Strawberries
Fragaria x ananassa
Hardy to Zone 2 if covered
Plant your strawberry roots as soon as your soil has warmed. If you must keep them for a short period, keep the roots slightly moist and cool. Choose a sunny location in your garden with a soil pH of 6-6.5 and set plants out on a cloudy day or in the evening to avoid the stress of heat on the young plants. While preparing the beds, soak roots with water. Till in compost and dig a shallow trench for each row with rows 4’ apart. With your hands, form a small dome of soil every 12” apart in the row. Trim your strawberry roots to 5” long to encourage healthier, new root development. Drape roots over soil dome, with the crown centered at the peak. Add soil, tamp down and water. Crown of plant should be at the soil surface.
Keep the bed weed free and side-dress one month after planting. Pinch off all flowers the first summer to send more energy to the development of runners (daughter plants). The exception is with day neutral, everbearing types such as 'Seascape', where the blossoms should NOT be pinched off suring the first summer. Use a seed and weed free mulch in the late fall and place directly over the plants to protect from freeze and thaw cycles. Remove mulch after last frost in spring and place into paths between rows. During the second year, after strawberries have produced their crop of berries in June, the plants should be mowed down and fertilized to encourage new runner production.
Even a well looked after stand of strawberries begins to wear out after 2-3 years of production, so to ensure continued harvest, plant a new crop during the 2nd year of production. After the third year of fruit production the strawberries should be tilled under. Strawberries should not be grown in the same place for 2-3 years to prevent build up of diseases.
