Your list of summer fruits won’t be complete if you don’t have strawberries in it. Its sweet scent and reddish color make it quite attractive. They make an irresistible addition to your table.
They aren’t that hard to grow and won’t be too tough to care for. Even those without any prior experience in gardening can try their knack for growing strawberries.
Stuff You Need
Here are the things you need to grow strawberries. You’re going to need fertilizers and compost makers to make your garden soil nutrient-rich.
You’ll also need garden spades, rototillers, garden shears, trowels, and shovels. And, of course, you’ll need strawberry seedlings that you can get from a nursery.
Growing Strawberries
You should begin growing your strawberry plants in the early spring. This will give you enough time to work your garden soil.
You can start buying seedlings and young plants from a nearby nursery. If one is not around or near your location you can order them from a catalog or order one online.
Tip: Be a bit picky about choosing your strawberry seedlings. You should make sure that the ones you buy have been certified disease-free.
This is important not only for your strawberry but also for other plants in your garden as well. Strawberries can carry viruses that may spread all over your garden.
Where Do Strawberries Thrive Best?
There is a practical reason why you should start growing strawberries in early spring. These plants are known to thrive in milder climates.
Those who live in warmer areas can grow them too but should start planting in the fall. Like other plants, frost is a huge killer of strawberries even though there are varieties of this plant that can thrive in very cold temperatures.
Since these plants tend to grow a bit close to the ground you should position them in your garden where there is little chance for frost to kill them. Frost will kill your plants when the temperature drops anywhere below -2 degrees Celsius.
Till your garden soil up to a depth of 12 inches. Remove grass and weeds in the process and add your compost. Keep the soil’s pH level at 5.5 pH but not exceeding 6.5 pH.
Transplant your seedlings in a hole that is deep enough to accommodate the roots. Keep the strawberry’s crown above the ground.
Keep your strawberry plants about 18 inches away from each other in a row. This would make maintenance a lot easier. Cut off any runners that appear to grow to encourage fruit production.
Those who live in the northern parts above USDA Zone 5 should apply winter mulch. You can harvest fruits when they ripen in time.
That is how easy growing strawberries are. You just need to care for the garden soil and make sure your plants get an inch of water every single week.
Growing strawberries will be a good place to start for beginners and new gardening enthusiasts.
