There are three systems for growing strawberries . . .
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. . . and each system has its advantages and disadvantages. This gardening article explains all three systems you can
choose from.
Systems for Growing Strawberries
© Clarence Binayu
One's first taste of a truly fine home-grown strawberry will soon point up the tremendous gap which exists
between the homegrown ones and those bought at supermarkets.
In the hill system for growing strawberries, the method by which the home gardener
can produce the largest and best-flavored berries, the mother plant is kept pruned of all runners.
The plants are usually set 12 inches by 24 inches apart in the bed and kept free of weeds. Usually, a rather
heavy mulch is maintained on the bed. The plants are watched constantly to prevent runners from rooting.
While very large berries are produced, production per square foot is probably lower than when other methods are
used.
Since labor required for this system is considerable, about 100 plants are as many as most home gardeners care
to cultivate.
The variety used is important since not all strawberries do well when grown in this way.
The Alpine variety "Baron Solemacher" grown from seed will produce perhaps the finest-flavored berries of all.
These have the aroma which makes wild strawberries such a delectable treat.
Where it will grow, the English 'Royal Sovereign' produces superb berries by this system. These are of enormous
size, deliciously rich and sweet.
The matted-row system for growing strawberries is exactly the opposite of the hill
method. The mother plants are set 24 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart.
After fruiting, the mother plants are encouraged to produce all the runners possible for twelve inches on
either side of the row. Any forming outside these limits are cut off. This produces a matted row about 24 inches wide, with a twelve-inch lane
between the rows of plants.
One advantage of the matted row is that it provides plenty of plants for setting new beds. The best way to
produce these is to use one of the new peat-and-fiber pots in which to root them. These pots come in three-inch round or three-inch square sizes,
just right to produce a husky plant.
The pot is filled with a rich composted soil and plunged under a likely-looking runner. By late August the
rooted plant can be cut from the parent plant and used to plant a new row.
Although fall-planted rows require protection for one additional winter, they are usually more productive than
spring-planted rows. They can even be allowed to bear a light crop the first spring.
It is a well-accepted rule, however, that all spring flowers should be removed the first season following
planting. This keeps the plant from fruiting. Once the spring bloom is over, the June bearers (which produce only one set of flower buds a year)
will not bloom again.
The row system for planting strawberries is a compromise between the matted row
and the hill system. Here, plants are set 24 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart.
One runner is allowed to set in the row on either side of the mother plant. In theory, each runner is about
eight inches long, so the finished row is made up of plants spaced eight inches apart.
Sometimes a second set of runners is allowed to root at right angles to the row. This leaves the mother plant
with four runners surrounding it. This is called the hedge-row system, since the bed resembles a series of triple hedges.
For extra information on strawberry plants care, read the Gardening Article Growing Strawberries - Basics found on this website
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About the Author
Clarence B. is the founder and webmaster for
http://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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