How To Grow The Perfect Strawberries
Strawberries are the most popular small fruit in the world! And let’s face it, the ones you buy in the shops are never as sweet and delicious as the ones you have tasted in your neighbour’s backyard growing up! So why not grow them yourself?
Strawberies can be grown in pretty much all the temperates in the world! Which means no excuses not to grow them. To make it even better, strawberies can be grown in small places, pots or in garden beds if you have the space for one. They do not require any special equipment either! Not only that but once you plant them you can reap the rewards for several years to come! How good is that!? Not to mention that if you grow them yourself, they are organic, and pesticide free!
As with all things, the outcome is dependent on your preparation! More information can be found at gardeninginfo-online.com.
I find that the best way to grow strawberries is to buy the plants from the nursery and then re-plant them…
Things to arrange before you plant your strawberies:
1. Decide which varieties to grow
There are plenty out there, best thing to do is ask your local Nursery as to which is the best variety to grow in your area? The other thing you should ensure is that you are obtaining and planting strawberry plant varieties that are certified to be resistant to Verticillium wilt. Verticillium is a fungus that cannot be killed off, and it kills strawberry production, so best ensure you do not have to deal with it.
Strawberries are best grown as perennials, planting them in one year and nurturing them for better crops in the coming years.
2. Choosing where to grow your strawberry
Strawberries love a lot of sun! Crops planted in the full sun produce the largest yields. If you are planting the strawberries in a field, make sure that you keep them away from anything that overcasts large shadwos, and also from large trees as their root system can suck the nutrients away from your strawberry crop.
3. Prepare your soil
While you can grow them in most soils, strawberries prefer sandy soil with high amount of organic manner. This is where your compost comes in handy! If your soil doesn’t have good drainage, constructing a raised bed can aid you with this issue. If you are using pots or containers to grow your strawberries, make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom.
Strawberries do not like draught either, so make sure you can easily water them if there isn’t enough rainfall.
Before planting, make sure you remove all weeds from the area.
4. Plant your strawberries
Strawberries can be planted in spring or autumn. If you are planning on picking strawberies in the first growing season, autumn planted strawberries are better.
If you are planting in spring, ensure that you are planting in early spring to allow enough time for the roots to develop before the warm summer months.
To plant your strawberries dig out a hole big enough to spread out the roots of each plant. In the bottom of the hole, create a mound or hill of soil that is flush with the surrounding soil level. Put the strawberry plant on top of the hill inside the hole so that the crown is at soil level and spread the roots out down the sides of the hill. Fill in the hole and ensure that the soil level is even with the middle of the crown. Planting too shallow may cause the roots to dry out before they establish, and planting too deep can also damage growing strawberries. See the figure below for proper crown placement. Once the plants are planted, press to firm the soil around the roots and then water thoroughly.
Once your strawberries are planted caring for them is easy, just make sure they do not dry out and receive plenty of nutrients and you will have delicious strawberry crops to enjoy through summer!