furthermore, avoid planting your strawberries where you are currently or have previously planted tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and potatoes. A common strawberry disease, Verticillium wilt, can be found in soil where these plants are located.

Now, let’s talk about how to plant your strawberries so you can get them off to a good start. First off, before you plant you’ll want to prepare the soil by adding plenty of organic compost. You can do this in the cool weeks of early spring. You should avoid planting your strawberries in the heat of the day. Planting your strawberries in the early spring will allow them to extend their roots in preparation for the heat of summer. Planting depth is also critical. You should place your plant so that the soil just covers the roots. Covering the leaves will promote rot. Planting too high will increase the chance of the plant drying out. After properly planting your strawberry, in about a month you should begin to see the first runners appearing as your strawberry begins to spread out.

Finally, it’s important to have your plant growing in the right conditions so that it continues to grow healthy and happy. As mentioned before, you’ll want to have a healthy soil with lots of organic material. Next, make sure your soil drains well. You can add a bit of sand to your soil to ensure proper drainage. To produce the highest number of strawberries, you’ll need to expose your plants to about six hours of sunlight per day. Strawberries often suffer from frost in the early spring. After the first growing season, you can cover the entire plant with mulch such as straw to protect them. You’ll want to remove the mulch from the top of the plants in the spring but leave a little mulch around the base of the plant to keep moisture in.

These tips should get you off to a good start with your strawberries. However, there are more complex planting techniques if you’re interested in larger crops of strawberries. I recommend this site from Oregon State University to learn more.



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