Planting strawberried

Planting: Strawberry plants (crowns with roots) should be planted only half way up the crowns. Any deeper and they rot and die. Any shallower and they dry and die. The plants need to be about 10-12 inches apart and, planted either in rows about the same width or a little wider. Because they do well in weedless area, they need to have some sort of protection against weeds.

Types: If they are June bearing types, they produce only a single crop per year, and love very rich soil. If they are everbearing types, they will produce throughout the summer, but usually are smaller and less berries.

Propagation: Most plants will send out runners. These look like long stems and will start to form new leaves and roots at their tips. Usually they should have all the runners picked off and removed in the first season, so the plants can put more energy into the berries. After about two years, the crowns tend to get longer and 'leggy'. Usually after the third year, these older leggy plants need to be replaced. Because a single plant can send out several runners in all directions, you can have small pots positioned under each small plant runner, so the roots will take in the small pots. The same fall, these small plants can be cut off from the mother plant and transplanted the following spring. You will eventually have an endless supply of plants if you allow them to root the runners. If they grow unchecked, they will soon over take the patch nearby the runners and if planted too closely, these tend to produce smaller berries if crowded.

Pests: Birds like these as do chipmunks, and they can both carry away a whole berry. One way is to paint some small rocks with bright red paint and set these around the plants to act as decoys. Also rat traps baited with grapes can get rid of many of the other pests. You wil be on your knees a lot, so get used to crawling and weeding, picking and thinning.. Spider mites are an enemy of these plants.

Winter care: Usually they need no covering in winter, but do benefit if there is a heavy weight white platic fabric put down over the plants for the winter months. Covering them over in winter with plant mulch or leaves tend to cause rotting, so should be avoided.