How to Grow Early Strawberries
Consider the average summer temperatures and level of humidity in your area., Purchase strawberry plants from your local nursery or garden center., Only purchase certified, disease-resistant cultivars., Grow early strawberries in stacking...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Consider the average summer temperatures and level of humidity in your area.
Environmental factors like the average summer temperatures and the level of humidity will affect how well certain cultivars grow in your climate.
Some cultivars thrive in hot, humid climates while others do better in dry, cooler climates., They should have a good selection of cultivars that will do well in your area. , Strawberries are highly susceptible to a number of diseases that can devastate a strawberry crop.Because of this, they are commonly grown as annual plants, with the old plants being thrown away each fall and replaced with new, disease-free plants each spring.
Disease-resistant cultivars are either immune or much less susceptible to these common diseases. , A strawberry pot is a barrel-shaped pot with pockets where the strawberries are planted.
Growing them this way greatly reduces the likelihood of fungal and bacterial diseases as well as pest infestations.Plant one to three strawberry plants per 10- to 12-inch container or one plant per foot in a window box. , Do not use ordinary garden soil as it does not generally contain enough organic matter or drain quickly enough for container-grown strawberry plants.
It could also contain fungi, bacteria and pests, which would negate one of the bigger perks of growing strawberries in containers. , Water them when the top 1 inch of soil becomes dry.
You may need to water the plants every day or even twice each day when the weather is hot. , Use fertilizer with a 5-10-10 ratio.
The usual dilution rate is 1 tablespoon per gallon but this varies.
Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Apply the fertilizer solution after a regular watering as giving a strawberry plant fertilizer solution when it hasn’t been watered could burn the roots. , Though early strawberries will grow in average soil, so long as it drains quickly, they grow better in organically rich sandy loam soil., In mild-winter climates in California and in the south, strawberries are planted in early fall.
In cooler climates, strawberries are planted in early spring when temperatures reach 40 to 50 °F (4 to 10 °C)., These plants are all susceptible to similar diseases which can survive in the soil and infect the new strawberry plants.
Make sure you select a garden area where the strawberries will be exposed to at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. , Sphagnum peat moss, well-aged cow manure, compost or decomposed pine bark mulch can be used or several different types can be combined.
Spread the organic matter over the strawberry bed and mix it into the top 8 to 10 inches of garden soil thoroughly with a rototiller. , Do this after you incorporate the organic matter as adding organic matter to the soil could change the soil’s pH and fertility levels.
Strawberries thrive in soil with a pH of 6 to
6.3. , Mix it into the top few inches of soil with a dirt rake.The amount of lime or sulfur required to change the pH will depend on the soil texture.
More lime or sulfur is needed to change the pH of loam soil than sandy soil.
It takes ½ pound of aluminum sulfate to lower the pH of 100 square feet of sandy soil from
6.5 to 6 but it takes 1 pound to make the same pH change in loam soil.
The addition of organic matter should bring the soil fertility to acceptable levels. , You should use a fertilizer with a ratio of 5-10-10 at the rate of 2 pounds per 100 square feet.Once you fertilize the beds, rake the soil into 8-inch high, 2-foot wide rows that are spaced 3 to 5 feet apart or into 8-inch high hills that are 2 feet apart., When planting in rows, space the plants 1 ½ to 2 feet apart.
Water them generously and spread a 2-inch depth of organic mulch over the soil around the plants to help keep the soil moist. , The soil should be kept slightly moist but not wet.
Strawberries require 1 to 2 inches of water each week., Set a 1-inch deep can next to the strawberry plants before watering.
When the can is full, the strawberry plants have received 1 inch of water. , It’s very important to keep the strawberry bed weed free.
Weeds take nutrients away from the strawberries, reduce air circulation and harbor pests, creating a generally unhealthy environment for strawberries. , You should give them 1 pound of 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet.
Sprinkle the fertilizer in 6-inch wide bands in the furrows between the rows or hills.If the fertilizer gets on the strawberry plant leaves, brush it off quickly with a broom as it can burn the leaves. , This is especially important for early strawberries as they ripen before other berries that birds usually eat, so if the berries are not protected, birds will eat them.
Spread the netting over the rows and anchor it to the ground with 6- to 8-inch deep stakes that are angled away from the rows so the netting is held firmly to the ground.
This will keep the birds from walking under the net to get to the berries., Only pick berries that are completely red. , Do not keep them over the winter as they will not thrive.
Dispose of these plants and till the whole bed. , Healthy early strawberries that are weed free can continue to produce berries for three to five years.Use a lawnmower with the blades set at a height of 4 inches to mow the leaves off the strawberry plants.
Rake up the leaves and remove them from the garden.
Use a rototiller or hoe to break the rows or hills down to a width of 1 foot.
Thin the strawberry plants so they are 6 inches apart, keeping only the healthiest plants. , Brush the fertilizer off the leaves of the plants so it does not burn them.
Water the plants generously to wash the fertilizer into the soil., These conditions can lead to red stele or phytophthora root rot, which cause strawberry plants to wilt and fail to produce berries. , Doing this will prevent the plants from developing rhizoctonia root and crown rot, which cause the leaves of early strawberry plants to turn purple and curl.It will also prevent the development of anthracnose, a disease that causes dark lesions on strawberry plant stems, kills the leaves and new, young plants and causes reddish-brown rot on the crowns of mature plants, which eventually wilt and die.
Do not plant strawberry plants given to you by a friend or sold by an un-reputable grower. , These disease include: leaf scorch and leaf spot, which are caused by fungi that flourish during rainy spring weather.
Leaf spot appears as 1/8-inch purple spots that turn gray at the center, while leaf scorch appears as similar spots that do not develop gray centers.
Both of these leaf diseases stunt strawberry plants and eventually kill them.
Phomopsis leaf blight infects new strawberry plants right after they are planted and will quickly kill the leaves.
The first symptoms are round, red or purple spots on the leaves that turn gray in the center as they get bigger and eventually turn into v-shaped lesions along the leaf veins.
Your local Extension office can tell you if these diseases are a problem in your area. , Mix 2 tablespoons of light vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of baby shampoo and 2 tablespoons of baking soda into 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water.Shake it vigorously until it is thoroughly mixed.
Pour the remedy into a handheld or backpack pressure sprayer and spray the remaining healthy strawberry plants.
Cover the tops and bottoms of the leaves as well as the stems with this solution until it begins to drip from the strawberry plant.
Spray them early in the morning or late in the evening every five to seven days until berries begin to form.
Do not spray them when the sun is shining directly on them. , This fungal disease turns strawberries light brown and can spread through the whole plant.
It infects strawberry plants when they begin to bloom and flourishes in wet weather.
You can also deter this disease by spraying the plants with the vegetable oil/baby shampoo/baking soda solution when flower buds form and every five to seven days until the fruit forms. , Angular leaf spot is caused by bacteria that lives in dead leaves and stems.
The spots appear as small, wet, angular spots on the undersides of the leaves and eventually show up as red-brown spots on the tops of the leaves.
There is no cure for this disease and strawberry plants that are severely infected commonly die.
So you will need to start a new bed the following spring as the disease can survive to re-infect the plants again year after year.
This disease occurs when the weather is wet and temperatures are 70 °F (21 °C) during the day and around 32 °F (0 °C) at night.
Progression of the disease stops when temperatures warm and the weather becomes drier. , Aphids are small, slow-moving bugs, most often green or red, that suck the plant’s juices.Spray the plants in the morning so the leaves will dry before temperatures cool in the evening.
You may have to spray the plants once or twice each week if the aphids return. , Use the recommended spray treatment for fungal leaf disease to also get rid of mites on the plants.
Mites are barely visible spiders that suck up chlorophyll, the substance that makes plant leaves green.Mites cause the whole plant to become stunted.
The plant's leaves will also curl and develop a bronze tint.
There is no need to add baking soda to your solution when treating strawberry plants for mites.
You can also treat tarnished plant bugs like small tan-backed beetles with the vegetable oil/baby shampoo solution.
These pests feed on new growth buds at the tips of the stems in early spring.As a result, the strawberry plant will look distorted, very short and bushy.
Get rid of these pests by applying the vegetable oil/baby shampoo solution every five to seven days. , Leaf rollers are moth larvae that roll themselves in strawberry leaves and secure the roll with a fine web.
They feed on the leaves while they grow.They are rarely a serious problem and are easily controlled by simply removing the rolled leaves and throwing them in the trash., Nematodes are tiny parasites that burrow into the roots of strawberry plants, interrupting the flow of moisture and nutrients, and causing the plants to yellow, wilt and eventually die.Strawberry plants afflicted with nematodes cannot be saved, but if nematode are present, grow your new strawberry plants in containers to deter the development of pests., Strawberry root weevils are black or brown beetles that are about ¼-inch long, with larvae that appear as ¼-inch long off-white grubs.
Adults feed on the plant’s leaves at night and chew notches in the edges of the leaves, while the larvae chew and eat the roots.Strawberry plants with weevils look stunted with dark, blue-green leaves that are bunched together.
As soon as you notice these symptoms, set tuna cans in the ground so the top is level with the soil and fill it halfway with water.The weevils will go for the water, crawl in the cans and drown.
Check the cans each morning, empty the weevils into the trash and replace the cans. , Diatomaceous earth (DE) is actually ground up snail fossils.
It scratches the weevil’s shell, causing them to die of dehydration. , Slugs like to chew on strawberry plant leaves, stems, flowers and berries.You can also place tuna cans filled with beer into the soil to attract slugs as the slugs will crawl into the beer and drown.
Check the cans every afternoon, empty them and refill them as necessary. -
Step 2: Purchase strawberry plants from your local nursery or garden center.
-
Step 3: Only purchase certified
-
Step 4: disease-resistant cultivars.
-
Step 5: Grow early strawberries in stacking containers
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Step 6: window boxes
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Step 7: hanging containers or a strawberry pot.
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Step 8: Use potting soil that contains 2 parts topsoil
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Step 9: 1 part peat moss and 1 part perlite or vermiculite.
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Step 10: Place the strawberry plants in a spot that will get five to six hours of direct sunlight each day.
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Step 11: Give the strawberry plants water-soluble houseplant fertilizer once a month.
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Step 12: Use organically rich sandy loam soil.
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Step 13: Prepare the strawberry beds the season before you plant the bushes.
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Step 14: Do not plant the strawberries in a garden where eggplants
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Step 15: peppers
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Step 16: potatoes
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Step 17: raspberries
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Step 18: strawberries or tomatoes grew within the past year or two.
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Step 19: Improve the soil by adding a 3- to 6-inch depth of organic matter.
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Step 20: Test the soil pH and fertility levels.
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Step 21: Sprinkle lime over the soil to raise the pH or sulfur to lower the pH.
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Step 22: Spread granular fertilizer over the beds two weeks before planting the strawberries.
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Step 23: Plant the strawberry plants so that the crown or base of the plant is level with the surrounding soil.
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Step 24: Water the strawberries once or twice each week
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Step 25: depending on how quickly the soil dries.
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Step 26: Use a soaker hose when you water to keep the leaves as dry as possible.
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Step 27: Hand pull any weeds as they appear or break them off with a hoe.
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Step 28: Four to six weeks after planting
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Step 29: give the strawberry plants more fertilizer.
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Step 30: Cover the strawberry plants with bird netting as soon as they begin to form berries.
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Step 31: Harvest the berries in the morning every other day.
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Step 32: Remove any unhealthy strawberry plants with weed-infested beds.
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Step 33: Renovate and renew healthy strawberry plants each year after you harvest them.
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Step 34: Sprinkle two pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer over the strawberry bed.
-
Step 35: Don’t plant strawberries in low areas where the soil remains wet.
-
Step 36: Buy only certified
-
Step 37: disease-free plants to avoid diseases.
-
Step 38: Remove any plants infected with leaf diseases.
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Step 39: Create a home remedy for disease control.
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Step 40: Remove dying leaves between late fall and winter to prevent botrytis fruit rot.
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Step 41: If angular leaf spot appears in your strawberry bed
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Step 42: start a new bed the following spring.
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Step 43: Spray the strawberry plants with a garden hose to crush aphids and knock them off the plants.
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Step 44: Treat a mite infestation with the vegetable oil/baby shampoo solution.
-
Step 45: Remove any rolled leaves on the plants to prevent leaf rollers.
-
Step 46: Grow early strawberries in containers to deter the growth of nematodes.
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Step 47: Place tuna cans in the beds to drown any weevils.
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Step 48: Dust the soil around the strawberry plants with diatomaceous earth
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Step 49: commonly available at garden centers
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Step 50: to kill weevils.
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Step 51: Pick the slugs off the strawberry plants in the morning or evening and drop them into a bucket of soapy water to drown them.
Detailed Guide
Environmental factors like the average summer temperatures and the level of humidity will affect how well certain cultivars grow in your climate.
Some cultivars thrive in hot, humid climates while others do better in dry, cooler climates., They should have a good selection of cultivars that will do well in your area. , Strawberries are highly susceptible to a number of diseases that can devastate a strawberry crop.Because of this, they are commonly grown as annual plants, with the old plants being thrown away each fall and replaced with new, disease-free plants each spring.
Disease-resistant cultivars are either immune or much less susceptible to these common diseases. , A strawberry pot is a barrel-shaped pot with pockets where the strawberries are planted.
Growing them this way greatly reduces the likelihood of fungal and bacterial diseases as well as pest infestations.Plant one to three strawberry plants per 10- to 12-inch container or one plant per foot in a window box. , Do not use ordinary garden soil as it does not generally contain enough organic matter or drain quickly enough for container-grown strawberry plants.
It could also contain fungi, bacteria and pests, which would negate one of the bigger perks of growing strawberries in containers. , Water them when the top 1 inch of soil becomes dry.
You may need to water the plants every day or even twice each day when the weather is hot. , Use fertilizer with a 5-10-10 ratio.
The usual dilution rate is 1 tablespoon per gallon but this varies.
Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Apply the fertilizer solution after a regular watering as giving a strawberry plant fertilizer solution when it hasn’t been watered could burn the roots. , Though early strawberries will grow in average soil, so long as it drains quickly, they grow better in organically rich sandy loam soil., In mild-winter climates in California and in the south, strawberries are planted in early fall.
In cooler climates, strawberries are planted in early spring when temperatures reach 40 to 50 °F (4 to 10 °C)., These plants are all susceptible to similar diseases which can survive in the soil and infect the new strawberry plants.
Make sure you select a garden area where the strawberries will be exposed to at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. , Sphagnum peat moss, well-aged cow manure, compost or decomposed pine bark mulch can be used or several different types can be combined.
Spread the organic matter over the strawberry bed and mix it into the top 8 to 10 inches of garden soil thoroughly with a rototiller. , Do this after you incorporate the organic matter as adding organic matter to the soil could change the soil’s pH and fertility levels.
Strawberries thrive in soil with a pH of 6 to
6.3. , Mix it into the top few inches of soil with a dirt rake.The amount of lime or sulfur required to change the pH will depend on the soil texture.
More lime or sulfur is needed to change the pH of loam soil than sandy soil.
It takes ½ pound of aluminum sulfate to lower the pH of 100 square feet of sandy soil from
6.5 to 6 but it takes 1 pound to make the same pH change in loam soil.
The addition of organic matter should bring the soil fertility to acceptable levels. , You should use a fertilizer with a ratio of 5-10-10 at the rate of 2 pounds per 100 square feet.Once you fertilize the beds, rake the soil into 8-inch high, 2-foot wide rows that are spaced 3 to 5 feet apart or into 8-inch high hills that are 2 feet apart., When planting in rows, space the plants 1 ½ to 2 feet apart.
Water them generously and spread a 2-inch depth of organic mulch over the soil around the plants to help keep the soil moist. , The soil should be kept slightly moist but not wet.
Strawberries require 1 to 2 inches of water each week., Set a 1-inch deep can next to the strawberry plants before watering.
When the can is full, the strawberry plants have received 1 inch of water. , It’s very important to keep the strawberry bed weed free.
Weeds take nutrients away from the strawberries, reduce air circulation and harbor pests, creating a generally unhealthy environment for strawberries. , You should give them 1 pound of 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet.
Sprinkle the fertilizer in 6-inch wide bands in the furrows between the rows or hills.If the fertilizer gets on the strawberry plant leaves, brush it off quickly with a broom as it can burn the leaves. , This is especially important for early strawberries as they ripen before other berries that birds usually eat, so if the berries are not protected, birds will eat them.
Spread the netting over the rows and anchor it to the ground with 6- to 8-inch deep stakes that are angled away from the rows so the netting is held firmly to the ground.
This will keep the birds from walking under the net to get to the berries., Only pick berries that are completely red. , Do not keep them over the winter as they will not thrive.
Dispose of these plants and till the whole bed. , Healthy early strawberries that are weed free can continue to produce berries for three to five years.Use a lawnmower with the blades set at a height of 4 inches to mow the leaves off the strawberry plants.
Rake up the leaves and remove them from the garden.
Use a rototiller or hoe to break the rows or hills down to a width of 1 foot.
Thin the strawberry plants so they are 6 inches apart, keeping only the healthiest plants. , Brush the fertilizer off the leaves of the plants so it does not burn them.
Water the plants generously to wash the fertilizer into the soil., These conditions can lead to red stele or phytophthora root rot, which cause strawberry plants to wilt and fail to produce berries. , Doing this will prevent the plants from developing rhizoctonia root and crown rot, which cause the leaves of early strawberry plants to turn purple and curl.It will also prevent the development of anthracnose, a disease that causes dark lesions on strawberry plant stems, kills the leaves and new, young plants and causes reddish-brown rot on the crowns of mature plants, which eventually wilt and die.
Do not plant strawberry plants given to you by a friend or sold by an un-reputable grower. , These disease include: leaf scorch and leaf spot, which are caused by fungi that flourish during rainy spring weather.
Leaf spot appears as 1/8-inch purple spots that turn gray at the center, while leaf scorch appears as similar spots that do not develop gray centers.
Both of these leaf diseases stunt strawberry plants and eventually kill them.
Phomopsis leaf blight infects new strawberry plants right after they are planted and will quickly kill the leaves.
The first symptoms are round, red or purple spots on the leaves that turn gray in the center as they get bigger and eventually turn into v-shaped lesions along the leaf veins.
Your local Extension office can tell you if these diseases are a problem in your area. , Mix 2 tablespoons of light vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of baby shampoo and 2 tablespoons of baking soda into 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water.Shake it vigorously until it is thoroughly mixed.
Pour the remedy into a handheld or backpack pressure sprayer and spray the remaining healthy strawberry plants.
Cover the tops and bottoms of the leaves as well as the stems with this solution until it begins to drip from the strawberry plant.
Spray them early in the morning or late in the evening every five to seven days until berries begin to form.
Do not spray them when the sun is shining directly on them. , This fungal disease turns strawberries light brown and can spread through the whole plant.
It infects strawberry plants when they begin to bloom and flourishes in wet weather.
You can also deter this disease by spraying the plants with the vegetable oil/baby shampoo/baking soda solution when flower buds form and every five to seven days until the fruit forms. , Angular leaf spot is caused by bacteria that lives in dead leaves and stems.
The spots appear as small, wet, angular spots on the undersides of the leaves and eventually show up as red-brown spots on the tops of the leaves.
There is no cure for this disease and strawberry plants that are severely infected commonly die.
So you will need to start a new bed the following spring as the disease can survive to re-infect the plants again year after year.
This disease occurs when the weather is wet and temperatures are 70 °F (21 °C) during the day and around 32 °F (0 °C) at night.
Progression of the disease stops when temperatures warm and the weather becomes drier. , Aphids are small, slow-moving bugs, most often green or red, that suck the plant’s juices.Spray the plants in the morning so the leaves will dry before temperatures cool in the evening.
You may have to spray the plants once or twice each week if the aphids return. , Use the recommended spray treatment for fungal leaf disease to also get rid of mites on the plants.
Mites are barely visible spiders that suck up chlorophyll, the substance that makes plant leaves green.Mites cause the whole plant to become stunted.
The plant's leaves will also curl and develop a bronze tint.
There is no need to add baking soda to your solution when treating strawberry plants for mites.
You can also treat tarnished plant bugs like small tan-backed beetles with the vegetable oil/baby shampoo solution.
These pests feed on new growth buds at the tips of the stems in early spring.As a result, the strawberry plant will look distorted, very short and bushy.
Get rid of these pests by applying the vegetable oil/baby shampoo solution every five to seven days. , Leaf rollers are moth larvae that roll themselves in strawberry leaves and secure the roll with a fine web.
They feed on the leaves while they grow.They are rarely a serious problem and are easily controlled by simply removing the rolled leaves and throwing them in the trash., Nematodes are tiny parasites that burrow into the roots of strawberry plants, interrupting the flow of moisture and nutrients, and causing the plants to yellow, wilt and eventually die.Strawberry plants afflicted with nematodes cannot be saved, but if nematode are present, grow your new strawberry plants in containers to deter the development of pests., Strawberry root weevils are black or brown beetles that are about ¼-inch long, with larvae that appear as ¼-inch long off-white grubs.
Adults feed on the plant’s leaves at night and chew notches in the edges of the leaves, while the larvae chew and eat the roots.Strawberry plants with weevils look stunted with dark, blue-green leaves that are bunched together.
As soon as you notice these symptoms, set tuna cans in the ground so the top is level with the soil and fill it halfway with water.The weevils will go for the water, crawl in the cans and drown.
Check the cans each morning, empty the weevils into the trash and replace the cans. , Diatomaceous earth (DE) is actually ground up snail fossils.
It scratches the weevil’s shell, causing them to die of dehydration. , Slugs like to chew on strawberry plant leaves, stems, flowers and berries.You can also place tuna cans filled with beer into the soil to attract slugs as the slugs will crawl into the beer and drown.
Check the cans every afternoon, empty them and refill them as necessary.
About the Author
John Morris
Brings years of experience writing about crafts and related subjects.
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