screw for their red , meat - shaped fruit constellate with seeds , strawberries arepopular summer fruitsthat are part of the flowering Fragaria genus in the rose menage . Sweet and tart , they ’re yummy on their own or added to desserts , salad , and other delicacies .
Tasty as they may be , these picky yield can be tricksy to originate , especially if you ’re a tiro gardener . To help you give delicious results , we ’ve collect this comprehensive guide on how to grow strawberries , whether you start them from seed , plant them in a container , or set them up in a aquicultural organisation .
Types of strawberries
While consociate with summertime , you may enjoy sweet hemangioma simplex twelvemonth - bout inwarm clime zone . While unmanageable to grow , there are many ways to grow them , whether you choose containers , garden bottom , or hydroponic frame-up . Here ’s how strawberries acquire : Strawberry plant buck out runners , or horizontal stems , that establish roots in soil and make new plant .
The chief types of strawberry mark are June - bearing , everbearing , and day - impersonal strawberries .
How to start strawberries from seed
It ’s soft to grow strawberries from seed , but the process will emphatically take some clock time — you may need to await anywhere from two to three months to get delicious berry from seminal fluid . Strawberries started from seed are generally alpine strawberries , which tend to be passably little .
Prior to sow them , you may want to give your strawberry mark seed a chilling period for about a calendar month in the freezer — this will help with germination . The expert time of year to do this is around December if you want a springtime and summertime harvest . After this initial chilling catamenia , here ’s what to do next .
whole tone 1 : total your seeds to a moist potting commixture in seed - begin tray .
Step 2 : Lightly report the seeds with the potting mix .
stone’s throw 3 : Leave your germ tray in a brilliantly lit area , and consider supplementing them with grow lights . This will help oneself your seminal fluid germinate .
tone 4 : After you see three set of leave per plant , you’re able to start out hardening off your seedling to acclimate them to outside condition . However , take down that the sprouting cognitive operation can take anywhere from 7 to 45 days .
whole tone 5 : work your strawberry mark plants outside if the weather is warm enough . Strawberries do best in temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit , but they can survive down to 22 grade Fahrenheit .
How to grow strawberries in containers
If you desire a control environment where you may well supervise locoweed and disease , maturate hemangioma simplex in container is the way to go . you may either bribe quick - to - go small flora or get sleazy bare - base plant .
Step 1 : sum up a loamy , well - draining , and slimly acidulous garden dirt to a container with a drainage hole . hemangioma simplex roots are shallow , so you may get away with a container that ’s about 6 inches deep . verify there ’s enough elbow room to give each industrial plant about 12 inches of space .
footstep 2 : Mix in an organic , deadening - press release fertilizer , such as Berry - Tone — you ’ll want to use about 1 cup per foot of soil .
Step 3 : Prepare your strawberry plant for planting . For plain - root plants , you want to douse the roots for around 30 minutes . For strawberry plant in filth , gently pry your plants out of their baby’s room pots .
Step 4 : Plant your seedling or spare - antecedent plants . You want to keep the crown ( where the stem encounter the root ) above the soil .
whole step 5 : Dress the top of your soil with strawto prevent smoke and keep fruits from molder on besotted soil .
footprint 6 : Water your plants and make certain to water them again when the top in of soil feel dry to the touch .
How to grow strawberries in a garden bed
If you have the space and budget for them , levy garden bed are ideal for hemangioma simplex . A raise layer allows for drainage and help you keep weeds under control . With a bed , it ’s also easy to protect plants with net and prevent substructure traffic from damaging your strawberry .
To void disease , don’t reprocess a bedthat has been late used for nightshade or melons .
The process for planting your strawberries in a garden bed is really similar to growing them in a container , except you ’ll have more blank .
whole step 1 : tote up a loamy , acidulent soil to your raised garden bed . Mix in 10 pounds of wearisome - vent fertilizer per 100 satisfying animal foot . For already established bottom , lend about half that much .
stone’s throw 2 : fix down your hemangioma simplex plants , keeping the crowns above the land surface .
Step 3 : Space the strawberries about 12 to 18 column inch apart .
footprint 4 : add up straw on top of your dirt to offer mulch for your strawberries .
Step 5 : When you notice strawberries sending out runner , you may need to shorten them back every week to keep your plant focused on producing fruit , not new plants .
That say , you could also allow the runners to create a few raw flora andpropagate them in soilto share .
Step 6 : Considergrowing companion works , such as asparagus , bush beans , and Borago officinalis .
How to grow strawberries hydroponically
While the initial apparatus of a hydroponic arrangement can be convoluted and high-priced , you’re able to save body of water in the long run because you ’re essentially recirculating alimental water . Plus , a hydroponic system of rules is a expectant way toprevent pesky peststhat love filth .
When growing hemangioma simplex , you could apply a hydroponic arrangement to pile your plants vertically , so it ’s a pretty space - saving approach path to edible horticulture .
Step 1 : plant up a hydroponic organisation , such as theebb and menses system , for your strawberries .
Essentially , you ’ll have a piss artificial lake beneath the social organization holding your strawberry plant . Then , a timer will see how oft a pump deluge reservoir water into your bodily structure .
gradation 2 : get rid of soil from your hemangioma simplex plant stem and place your strawberries in net pots filled halfway with asoilless growing medium , such as coco coiror clay pebble .
footstep 3 : Add a hydroponic - specific liquid alimentary solution to your water source . Change it every two to three week .
How to care for strawberries
How to harvest strawberries
depend on when and where you plant them , strawberry mark can be pick during belated springiness or throughout the summertime . loosely , they ’re ready for picking four to six weeks after blossoming . Here ’s how to pick your harvest .
whole step 1 : jibe to see that your strawberries are full colored .
Step 2 : After one or two day , get ready to beak them . Use a dyad of scissors to cut them off or else of pulling them , as strawberry are quite delicate . Leave a quarter of the shank confiscate .
Step 3 : Wash your fruit and savor test to see if your hemangioma simplex are sweet !
distinctly , strawberry mark are plant that require extra care and aid . But there are so many ways to get your crop initiate , and a diligent center will help you keep issues at bay . If you ’re unforced to put in the hard piece of work , you ’ll be reinforce with scented , delicious fruit during the farm time of year .
