Organic Strawberry Growing Guide

When your strawberry roots arrive, promptly open up box. They should be planted immediately. If they cannot be safely planted outdoors, plant them in a pot of soil indoors and water.

Once the soil is workable, dig a hole deep enough so the roots extend vertically and are not bent. Cover the plants with soil just below the crown (where the plant top meets the roots). The crown should be at soil surface, not buried. Avoid planting strawberries in an area where they were recently grown, or where crops in the tomato family (including eggplants, potatoes and peppers) have grown, as they may carry a root fungus.

Strawberries like deep, well-drained sandy loams. Strawberries are shallow rooted. Water often, but keep the plants well-drained.

They don’t tolerate extremes in pH well, with the ideal pH being slightly acidic at 5.8-6.2. About 6 weeks after planting, apply two pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet. Sprinkle the fertilizer evenly over the growing area, avoiding direct contact with the foliage. Add two pounds again after renovating in July.

Remove all blossoms 6-8 weeks after planting to improve yields. Clip off runners to keep the plants from getting too crowded.

To pick strawberries, cradle the fruit in your hand, pinch the stem between thumb and forefinger, and pull. Pick the caps along with the fruit. “Renovate” immediately after the harvest to reduce disease. Stimulate new growth by mowing or clipping the plants to a height of 3 inches, and immediately remove the clippings. You can expect to get 3-5 years of harvests, if the area is kept weed- and disease-free, and if you renovate every year.

Over the next few year, if you carefully cover your strawberry plants with straw or mulch, they will overwinter and come back the next year in most climates. You can also start fresh with new, disease-free planting stock. If growing in containers, replace the growth medium with fresh sterile medium, and replant with new plants.