How to Grow Your Strawberries

Strawberries

The best loved of all summer fruits, their sweet red berries are irresistible to almost everyone. Very quick to produce their fruits, strawberry plants are an excellent crop for the amateur.

They are different from most fruits in that their seeds are produced on the outside of the fruit - this combined with their bright red colour has the unfortunate side-effect of making them very attractive to birds.

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Latin Name

Type
Perennial herbaceous plant with edible fruits

Site and Soil
Well-dug moisture retaining and free-draining soil with lots of organic matter. Full sun and protected from wind.

Plant to Harvest Time
Six to ten months

How Many?
Average 350 grams (10oz) per plant.

Size
Spread 23cm (9in); height 20cm (8in)

Summer fruiting strawberry plants crop over a very short period, not much more than three weeks. Perpetual strawberries however, produce three flushes of fruit, cropping throughout the entire summer.

The majority of shop-bought strawberries in the UK have been grown abroad and transported all the way from the Canary Islands to England - strawberries do not travel well. The taste of home-grown garden strawberries is undoubtedly a hundred times better than the commercial varieties. Have a go at growing your own strawberries with GardenAction know-how, hints and tips.

How to Grow Strawberries - Where?

Frost is the first thought when considering where to grow strawberry plants in your garden. They are very hardy plants during the winter but are not so hardy when they burst into life in spring. Strawberries produces flowers early in the Spring and because they are close to the ground, it is important to position strawberries where they have least risk of frost. The highest ground is always the best. Frost damage when they start into growth will occur if the temperature drops below -2�C or -4�C with cloche or poly-tunnel protection.

Strawberries are ideal fruit for benefiting from the use of cloches to produce earlier and better fruit. Click here if you want to buy cloches online from our approved suppliers. Alternatively, click here to go to our in depth article on how to select and use cloches with specific details on how and when to use cloches on strawberries to produce earlier and better fruit.

The next considerations are sun and wind - grow them in the sunniest position in the garden and in the least windy. Too much wind and insects will be unable to pollinate the plants. One tip, don't plant strawberries where peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes have been grown - these plants could pass on verticillium wilt, a serious strawberry disease. Neither should strawberries be grown on land which has recently had grass growing on it - there will undoubtedly be a large number of wireworms on such land who will enjoy eating your strawberries long before you get your chance!

Strawberries grow very well in raised beds. The soil retains the moisture that they so love but at the same time there is no waterlogging. Strawberries in particular start to rot in waterlogged conditions.

Where a raised bed is used, feed the soil with liquid tomato fertiliser every two weeks.

Harrods Horticultural have an excellent range of attractive raised beds. We have negotiated a 10% discount for Garden Action readers on the two most popular in their range. Click here to go to our page on raised beds and the link to claim your discount.

How to Grow Strawberries - Soil and Planting

Strawberries do not produce deep roots, but they very much appreciate their soil being well-dug to a spades depth. Prepare the soil at least one month before planting. Incorporate as much organic matter as possible and include two handfuls of bonemeal per square metre (yard). A few days before planting apply the recommended dose of general fertiliser such as Growmore. Strawberries are greedy feeders over a relatively short period of time.

When To Plant
Summer fruiting strawberries (the type seen in most shops) can be planted in early September or early April. The best results undoubtedly come from planting in early September, although if your area suffers heavy winter frosts, it is best to wait until mid April. Perpetual strawberries should be planted in mid April.

For both types, wait until the soil is crumbly and not water-logged.

Where poly-tunnels or cloches are used, strawberries can be raised about 3 weeks earlier than those without protection. Click here to buy a poly-tunnel or cloche now from GardenAction's preferred online supplier.

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT STRAWBERRY PAGE

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: webmaster@gardenaction.co.uk
Date posted: December 21, 2011 - 04:19 pm
Message: You can try, they are susceptible to rot in humid climates.

Name: Akeghayifa Diffa
E-mail: Private
Date posted: December 20, 2011 - 05:17 am
Message: can i grow strawberry in nigeria considering the fact that we do not experience winter in my country

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: webmaster@gardenaction.co.uk
Date posted: December 18, 2011 - 02:52 am
Message: Read the article above, it has all the information you need.

Name: shee
E-mail: heershazaids@hotmail.com
Date posted: December 17, 2011 - 07:21 am
Message: What is the suitable temperature to grow straw berry?

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: webmaster@gardenaction.co.uk
Date posted: December 15, 2011 - 05:26 pm
Message: Strawberries do best in full sun during the major growth period. Semi shade in winter should not do any harm.

Name: Jones
E-mail: joneslsj42@aol.com
Date posted: December 15, 2011 - 03:56 pm
Message: Can I plant strawberries in raised beds with full sun in the spring and summer but semi shadded in the winter?

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: Private
Date posted: December 02, 2011 - 04:45 am
Message: Hardly anyone plants seeds. Get your plants from a nursery or another helpful gardener.

Name: vijuline mathew
E-mail: Private
Date posted: December 01, 2011 - 08:42 am
Message: please send me details abot, where can i get strawberry seeds? We should plant seed or plant? .Please advice.

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: webmaster@gardenaction.co.uk
Date posted: November 18, 2011 - 04:27 pm
Message: Congratulations on your success. Unfortunately, we cannot advise you on these matters

Name: B.K.Saini
E-mail: bk_saini3312@yahoo.co.in
Date posted: November 18, 2011 - 10:56 am
Message: I have plantted the strawberry in in .7 acres near [pathankot , punjab india . this is my first trial . exp. but amazzing results.

Pls. suggest more on buyer and details.

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: webmaster@gardenaction.co.uk
Date posted: November 17, 2011 - 09:20 pm
Message: Weeds come with the job. What you're doing is fine. Try hand pulling followed by hoeing and grubbing. It's hard work but it always works.

Name: LuAnne Steinker
E-mail: steinker@att.net
Date posted: November 17, 2011 - 10:43 am
Message: We have a small strawberry business, and do well with it, EXCEPT for the weeds. We lay plastic down, and use only hardy plants, and we do have grass control, but we just can't control the weeds. Help!!! What do you know that we don't? We don't use containers, but have wonderful sandy ground.

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: Private
Date posted: November 15, 2011 - 05:40 pm
Message: You can grow anything in containers provided that you keep them watered. Use wooden or polystyrene boxes, large pots, anything that will hold a good amount of moisture.

Name: Kannan M
E-mail: Private
Date posted: November 15, 2011 - 04:07 am
Message: I am staying in Delhi can I plant this plant in my terrace because. I have a flat and roof is my own. How can I do and when I can do this and how can I plant this in my flat top

Name: Noel
E-mail: karino@supanet.com
Date posted: November 13, 2011 - 01:47 pm
Message: Hi I have strawberries still growing outdoor in November. Is this common? Thanks

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: webmaster@gardenaction.co.uk
Date posted: October 25, 2011 - 02:45 am
Message: Things really get under way at about 20 Celsius. High humidity encourages fungal infections so allow good circulation.

Name: biroonara reza
E-mail: biroonara@yahoo.com
Date posted: October 24, 2011 - 03:54 pm
Message: optimum temprature and humidity for strawberry in greenhouse

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: webmaster@gardenaction.co.uk
Date posted: October 19, 2011 - 03:21 am
Message: Leave them, soft growth should die back in winter and the plants recover in the spring. Let winter do its work.

Name: les drabble
E-mail: les.drabble@freenetname.co.uk
Date posted: October 18, 2011 - 11:24 am
Message: Hi
I have a bed of strawberries.In the first year produced a small amount of fruit.
This year (the scond year)they produced a bumper crop. After fruiting early September I cut them right down leaving only the crown. It is now mid October and they have regrown to their full height once more and produced masses of flowers and have set fruit,which at this time of the year will not ripen.
what should I do,Leave them or cut them down again?
Your advice would be appreciated.
Regards
Les.Drabble

Name: halah
E-mail: hala61a@yahoo.com
Date posted: October 05, 2011 - 07:46 am
Message: Hi
I planted some strawberry in my garden ,put the fruit alwayes has a big hole in it early when they are begin to change from green to red ,i like to know what pest cause that and how to get red of the problem thanks