This guide is designed to help you through the processes from picking the right plants to how to care for them all year round.
What Strawberry Plant Variety To Pick
Picking the right strawberry variety depends on what you want to do with the berries. Their are varieties better suited to growing in pots and other varieties that are good for freezing. Search through our different varieties and find the one that suits your needs best.
How To Plant Strawberry Plants
Once you have selected which variety you would like to plant you then need to sort out planting them. You can either plant in a planter or direct into the ground.
Strawberry plants are best planted in a sunny spot with free draining soil. It's best practise to choose a spot that has not grown strawberry plants, potatoes or tomatoes to not risk passing on diseases. Make sure the soil has a been prepared well but mixing in some well rotted manure or compost and making sure it is weed free before planting.
Plant your strawberry plants in rows 75cm apart and space the plants every 45cm this will allow space for either the plants to grow or you to create matted rows by letting the runners set in the middle. Ensure that the root is berried but the crown of the plant stays above the soil level.
How To Look After Strawberry Plants
Your strawberry plants may benefit from extra watering during the first few weeks of becoming established. Once they have got growing they shouldn't need extra water if in the ground until either fruiting or it is a particularly dry time. Plants in pots will need to be kept damp as they can dry out quickly. You can feed your strawberry plants with a high potassium fertiliser as this will help with fruiting. Mulching around your plants before fruiting will help keep them off the ground and away from pests that may try to eat them.
What To Do With Strawberry Plants After Fruiting
Once your strawberry plants have finished fruiting you may want to remove all of the damaged leaves and mulch. This will allow air and light into the crown of the strawberry plant and help it to recover and grow going into autumn. During this time you plants will also put out runners. If you want mattered rows you can allow a few of these to root. the best option is to remove these which will allow the plants to put there energy into growing which in turn should provide you with a larger strawberry crop next season.
