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Strawberry Fields Forever By Scott Guiser, Extension Educator-Horticulture

Fresh strawberries are a delicacy that almost any home gardener can grow. Granted, it requires a bit of planning and patience but the rewards are great. You can expect to harvest about a quart of berries for every plant that is established. They are special eaten fresh, right out of the garden or with some sugar on shortcake. And who doesn't like strawberry jam or frozen berries over ice cream. Got your mouth watering? OK, let's see how to grow them.

Variety selection is a critical step. Get the right kind. Although many catalogs suggest everbearing and day-neutral types, you'll be happiest with June bearers. As the name suggests, they bear their crop in June. Earliglow is an old-time variety that is hard to beat. L'Amour is a pretty new variety that is worth a try. Cabot produces a huge berry if you want to impress your neighbors. For a complete list of recommended varieties, see Penn State's "Fruit Production Guide for the Home Gardener". It is a good idea to select varieties with high levels of resistance to Verticillium and Red Stele diseases.

Site selection is important. Well-drained, rich soil is best. Do not plant in wet areas. Full sun exposure is ideal. Strawberries will tolerate a bit of shade but you'll pay for this in reduced yields. A border area in gardens is a good idea since the plants will be there for more than one year. Individual plants spread, so allow for at least an 18 inch band of planted area. Two feet is better. Soil test to adjust soil fertility to optimum levels.

Order plants from a reputable nursery. Garden centers are not a good place to get strawberry plants. They simply cannot provide decent holding conditions. Mail order plants and request delivery in mid-April. If soil is too wet to work, you can hold plants in the crisper of the fridge for several weeks, if necessary. Plants come 25 to a bundle and are dormant.

Proper planting and first year care is critical. Set dormant plants so that the crown is just at soil level. Space plants 18-24 inches apart and allow for them to spread 18-24 inches wide. Plants will tolerate frost and freezes just fine so plant as early as possible. New leaves and runners will form to fill in the strawberry "bed". You're goal is to fill the area between the original "mother plants" with the new 'daughter' plants that form at the end of "runners" (stolons). Plants will produce flowers in the first year and even form fruit…if you let them. Fruit formation limits runner formation so the best practice is to pinch off all of the flowers as soon as you see them (OK, leave one or two flower clusters and sample what is in store for next year).

Scatter one pound of 10-10-10 fertilizer over the area occupied by 25 plants (50 feet of row) about two to three weeks after planting. Begin a weekly weeding regime. Use a hoe to cultivate shallowly around and between pants to keep the area weed free. This not optional! Weeds will severely reduce plant growth. If you stick with it, the chore will never overwhelm you. By summer's end you should be looking at a band of healthly plants, unable to distinguish mother plants from the many daughters that grew during the summer. In fact, you may even need to remove late-season runners if they become too plentiful. After we get several hard freezes, cover the strawberry bed with 3-4 inches of clean straw or leaves.

In late March, the year after planting, remove the winter mulch. Plants will begin growth and then flower in early May. Next comes the reward…you will begin picking berries in early June and harvest for about two weeks. Slugs, weevils, birds, botrytis and other pests will get there share. But you will also enjoy a unique garden treat. Compared to other fruits, strawberries are easy to grow and bear fruit in a relatively short time. By pruning (renovating) the planting after harvest, you can keep you strawberry bed going and have…strawberry fields forever.

For more details on all aspects of strawberry culture and a list of nurseries supplying plants, visit this website: http://ssfruit.cas.psu.edu/ or purchase a copy of Fruit Production for the Backyard Grower for $12. Copies are available at our office or through Penn State at: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/Publications.asp.

MASTER GARDENER CORNER

The Penn State Master Gardeners invite you to come to the Bucks Beautiful Garden Fair at Delaware Valley College March 16, 17 and 18 (check the website www.Bucksbeautiful.com for more details). The Master Gardeners will present a free series of 20 minute gardening presentations, as follows:

	Saturday, March 17	Sunday, March 18
	11:00 Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts for Gardeners	11:00 How to Plant Terrariums
	12:00 Vegetable Gardening	12:00 Good Bugs, Bad Bugs and a Few Ugly Facts
	2:00 Growing Fruit in Your Backyard	1:00 Flower Arranging with Grocery Store Bouquets
	3:00 Flowering Trees	2:00 Gardening Under Shade Trees
		3:00 Native Plants for the Garden

Horticultural Happenings

Bucks Beautiful Fair - March 16, 17 & 18, 2007, Delaware Valley College

Philadelphia Flower Show - March 4 to 11, 2007, Philadelphia Convention Center

Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, New Hope, PA - Winter Lecture Series

Henry Schmieder Arboretum, Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, PA

Spring Gardening Seminars - Neshaminy Manor Center

All seminars $3, please register as space is limited (215-345-3283).

Scott Guiser, Extension Educator/Horticulture
and
Sue Schneck, Master Gardener Coordinator

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This page last updated Wednesday, July 1, 2009

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