Growing Strawberries

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Strawberries

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If you plan to enter the world of growing fruit, strawberries are one of the easiest fruit to grow and great for beginners. Plus, homegrown strawberries are far more flavorful than what you’ll ever find in a grocery store. Why? The sugar in berries converts to starch soon after they’re picked. Learn more about growing strawberries in the home garden.

About Strawberries

The best thing about strawberries is that they’re relatively easy to grow and maintain as long as you keep them in a location that gets full sun.

Strawberry plants come in three types:

June-bearing varieties bear fruit all at once, usually over a period of three weeks. Day-length sensitive, these varieties produce buds in the autumn, flowers, and fruits the following June, and runners during the long days of summer. Although called “June-bearing” or “June-bearers,” these strawberries bear earlier than June in warmer climates.
Everbearing varieties produce a big crop in spring, produce lightly in the summer, and then bear another crop in late summer/fall. These varieties form buds during the long days of summer and the short days of autumn. The summer-formed buds flower and fruit in autumn, and the autumn-formed buds fruit the following spring.
Day-Neutral varieties produce fruit continuously through the season, until the first frost: Insensitive to day length, these varieties produce buds, fruits, and runners continuously if temperature remains between 35° and 85°F (1° to 30°C). Production is less than that of June-bearers.

For the home garden, we recommend June-bearers. Although you will have to wait a year for fruit harvesting, it will be well worth it.

Planting

When to Plant Strawberries

Plan to plant as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring. See your local frost dates.
Establish new plants each year to keep berry quality high each season. Strawberry plants will produce runners (daughter plants) that will root and grow into new strawberry plants.
Buy disease-resistant plants from a reputable nursery, of a variety recommended in your area. Consult with the nursery you buy them from or with your state Cooperative Extension service for locally recommended varieties.

Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site

Strawberry plants require 6-10 hours a day of direct sunlight, so choose your planting site accordingly.
Strawberries are tolerant of different soil types, although they prefer loamy soil that drains well. Ideally, begin working in aged manure or compost a couple months before planting. If you have clay soil, generally mix in 4 inches or more of compost, and rake the clay soil into raised mounds to further improve drainage. If your soil is sandy, simply cultivate lightly to remove weeds, and mix in a 1-inch layer of rich compost or rotted manure.
Soil pH should be between 5.5 and 7. If necessary, amend your soil in advance of planting. If soils in your area are naturally alkaline, it is best to grow strawberries in half-barrels or other large containers filled with compost-enriched potting soil.
The planting site must be well-drained. Raised beds are a particularly good option for strawberry plants.
Practice crop rotation for the most success. Unless you plan to amend your soil each year, do not plant in a site that recently had strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, or eggplant.

How to Plant Strawberries

Provide adequate space for sprawling. Set plants out 18 inches (1-½ feet) apart to leave room for runners and leave 4 feet between rows. Strawberries are sprawling plants. Seedlings will send out runners, which in turn will send out their own runners.
Make planting holes deep and wide enough to accommodate the entire root system without bending it. However, don’t plant too deep! The roots should be covered, but the crown should be right at the soil surface. It is very important that you do NOT bury the crown (central growing bud) of the plant or it could rot. The leaves, flowers, and fruit must be exposed to light and fresh air.
To settle their roots into the soil, water plants well at the time of planting.
It is also possible to grow strawberries from last year’s runners. See this video to find out how.

Check out this video to learn more about how to plant and grow strawberries:

Care

How to Grow Strawberries

Keep strawberry beds mulched to reduce water needs and weed invasion. Any type of mulch—from black plastic to pine straw to shredded leaves—will keep the soil moist and the plants clean. Read more about mulching.
Be diligent about weeding. Weed by hand, especially in the first months after planting.
Moisture is incredibly important to strawberries due to their shallow roots. Water adequately, about one inch per square foot per week. Strawberry plants need a lot of water when the runners and flowers are developing and again in the late summer, when the plants are fully mature and gearing up for winter dormancy.
Fertilize with all-purpose granules for strong growth. In warm weather, berries ripen about 30 days after blossoms are fertilized.
In the first year, pick off blossoms to discourage strawberry plants from fruiting. If not allowed to bear fruit, they will spend their food reserves on developing healthy roots instead, which is a good thing. The yields will be much greater in the second year.
Eliminate runner plants as needed. First and second generations produce higher yields. Try to keep daughter plants spaced about 10 inches apart.
Row covers are a good option for protecting blossoms and fruit from birds.

Strawberries. Photo by Yuriy S./Getty Images — *Photo by Yuriy S./Getty Images*

Winter Care of Strawberries

Strawberry plants are perennial. They are naturally cold hardy and will survive mildly freezing temperatures. So, if your area has mild winters, little care is needed.

In regions where the temperature regularly drops into the low twenties (Fahrenheit), strawberries will be in their dormant stage. It’s best to provide some winter protection:

When the growing season is over, mow or cut foliage down to one inch. This can be done after the first couple of frosts, or when air temps reach 20°F (-6°C).
Mulch plants about 4 inches deep with straw, pine needles, or other organic material.
In even colder regions, more insulating mulch should be added.
Natural precipitation should appropriately maintain sufficient soil moisture.
Remove mulch in early spring, after the danger of frost has passed.

Pests/Diseases

Gray Mold
Powdery Mildew
Japanese Beetles
Spider Mites
Slugs

Pest-Beating Tips

Keeping beds weed-free and using a gritty mulch can deter slugs and bugs. Spread sand over the strawberry bed to deter slugs. (This also works well for lettuce.) Pine needles also foil slug and pill-bug damage.
For bigger bugs such as Japanese beetles, spray your plants with puréed garlic and neem seed oil.
When birds threaten your strawberries, position balloons with scare-eyes above the beds and use reflective Mylar bird tape to deter them.

Harvest/Storage

How to Harvest Strawberries

Fruit is typically ready for harvesting 4-6 weeks after blossoming.
Harvest only fully red (ripe) berries, and pick every three days.
Cut by the stem; do not pull the berry or you could damage the plant.
For June-bearer strawberries, the harvest will last up to 3 weeks. You should have an abundance of berries, depending on the variety.

How to Store Strawberries

Store unwashed berries in the refrigerator for 3–5 days.
Strawberries can be frozen whole for about 2 months.
Watch our video on How to Make Strawberry Preserves!

Strawberry Bed. Photo by Ben Shuchunke/Getty Images
Photo by Ben Shuchunke/Getty Images

Recommended Varieties

Try planting more than one variety. Each will respond differently to conditions, and you will have a range of different fruits to enjoy.

‘Northeaster’ is best suited for the northeastern US and southeastern Canada. Fruit has strong flavor and aroma.
‘Sable’ is hardy to zone 3, early season, great flavor.
‘Primetime’ is a mild-flavored, disease-resistant variety, best adapted to the Mid-Atlantic.
‘Cardinal’ is a good variety to try in the South.
‘Camarosa’ is a good variety to try on the West Coast.
‘Tristar’ is a day-neutral variety that’s very well-suited for hanging baskets.

Learn more about choosing and growing different strawberry varieties.

Wit & Wisdom

Why Are Strawberries Called Strawberries?

One theory is that woodland pickers strung them on pieces of straw to carry them to market. Others believe that the surface of the fruit looks as if it’s embedded with bits of straw. Still others think that the name comes from the Old English word meaning “to strew,” because the plant’s runners stray in all directions and look as if they are strewn on the ground.

The June full Moon is called the Strawberry Moon because when this Moon appeared, it signaled that it was time to start gathering ripening fruit.

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Reader Comments

Do I set out strawberry plugs

Do I set out strawberry plugs during the growth of the moon or on the decline. I've tried to use that type info for pruning plants and for taking cuttings.
Since strawberries produce above the ground, do I use the growth of the moon as stated above? Or, should I stick with the time to "transplant" even though I will be using just the root plug?
Thanks,
Patricia

When planting by the Moon,

When planting by the Moon, this is our philosophy: Above-ground crops are planted during the light of the Moon (new to full); below-ground crops are planted during the dark of the Moon (from the day after it is full to the day before it is new again). Strawberries bear their fruit above ground.

It is mid October here in

It is mid October here in Western Mass and I got a big bag of strawberry plants from a gardener cleaning his beds. Can I plant now, mulch with straw, and expect decent results?

From Zone 6 northward,

From Zone 6 northward, strawberries are best planted in spring as they need to be well-rooted by the following winter. Most of western MA is zone 5: http://planthardiness.ars.usda...
From Zone 7 southward, strawberries are often planted in fall and grown as annuals that can be lifted every fall and replanted.
If you have the plants, you could always give it a try. Use lots of mulch for winter protection.

what variety of berries can i

what variety of berries can i plant and they bear the same year.

Hi, John, To give advice on a

Hi, John, To give advice on a variety, we'd really need to know where you live--in a northern climate, a southern climate? IN general, June-bearing strawberries, such as 'Shuksan', grow well in Zones 6-10. Check with your local extension office for the variety that grows best in your area.

Hi, I live in Asia and the

Hi, I live in Asia and the weather here is hot and humid (about 30 degree celcius) and i found many in my country tried planting strawberries and failed. Will it help if i avoid direct sunlight and if i add ice instead of water to soil will it improve the chance of my plant's survivor? Lastly, will the type of water (mineral / distilled) affect my plant's health? I really hope to have sweet fresh harvest as the ones I got from supermarts are sour and tarty. Thanks.

Can I snip off the runners

Can I snip off the runners and root in water, or plant them in dirt before the roots are present? I have a deck container with tons of runners and would like additional plants. I didn't know if they still need to be connected to the mother plant before snipping them or before roots are showing. Thank you!

To grow strawberries from

To grow strawberries from runners. Peg down the runners during growth season, usually in June or July, keeping them attached to the mother plant. Eventually, they will form a separate plant. Don't allow more than five runners to develop from each plant. In August, when the runner plants are well established, cut them from the parent and transplant immediately.

Hi, what type of strawberries

Hi, what type of strawberries would grow best on cape cod? And when should we plant.Thank you!

For June Bearing varieties,

For June Bearing varieties, try Annapolis or All-Star.
For Everbearing, try Seascape or Tribute.
There are many strawberry varieties that grow well on Cape Cod; visit some garden nurseries and explore.

A few years ago I

A few years ago I transplanted a strawberry plant from a friend who had the most delisous staawberries but after much checking around I had a strawberry weavil. I did the required spraying but I never got a strawberry so finally got rid of them. The plant looked very healthy otherwise. Its been about 5 years and now I would like to try a raised bed for strawberries, do I have to worry about those weavils still being in the soil?

We would advise planting the

We would advise planting the strawberries in a different bed. If this is your only bed, a 5-year wait should be fine. In the future, plant cover crops in the old beds and crops that are not susceptible to strawberry root weevils, such as sweet corn or pumpkins. Crop rotation is mandatory with strawberries as well. Read more about crop rotations and cover crops for strawberries here: http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandber...
To avoid weevils, cover a new planting with row covers until the plants flower. There are also beneficial insects that eat weevils and other preventative measures you can take.

I would like to plant some

I would like to plant some berries this unmet for next spring. I have an abundance of land and sun, I live in southern Manitoba. Wondering which variety I should seek out and if planting in the late summer is ok?

Transplant strawberries

Transplant strawberries plants after the last spring frost, usually in early June. For June-bearing strawberries, Kent and Glooscap cultivars in hardy in your area. See more here: http://www.gov.mb.ca/ana/pdf/m...

I've seen some photos of

I've seen some photos of strawberry beds where people used wooden pallets. They were stood vertical or hanged and filled with dirt. The plants were growing out of the slats. With it being vertical like this would the gravity be too much strain on the plants?

Verticle growing works well

Verticle growing works well for strawberries. We've read about a gardener who plants fall bearing strawberries in Styrofoam containers stacked one on top of another, supported by a metal pole. The weight of the berries cause them to naturally droop and hang down, but in the vertical growing system they don’t touch the ground as they might in the field. The berries are clean and easy to see and you don’t have to bend over to pick them so it's easier picking, too!

I'm starting a garden and

I'm starting a garden and I've planned everything out, but one thing I can't find the answer to on the Internet. How deep do you plant strawberry seeds?

When you set your plant into

When you set your plant into the ground, the soil is just covering the tops of the roots. Do not cover the crown.

I have many kinds of

I have many kinds of strawberries I had to move them this years because we got horse. but they didn't give us any berries none at all. I hope it is shook but what can I do? and it horse poop good for them?

There are several reasons why

There are several reasons why your transplanted strawberries may not be fruiting. Did you plant so that the crown is properly exposed after the soil is closed around the transplants? Plants do not fare well if placed too deep and grow poorly if placed too shallow. Also, frequent irrigation is critical during the first 4 weeks after planting.
Adding organic amendments such as composted horse is a great idea, however, it must be sufficiently composted -- when it looks and smells like soil. See our manure guide: http://www.almanac.com/content...

does all this mean that next

does all this mean that next year i will have berrie? or will NOT?

I have a topsy turvy planter

I have a topsy turvy planter and the plants are growing and even runners. However, the strawberries either aren't forming when the pedals fall or the form slightly then dry up before getting very big. What am I doing wrong? I water daily and they have plenty of sun. Please help!

We don't have a lot of

We don't have a lot of experience with topsy turvy planting.
The common reasons for poor fruit set are: no pollination due to weather (do you see pollinators?), bugs feeding on the flower (check for bugs), and poorly-draining soil (use sandy loam enriched with peat moss and well-rotted compost). Also, don't use too much nitrogen in your fertilizer. Fertilize in early spring before flowering and right after harvest with a 10-10-10 fertilizer. Tip: For your first harvest, pinch off the petals before they fall.

I planted a dozen plants last

I planted a dozen plants last year. One plant that had the most blooms this summer developed a grey mold looking film over all the berries. I did not seem to affect the other plants. HOwever, after 3 weeks, all plants now have the same grey film over the berries. Do I have to dig up all the plants? I bought them from a local farmer and all were healthy. Thank you.

This sounds like "grey mold"

This sounds like "grey mold" which thrives when there are wet or humid conditions. This fungus starts on the part of the berry that is in contact with the soil; soon, the rot soon involves the entire fruit and inflects others. Unfortunately, you need to remove any infected strawberries. To control, the practice is to apply protective fungicides at bloom and continue until harvest if cool wet conditions prevail. At this point, you can try to spray and see how it goes. Ask your local cooperative extension about approved fungicides.
Prevention: To promote air circulation and rapid drying, 1. space plants properly , 2. keep thinned, 3. remove dead leaves, buds, and berries quickly, 4. remove weeds and debris, and 4. avoid high-nitrogen soil.

Thanks for the comments.

Thanks for the comments. Since cats were starting to "use" my soil, I placed black weed control fabric and then covered with bark. Should I not have done this? All my berries are affected. If I remove all the berries (leaves are great) will this stop it? The plants are about 1 foot apart.

Remove the berries and the

Remove the berries and the bark. If the weed control fabric lets air through you can leave it on. It's important to improve air circulation around the plants. Prune some of the leaves if the plants are touching. Work with the plants when they are dry.

thank you for your advice we

thank you for your advice we are trying to start growing strawberries but in sacks,this is an organisation of youths in kenya,we will update you if we are successful

I planted strawberries about

I planted strawberries about 5 years ago. Although they produce a small amount of berries each year they have not grown bigger. They are the same size as when I bought them. This year they are producing small berries compared to other years. any advice would help to what is wrong.