Grow everbearing strawberries and you will enjoy sweet and juicy berries for eating right off the vine or adding to your favorite recipes or frozen drinks. Many gardeners grow June-bearing and everbearing strawberries to extend the growing season and to have a larger crop. This strawberry is easy to grow; one plant will produce one quart of strawberries.
Growing Instructions:
- Get your garden ready for strawberry planting in early spring
- Choose a garden site that has not been used to grow vegetables; potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant.
- When growing strawberries it is best to choose a garden bed that is new; this will prevent soil-borne diseases and pests.
- Strawberries grow well in sandy loam that has been amended with compost or manure.
- You can grow strawberries in the ground, in containers, or in a raised garden.
- For in-ground gardens choose a hill or a slope for the garden site or grow on flat ground that is well drained. For healthy strawberries, you will need to select a growing site that has full sun and well-drained soil. Strawberries grow best when the soil ph is 5.5 to 6.5.
- For smaller yards or a balcony you may grow strawberries in a pot provided there is proper drainage and the strawberries get a full day of sun.
- Purchase strawberries as a bare root from an online nursery or buy direct from a local garden center. Or you can buy strawberry plants that have strong leaves and stems.
- Plant the strawberries in spring after the danger of frost has passed.
- Before planting bare-root strawberries you will need to hydrate them, do this by setting the roots in a tepid pan of water and allowing the roots to hydrate for a half hour.
- Plant the strawberries in a hole that is the same depth as the nursery container. Set the strawberry in the center of the hole and spread out the roots so that they grow outward from the crown. Backfill the soil and water so that the soil is moist but not wet. Space strawberries that are planted in a row garden 14 inches apart. There should be two feet of space in-between rows, as this will allow the runner ample space to grow.
- Care for strawberries by keeping the garden bed weed free. Also, water the berries daily in the morning with dripline irrigation. Strawberries need 2 inches of water per week to produce plump and juicy fruit. For best results keep the soil evenly moist by not wet. Apply organic mulch; wood chips, sawdust, or shredded leaves around the strawberries to keep the roots cool. Feed in spring with a 10-10-10 fertilizer.
Tips:
- Protect your strawberry plants throughout winter with a light covering of straw.
- Everbearing strawberries are easy to control as they put out fewer runners.
- Harvest strawberries in spring, summer, and fall
- Remove flowers and or berries from nursery-grown plants prior to planting.
- Strawberries planted too deep will not produce berries and will die.
- Grow everbearing strawberries in USDA zone 4 to 8
- Repel pests from the strawberry gardens with spent coffee grounds or mix diatomaceous earth food grade into the soil.
