How to Plant Strawberries? Everything You Need to Know

Strawberries are the star crop of winter and spring; going to your urban garden during these months and being able to eat a delicious, freshly picked strawberry is a real treat. We’re going to show you some tips so you can learn the secrets of planting and growing strawberries.

The Strawberry Plant

The strawberry plant belongs to the Rosaceae family, which makes it related to other fruit trees such as the peach, plum, almond, or pear tree.

The strawberry is a herbaceous, creeping, and perennial plant because if we take care of our strawberries throughout the year, they will continue to produce for years and will also reproduce every autumn.

Strawberries reproduce by stolons. These are shoots that grow from the stem and are capable of developing adventitious roots. If planted in soil, these stolons will eventually form a new plant. Once the new plant has rooted, the “umbilical cord” that connected it to the parent plant will dry up.

We can then cut it, and we will have an independent plant. If the strawberries are in pots, we can transfer them to a different pot, giving each plant its own growing space, or what is called a “cultivation frame.”

Requirements for strawberry cultivation

Its ideal climate

Strawberries have an optimal temperature range for their proper development and fruiting. For their development (before fruiting), they need to accumulate chilling hours at temperatures below 7°C; however, the range for fruiting is between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius.

Another essential requirement for strawberries is light; they need about 12 hours of sunlight for optimal production. As for relative humidity, it should be relatively low, as quality will be reduced in areas with high rainfall and humidity. For all these reasons, the Mediterranean climate is ideal for strawberry growth and development.

Soil characteristics

As we’ve mentioned, strawberries need little moisture, both in terms of climate and soil. Therefore, the most important characteristic of soil for strawberry cultivation is drainage. The soil should not become waterlogged, retaining moisture but not excessively.

The soil also needs to be deep, as strawberries can develop extensive root systems over the years, and, of course, light and loose so that these roots can grow without much resistance, although they adapt very well to any type of soil. Additionally, they require a high organic matter content.

Regarding pH, they prefer slightly acidic soils, between 5.5 and 7.

Strawberry planting and care

• The planting frame for strawberries is around 30-40 cm.
• Watering should be sufficient to keep the substrate consistently moist, but without waterlogging it (this will also depend a lot on the soil), so they prefer frequent but smaller waterings. Be careful not to overwater, as this can cause the fruit to become too watery or even lead to plant rot.
• As this crop requires a high demand for organic matter and nutrients, we must fertilize regularly, preferably with organic and natural fertilizers, not chemical ones, to maintain an ecological and safe treatment for both the plants and ourselves. The best fertilizer, as you know, is worm castings. At planting time, we can also add a handful of worm castings to the substrate. The fertilization frequency will be about every three months, depending on the time of year (more frequent watering leads to greater soil leaching and nutrient loss, thus requiring more frequent fertilization).
• It will be important to apply good mulch, as the fruit will rest on the surface of the substrate and its moisture can damage the strawberries. This mulch can be made with straw or tree bark, for example.

The location of the strawberries

Strawberry cultivation could be considered a perennial crop, since although the plant we plant this year will live for four years, it will reproduce and create new plants every year. In short, you should keep these two points in mind:

1.- If you plant strawberries in soil, leave space between the plants so that you don’t have problems with space in subsequent years.

2. If you plant strawberries in pots, you can place another empty pot near the mother plant and insert the runner into it. You can separate the pots when you cut the runner.

Sun and watering they need

Strawberries love sun and humidity. They produce their best when temperatures are mild, between 17 and 25 degrees Celsius. If you live in an area with very hot summers, a little shade during the hottest part of the day will make your strawberries happier.

Regarding watering, strawberries require consistently moist soil, but never waterlogged.

Padded

To maintain that crucial moisture, a very simple thing we can do is add mulch to the surface of the soil or container where we’re growing our strawberries. We can use tree bark, straw, cardboard (without ink), dried leaves, or pruning waste, for example. This will also protect them from snails and slugs.

This mulch is very useful to prevent the fruit from rotting when it comes into contact with the damp soil, and to keep the strawberries from hanging down.

Natural repellent

Strawberries are a very tempting fruit for us, but also for many animals. Sprinkling cinnamon around our plants will prevent visits from cats, snails, and slugs, for example.

Pruning strawberries

During the winter, strawberries enter a dormant state where most of their leaves dry out to conserve energy. We’ll leave these dry leaves in place during the colder months, as they make excellent natural mulch, protecting the plant’s roots from the cold. When spring arrives, we’ll prune them back so the plant can regain its strength.