Beginner’s Growing Guide – Strawberry Basics
Don’t know where to start when planning a new strawberry patch? We’ve covered the basics for you right here!
Check out our video and growing guide below for some tips on growing your own beautiful strawberries. We added some extra tips we didn’t touch on in our video, down at the bottom of the article. Let us know what tips and tricks you have for a successful strawberry crop down in the comment section. We’d love to hear from you.
Types
There are two types of strawberries which are June-bearing, and everbearing.
June-bearing strawberries, as their name implies, will be ready to harvest around June. This type will produce bigger berries and one big harvest. For the rest of the season, they will send out runners which can be planted to fill out the rest of your garden space. The single big harvest is ideal for gardener’s looking to preserve and can their strawberries.
Everbearing strawberries will start to produce around June as well. They will produce multiple smaller harvests throughout the summer and into the fall. Ever-bearing types are excellent for enjoying strawberries throughout the year.
At a farmer’s market, ask a local farmer about strawberries for the qualities you care about most. Hopefully, they can guide you to the best variety for flavour, number of berries, and etc. for your local area.
Planting Location
There are many ways to plant strawberries. They can grow well in regular pots, hanging baskets, garden beds, or special structures like strawberry towers.
Growing Conditions
Strawberries do best in full sun and will give the biggest yields when given lots of sunlight. This means that is should be planted away from other tall plants or trees.
Strawberry plants stay small and will not compete against established trees for moisture and nutrients.
For those that have a greenhouse and strawberries growing in containers, moving them in during the colder seasons will be beneficial.
Strawberries planted in a garden bed will get through the colder seasons without much care. They often look like they’ve died by the fall season. Please leave them in until spring and many of them will come back.
Watering Schedule
Regular watering is important to keep strawberries growing healthily. Though, they need well-draining soil to prevent the roots from rotting.
Mulching around your strawberry plants will help keep soil moisture consistent. The mulch will also keep your berries off the ground which can protect them from bugs and soil microorganisms.
Pruning
Caring for your strawberry plants, in terms of pruning, is quite simple.
Pay attention for brown or reddening leaves, old fruiting stems, and strawberry runners.
Dying leaves and old fruiting stems take away energy from the productive parts of the plant.
On a first year strawberry or newly planted runner, cut off any early blossoms or runners to encourage better root development. This will lead to bigger harvests in the coming years.
Production
Strawberries are perennials and we like to keep ours for three to four years at most.
After the first two years, the plants will be less productive and its time to plan the location of your next strawberry patch.
Relocating your strawberry patch will help prevent pests and diseases from affecting your strawberries.
For container strawberries, replace the aging plant to increase your strawberry production after three to four years.
Companion Plants
Some plants to consider growing near your strawberries are onions, garlic, lettuce, beans, chives, parsley, dill, and basil.
Avoid planting brassicas, fennel, and kohlrabi near your strawberries.
Strawberry Propagation
~ How To Guide & Video ~
Arvin and Megan create
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