How to Grow Strawberries - Care of Strawberries

Now that you have started growing strawberries you want to make sure the beds last several years. Strawberries are fairly low maintenance, but a few simple things can keep them growing even longer.

For June bearing strawberries during the first growing season you should remove the flowers, which helps promote runner development. This will improve yields in the following years.

For everbearing and day-neutral strawberries, the idea is similar, you remove the flowers until the end of June and after that date allow the flowers to remain to set fruit for a summer/fall harvest.

Fertilize with a balanced fertilizer (.e.g 10-10-0) after “renovation.” Use about 1 lb of fertilizer per 100 square feet. Be careful not to over fertilize, as that will just encourage leafy growth, and increases the susceptibility to frost and other winter damage. Renovation is the process of encouraging fresh high yielding growth for next year. This is done more often with the June bearing varieties. One common approach is to mow the plants with a mower blade set to about an inch above the crowns. Follow this up by narrowing the rows to 6 to 12 inches. This can be done with a shovel, or even a tiller or hoe.

Preparing for Winter

Mulching is the time honored way to help strawberries last the winter, and is often used to help manage the growth of the plants during the growing season. Apply and organic mulch of pine needles or straw between plants after planting. this helps reduce the soil temperature. Mulch is always good for keeping weeds down, and this will help keep the fruit clean as well as reduce weeds and to lift the fruit off the soil. Avoid a black plastic mulch as that will heat up the soil too much.

For the colder winters in northern states, putting a mulch over the bed will keep the crowns safe. When it gets under 20 degrees F. outside apply a covering mulch of several inches of straw or some similar material. This is a mulch that will be removed from the bed after the first frosts, so make sure it’s easy to take off later.

Early spring frosts can cause damage to strawberries. Remove the covering mulch early in the spring. If there is a threat of a late frost cover with a tarp or old blankets. You can also try one of the commercial mulching sheets or row covers.

As mentioned earlier you will need to do some renovation on your strawberries. Renovate June-bearing strawberries, especially those grown in matted rows immediately after harvest. This will keep your patch growing strong for 3 to 4 years. After mowing, narrowing the rows, and weeding, you will want to follow up with a 10-10-10 fertilizer, applied at about 1 lb per 100 square feet. Be sure to water it in well, and continue to water.