Growing Strawberries . . .

. . . as part of the gardening plans means eating delicious mouthwatering strawberries not found in stores. This article explains how to plant and take care of your own  strawberries.

Growing Strawberries - Basics

© Clarence Binayu

The most important of all garden fruits is the strawberry which more nearly resembles a vegetable in its culture than does any other fruit. Although the strawberry plant is a perennial and beds can be made to last for more than one year, best commercial practice calls for a new planting each year.

The plants are grown in rows and for the first season need the same cultivation as vegetable crops. The next season they produce their best fruit. They can be left for four more years, but true connoisseurs usually plow them under.

If pot-grown plants are available, strawberries can be transplanted in the fall . Set them just as deep as when they grew in the pot. Remove plants in clay pots, but if in peat-and-fiber pots, plant pot and all.

Bare-root plants can be set in fall but are usually unavailable.  In the spring, they come tied in bundles. Before untying, cut the roots to a uniform length about four inches below the soil line.

Cut off dead or weak leaves; leave only three or four of the new, healthy, young leaves to form the new top. Now the plant is ready to be set. 

The strawberry does not like heavy soils, and if only a clay loam is available, mix with compost. Gardening loam is the ideal soil although strawberries will do well in lighter sandy loams.

Important: When planting, set the plant so the dividing line between the roots and the top or crown comes exactly at the surface of the soil. The crown should never be buried nor should roots show above the ground. Firm the soil around the roots so the crown will not be pulled below the surface when the plants are watered. If dirt works into the crown, it may rot.

Regular weeding is important because strawberry plants make poor competitors for vigorous weeds.

Do not cultivate deeply close to the plants and rooted runners, as these are shallow-rooted.

In regions where the thermometer can be expected to drop as low as 12 above zero regularly, a mulch is necessary. This is not to keep the plants from freezing but to keep them frozen in early spring and prevent alternate thawing and freezing, which tend to pull the plants out of the ground. Being shallow-rooted, strawberries cannot resist the heaving action of frost.

In the South, a straw mulch is still desirable, largely to keep down weeds. Avoid straw full of grain or marsh hay full of weed seeds. Clean, grain-free straw is the ideal material, if it can be had.

An excellent substitute, much more readily available in most city and suburban areas, is excelsior. Most retail stores will be glad to give the home strawberry grower all he can use.

The mulching material is dumped right over the plants. In the North, by the time it settles, there should still be about three inches of it over the leaves. In the South, the tips of the leaves should be showing.

In spring, when the daffodils are just showing yellow in their buds, pull away the mulch from the tips of the leaves so they show through. The new leaves will grow right through the mulch, which later will keep the berries clear of the soil.

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About the Author
Clarence B. is the founder and webmaster for www.landscaping.virtual-guides.com
You will find FREE information about landscaping such as planning your home landscape, preparing base plan, planning to suit your needs, studying the home landscape site, landscaping materials & equipment, plant matters (eg. flowers, grasses), landscape construction, terracing, backyard ponds, & landscaping for energy savings.

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