7 Summer Strawberry Steps for Success

1. Strawberries will need about 6 inches of good organic-dense (1/3) matter in your soil. It will give you a little bit of drainage and supports a more broad nutrient base.

2. Add a one inch top dressing of pine needs or straw is highly recommended. We like to use pine needles because we have easy access to them. They work amazingly well for strawberries. They stay dryer longer and they don’t break down as fast. As they break down it improves the acidity and reduced the pH – which is great for strawberries.

3. You will want to plant the base of the crown at the soil level. We like to mound it a little bit with the roots spreading out.

4. Pinch off the flowers for the first 3 months. That will improve the root growth as well as the leaf growth to help cover the strawberries. Once you have a significant amount of leave coverage, then you can allow the strawberries to produce and you will get some good clusters throughout the summer.

5. We suggest growing them with matted row planting, also known as the ground cover method. Plant the strawberries about 12″ apart in off-set rows. They will start spreading out and rooting themselves to fill in the gaps. Be sure to set runners around the rows.

6. Fertilize with *fish emulsion twice monthly, starting in the spring. We do a foliar feed with 1 ounce per gallon spray. We spray it on at night, wait 15 minutes, then spray it with water so that it ensures there is no residue on the leaves when the sun comes up the next day. When spraying with water you will want to get the chlorine out of your water which means you need a good aerator or carbon filter off your hose. This improves the productivity and uptake of nutrients in your strawberries.

7. Water the strawberries 1 inch per week or a half gallon per square foot. If you already have had an inch of rain that week, then you know your strawberries are good.

*If you have access to our Agriscaping Mastery Program, you will want to check out the elective lunchbox module that is all about compost tea which you can use instead of fish emulsion for your strawberries and other plants you have in your garden.

Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/strawberry-fruit-plant-leaves-7542778/