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The Strawberries!
Plant strawberries in the sunniest area of your garden. They require full sun for most
of the day, although some late afternoon shade is tolerable in midsummer. Good water
drainage through the soil is essential. Soils with high clay content are typically poorly
drained, while sandy soils drain very well. If the soil is heavy and tends to stay wet, it
is best to plant on raised beds to improve drainage.
- Spacing:
- High density, 18" x 4 ft.=7260 plants per acre.
Normal density, 2 ft. x 4 ft. = 5445 plants per acre.
In some forms of bed culture 10,000 to 12,000 are often
planted per acre. This is NOT recommended for the amateur
and requires instructions beyond the scope of these
notes.
- Planting Instructions:
- Plant your strawberries early in the spring. Frost will not
hurt the plants. Position the roots so that they are straight
down into the ground. Do not allow them to curl up. Pack the soil
around each plant taking care not to disturb the proper depth. Water
in well and continue to irrigate, as needed. Plant spacing should be
18" to 24" apart with the rows being 42" to 48" apart.
- Fertilizing:
- Wait for growth to start to avoid burning the roots. Without a soil
test we recommend a good balanced blend of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium,
and Sulfur. The same fertilizer that works in your vegetable garden will
give excellent results on strawberries. Use a 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate
of 1 lb per 100 square feet. This should be applied and incorporated before
you plant and again in early August when the plants are developing fruit buds.
Weed control is essential for strawberries. Cultivate your crop on a regular
basis to eliminate weed pressure. Contact your local extension office for
herbicides that are labeled for strawberries.
- Mulching:
- In areas that have cold winters, mulching is necessary to protect your
strawberry plants. Cover your plants with straw in late fall. Approximately 3"
to 5" will be sufficient. Remove the straw in early spring when you notice new
growth on the plant.
Care of The Planting
- Everbearing Varieties:
- After planting keep all flowers picked off until June 1 -
15. This establishes a strong plant. Plants will flower
and fruit the rest of the Summer and Fall until a frost
occurs. The original mother plants should be rouged out
after the 1st or 2nd year. Treat them like an annual.
- Spring Crop Varieties:
- Fertilize and water well the first year to promote good
flower bud formation that Fall. The first crop is picked
the following spring.
After harvest the plants go dormant prior to Summer and
Fall growth and fruit set. After the last berry is picked
mow the plants off with a lawn mower set just above the
crowns at the soil surface. The old leaves left after
harvest are going to die anyway and mowing is good
sanitation and helps keep fruit rot at a minimum as the
planting ages.
In the fall thin runners so they are 3" - 5"
apart. If possible mow tops off in January or February
prior to the spring flush of growth. This helps prevent
fruit rot. In our area winter rains often make mowing
difficult. We do it when the ground is frozen.
- Disease Control:
- When your receive plants from us they are Virus Free.
Aphids spread virus. Rigid insect control avoids this
problem. Control aphids with Diazinon. Organic gardeners
may plant Rainier or Totem - these two varieties are
Virus Tolerant. Strawberries are susceptible to Red Stele
root rot. To avoid this problem plant strawberries in a
well drained area of the garden.
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