Planting Strawberries for High Yields

Strawberries are by far my favorite fruit. I love their sweetness and their versatility; you can eat them on their own, bake them into pies or cakes, or even turn them into wine. If you’re thinking of growing your own strawberries, here are a few tips to help you get started.

Getting Started with Strawberry Plants

Cool climates seem to give the best flavor in Strawberries, but they grow and produce luscious berries in moderate and coastal climates as well.

Strawberry crowns are usually divided and replanted in early spring, when the weather is cool, moist and when plants are available.

The first thing you need to do is procure some strawberry plants. You can either grow them from seed or buy them from a nursery. I recommend buying plants from a nursery, as they will be much easier to care for and will bear fruit much sooner than plants grown from seed.

Once you have your plants, it’s time to prepare the soil. They like a rich soil, well provided with humus, preferably well-rotted dairy manure, but cool and already fermented poultry refuse, used with caution, is also useful. Strawberry plants enjoy well-drained, sandy soil that is high in organic matter. You can improve your soil’s drainage by mixing in some perlite or sand. To improve its organic matter content, mix in some compost or well-rotted manure.

Planting Your Strawberry Plants

A warm, sunny aspect is demanded by strawberries. No shady or cold positions will do for these sun worshiping plants. In really hot weather, strawberries can be dramatic and “faint” whenever they’re too hot or thirsty. I have several different strawberry types and some are more dramatic than others on a hot day. 

Strawberry plants should be planted in the early spring, as soon as the danger of frost has passed. Space your plants about 18 inches apart, and make sure to plant them at the same depth they were growing in their pots. After planting, water your strawberries well and mulch around the plants with straw or pine needles. This will help keep the berries clean and prevent weeds from encroaching on your strawberry patch.

How to plant strawberries

There are two ways of propagating strawberry plants; Growing strawberries from seed and growing from runners. Most strawberry plants need a variety of pollinators, owing to weakness in pollen-making so its always better not to buy strawberry seeds and plant strawberries from runners instead but if you decide to grow from seed, here’s how to do it:

Growing Strawberries from Seed

• Fill your covered seed tray with seeding mix, make sure the soil is level and flat and sow the seed directly onto the surface.
• Gently water the surface with a spray mist as strawberry seeds are tiny! For successful germination you’ll need to ensure the seed is in contact with the seedling soil mix.
• Place in a sheltered spot with sunshine, as strawberry seed likes warmth and sunlight to germinate.

Growing strawberries from runners

The best way to grow strawberries is to spread the runners with roots naturally, outwards and downwards, claw-like, and keep the crown at surface level (do not bury it!) and don’t bunch the roots. Those are most important factors for being successful with growing strawberries.

Strawberry plant spacing

Space the strawberry plants 12 inches apart each way, if only small beds are to be planted. That will do well enough for a year. Another method is larger rows can be 9-10 inches apart in rows with 18 inches to 2 feet between rows. That will give room for spreading and propagation, raised beds are ideal, as they provide good drainage. Strawberries also grow well in pots, hanging baskets, along path and border edging – just as long as the soil is rich, well drained and moist.

After digging the beds well and including the manure, mix it in 6 inches deep with a ration of balanced fertilizer – a generous handful to the yard run of rows. In planting, see that the roots are clean cut.

Fertilizing Your Strawberry Plants

Strawberry plants are heavy feeders and will need to be fertilized regularly to produce a good crop of berries. I recommend using an organic fertilizer like compost or manure tea every two weeks throughout the growing season.

Strawberry plant care

Keep well watered over the growing period, especially nearing fruiting time, and suppress any tendency to make runners during this period. Weekly doses of liquid manure (keep it off the foliage), just as flower buds form, will assist in producing big and luscious fruits.

A carpet of straw and clean cut grass can be spread for the fruit to rest on when ripening.
After fruiting, the first runner plants can be allowed to root to make new stock for coming season in other beds.

Sometimes a covering of wire netting at this stage protects the fruit from roving and discerning birds. In small beds or rows of Strawberries a few 9-inch high sticks at foot intervals, with black cotton crisscrossed Over the plants, is an effective deterrent against sparrows (at fruiting time). The more persistent pigeons need small mesh wire netting to keep them away.

Additional Tips for Growing Strawberries

-If you want larger berries, remove all but the largest flower on each plant during the early part of the season.
-To help prevent disease, avoid handling wet strawberries and always remove any bruised or rotten berries promptly.
-Pests like slugs and aphids enjoy snacking on strawberries as much as we do! Keep an eye out for these critters and remove them by hand if possible. If you must use pesticides, choose an organic option so that you can still enjoy your berries without worrying about harmful chemicals.