- Author: Lee Miller UCCE Master Gardener
What do you need to do to establish strawberries and keep them productive?
All strawberries require full sun and a soil with a slightly acid pH between 5.6 and 7.0. There are lots of varieties and it is best to go with varieties recommended for the area where you garden. A local nursery can provide info on the best varieties. A variety commonly grown here is ‘Chandler,' but ‘Parajo,' ‘Sequoia,' and ‘Douglas' are also recommended.
There are two planting systems for strawberries: Winter planting and Summer planting. The one recommended for the Central Valley is the summer planting system whereas winter planting is used in Southern California. In the Central Valley plants are planted in August using plants dug from the previous winters that were stored at 28° F. These plants develop during the fall and winter months and then begin fruiting heavily in the spring. If short-day varieties are planted in the spring at the beginning of long days, they will not flower and fruit adequately. All of the plant's energy will go into runners and all of your energy will go into weeding and watering for no good result.
Strawberry plants should be grown on raised beds to avoid wet feet and root rot conditions; it also makes them much easier to pick. Crowns can be planted with a trowel, digging a hole 6-7 inches deep and placing the roots out in a fan shape in the hole and cover with soil, firming it around the roots. You can fertilize at this time with a level teaspoon of slow-release fertilizer or ammonium sulfate in the bottom of each hole and cover with approximately 1” of soil to prevent root burn; or you can enrich soil by adding compost to the planting areas before planting. Planting depth is important as planting too deep or too shallow is detrimental. Set plants at the exact level that they were growing in the nursery, not too high nor too deep.
It is important to keep weeds out of the beds year around and to keep beds irrigated throughout the year. It is also important to prune runners that are in excess of starting daughter plants. Daughter plants are good for filling in any extra spaces in the beds. Evenly space plants from 8-10” apart in the bed. Properly tended plants survive winter without damage and may continue to set fruit well for three or four years. Beds can also be expanded or rejuvenated by moving daughter plants to new beds after the picking season is over and removing the older plants.