At our last house, we had an established strawberry patch. I would just like to go on record saying that I really, really miss them. If I could, I would send them a very heartfelt hand-written note, but strawberries can’t read and that would be weird. So, now I have to settle for re-establishing my own strawberry patch at our new house.
If you are starting a strawberry patch or adding to your existing patch, here’s the down and dirty on how to plant and grow those delicious little berries:
Start by getting yourself some strawberry crowns. They will pop up in pretty much every big box home improvement store and small nursery around this time of year. You can usually find them in bundles of 10 or 25. Keep in mind that strawberries are like rabbits–they will multiply like crazy. When we lived in Washington, I planted the Seascape and TriStar varieties. Here in the Northeast, I’ve had great luck with the Sparkle variety.
You can plant strawberries just about anywhere you have a sunny spot. They will do well in containers, hanging baskets, garden beds–I’ve even had a pallet strawberry patch. When you get your crowns, go ahead and dip them into a bucket of water for a little drinky drink. Then, dig a hole, stick them in and backfill. Water them again once they are in the dirt.
Strawberries have about a three year lifespan {unless they are wild}. I like to plant a few new ones each year to stay ahead of their lifespan. They don’t typically produce a ton of berries the first season, but by season two and three, you should see pretty good yields.
The key to getting lots of berries is to pinch off runners. It takes a lot of effort for a strawberry plant to reproduce in the form of runners and spread throughout the patch–effort that the “mother plant” would otherwise use making berries.
If you limit the reproduction of plants, you’ll get more berries. As a rule of thumb, don’t allow the mother plant to set more than one or two runners per year. You can pinch and transplant those runners into their own mother plant, if you want to grow your patch for free.
There is really no need to fertilize strawberries, just make sure they get plenty of sunlight and consistent watering. Pick them frequently to encourage production–and it’s best to pick them within 1-2 days of them turning bright red, or they get mushy and over-ripe.
Do you grow strawberries in your garden? If so, what varieties of strawberries will you be growing this year? Curious minds want to know.
~Mavis
Mel says
We’ve been picking strawberries from our raised bed for about 10 days now here in southern MD, Zone 7B. This year looks good so far, but last year was insanely good, with one 4×8 bed producing up to a couple pounds per picking. We’re on year 3, so I’ll need to swap them out next year or start collecting runners. We grow a variety called Tribute from Stark Bros, which was bred at University of Maryland. Since we’re in Maryland, I assumed they’d be well-suited to our area, and they’ve done quite well for us, although they do quit when it gets too warm. It’s been super gray and cool this week, and the berries are just so happy looking, so yesterday I picked a little basket of strawberries and left them in our mailbox for our mail carrier to brighten her day.
Patty P says
Just got strawberry plants shipped in yesterday (along with a bunch of other stuff), and this is a great reminder of how to plant them. Our current patch is in my no-till garden, but they have just about had their run! We are going to try putting them in one of our raised beds this year! Planting today! Keeping on top of the runners is going to be much easier in the raised bed, I think…in the no-till bed they kind of got away from me (but oh, the berries we had for a few years!)
Love to see all of your adventures, home improvements, and garden improvements!
Katie says
I buy strawberries year round because my kids devour them. I should definitely try growing some!
Dianne says
Beautiful looking berries.
Lana says
I find them easy to grow but the ants eat them before they ripen. Have not found a way to keep them out of the strawberries.
Karen says
Remember, don’t bury the crowns when planting or they will die.
Enjoy!
Maxine says
I’ve read you should pick the flowers the first year to get bigger berries the second year?
Lynda says
My favorite strawberries are Surecrop, but they aren’t easy to find anymore… one of our Labs LIVED them. I had to pick them fast!
Kris Rasmussen says
Thanks Mavis –
I thought if Miss Lucy could grow her own strawberries that I should be able to. I put eight Fragaria Glauca in a container and they have grown fast and are covered in green berries. They are supposed to be native to North America. I am in Eastern OR and i’ll keep you posted.
Robin Martin says
We have a huge patch if Ozark Beauty Strawberries that start giving us tons every June, they are supposed to be everbearing but I cannot keep up with all the runners that they produce! I am pretty sure that takes away a lot of the season I would get. But by the time they stop I have gallon bags full in the freezer, so I am ok with it. Last year I set a bunch of the runners in pots and started a raised bed with them this year, just to see if there is a difference when I do keep the runners clipped.
Joyce T. says
Here in Eastern Washington state, I grow Seascape and Albion ever-bearing strawberries. I grew them on the west -side too.. I brought some potted strawberry plants with us when we moved from the coast in 2013, the descendants of which still populate my beds…
Karin Heins says
If you come across the ‘Lambada’ variety you should definitely buy some. They are the best strawberries! The way they smell and taste!
Dana says
I’ve been relearning about gardening the past few years and I’ve moved from the Midwest down south and what a challenge this has been !! My strawberries patch is quite smaller than I’d like only 3×5 and I am not sure I planted enough last year and this years batch is not doing well I have clay soil I used Agrdmanru my own compost peatm OSS perlite and I still get compacted soil and very few strawberr ies ever bearing are what I have but can’t seem to get runners going this year .how many plants and what size patch can you recommends thank you