Strawberry plants are cheap and easy to grow. Strawberries can be picked from spring to autumn if you choose the right varieties.

Make a Strawberry Bed

• Mark out a rectangular plot, 10 feet square will produce a reasonable crop.
• Dig over the ground and add 2-3 buckets of organic matter per square yard.
• Buy plants in September or April that are guaranteed disease free
• Plant in rows 16″ apart, water and keep watered until the plants are established.
• A board around the edge of the bed makes it look tidy.

Growing Strawberries

• When fruit appear put straw or black polythene under the fruit to keep slugs off and the fruit clean.
• Birds may want to feast on your strawberries so put some string or netting across the bed.
• Plants will crop for 3 years but start off a new bed to maintain continuity.
• Runners should be removed or they will sap the strength from the plant resulting in less fruit.
• To avoid disease don’t plant strawberries where peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes have been grown.

Tips. Strawberries do not need much feeding but do need plenty of water when fruiting.

Tips for Early Strawberries

• Strawberries are symbolic of an English summer and Wimbledon in the middle of June. But, if you can grow strawberries to crop in May and late April, they will definitely be appreciated even more. They will also help avoid paying for more expensive supermarket strawberries.
• To Grow early strawberries, the first thing is to choose the right varieties. ‘Royal Sovereign’ and Cambridge Favourite are two excellent varieties suitable for early forcing.
• Pot the strawberry plants and bring them into a warm greenhouse. From march they will spring into growth and with sufficient light and water can be cropping from as early as late April. It is important that they are in a position to receive full sun. However, in the height of summer, plants under glass may need protection from scorching.
• Another alternative is to place fleece over outside strawberries. This can be an easier way of forcing the flowering season.
• Strawberries will also benefit from regular watering, good ventilation and feeding at the appropriate time.
• As soon as the plants start to flower, cut off the runners to keep the energy focused into forming fruits.

Cultivation Tips

If you are looking forward to picking your own strawberries – congratulations. If you haven’t got around to organising a Strawberry bed but want too then here are some cultivation tips to help you.

• Plant out healthy plants in August or September to give them chance to develop good roots and strong crowns before the soil gets cold.
• Prepare the ground at least 2 weeks in advance removing all perennial weeds and couch grass. Incorporate well rotted compost to help retain moisture.
• If your soil gets water logged or is heavy clay try growing Strawberries on the top of a soil ridge so the roots don’t rot.
• If the leaves are a bit yellow it could be the sign of calcium deficiency so add a bit of lime to the soil.
• Use plastic sheeting under the plants rather than straw to keep fruit clean and protected as it helps absorb heat and also controls weeds.
• After 2 seasons the plants need replacing with new stock. Grow these on from runners that you have rooted yourself. Strawberries are easy to propagate this way.
• If not rooting your own runners cut them off in May or they will sap the strength of the plant

Give it a try from purchased plants or donated runners juicy strawberries are quite easy to grow. Here are some varieties that you may wish to try.

• Royal Sovereign can also be forced in 5” pots in a cold greenhouse for an early crop
• Cambridge Favourite is a very good cropper
• New varieties have been bred for the patio and hanging baskets like ‘sweet Success’
• Flamenco will crop over a longer period
• Any variety in a plastic strawberry barrel needs careful watering at all levels of the barrel – take care

If you want all your strawberries to be the same size and colour – If you want perfect strawberries everytime – then buy from a supermarket where they have been irradiated and homogenised.

For White Strawberries read about Pineberries an American hybrid strawberry that fruits white with red seeds.

Credit
Strawberries from florida by Dudus Maximus CC BY-NC-ND 2.0