FOR FRESHER & TASTIERyour FOOD own Growing Strawberries Here’s everything you need to know to grow bountiful strawberries this season! We cover everything from different strawberry types, growing tips, and the most cost-effective way to buy them. Fragaria x ananassa 1: “Hi, I’m Jessie, Horticulturist with Sun Gro Horticulture, and I have prepared 2: “What strawberries to grow, how to purchase them, how many to buy, how and a new strawberry bed for the season. Before planning my strawberry patch, where to plant them, and so on. Here are some strawberry basics to help home there were lots of things to consider.” gardeners easily answer these questions for their own home gardening needs.” 3: Strawberry Types 4: First there’s choosing the right strawberry for your needs. There are lots of types and varieties to choose from. 5: June Bearing Hybrids: June-Bearing strawberries bear one big 6: Everbearing Hybrids: Everbearing, or Day-Neutral, crop per season, usually over a period of three weeks. Fruit size and strawberries bear one large crop and then continue to produce production varies by variety and some bear earlier or later in the season. smaller crops of fruit until frost. 7: Pineberries: Pineberries are an unusual everbearing type 8: Wild Strawberry Species: There are around 20 species of with white fruits instead of red. These natural variants are noted wild strawberries, and some are worth growing. The European for their sweet, pineapple-like flavor. Alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca) has small, very flavorful fruits... 9: ...as does the native American eastern Virginia wild strawberry 10: Buying Strawberry Plants: Strawberries can be purchased (Fragaria virginiana). in pots, but this is the more expensive way to buy them. 11: Bareroot strawberries are more economical. 12: Quantity and Harvest: 25 happy June-Bearing strawberries should produce around ¾ of a quart of fruit per day for three weeks. 13: Everbearings will produce more over a season. This should be 14: Bed Prep: I am planting my last bareroot strawberry in my enough fruit for a single family to enjoy and can. patch. 15: I’ve spaced my berries 15 inches apart, to give them space 16: The soil has been amended with Black Gold® Garden to grow. Compost Blend and well mulched with straw. 17: Before planting each berry, I am also adding some Black Gold® 18: Planting: Plant at the point where the roots meet the base Garden soil, which feeds plants for up to six months. of the plant, no deeper or higher. 19: Strawberries need full sun, fertile raised soil, and regular 20: In just a little over a month, my plants should be full and watering. blooming. 21: Pollination: Bees pollinate strawberries, so best practice 22: Without bees you’ll get no berries. is to refrain from using pesticides to keep these essential pollinators safe. 23: Protection: Birds and garden mammals of all kinds love 24: Bees can get through netting for continued pollination. strawberries, so, once your berries start to turn red, cover them with protective netting. 25: Strawberry Containers: Kids love strawberry pots. 26: Maintenance: Strawberries have rooting stems called They make harvest easy and fun! Be sure to water pots daily in runners that need to be managed to keep plants from getting summer. overcrowded. 27: Clip back runners as they appear. 28: Replanting: After three years, your berry plants will lose steam and quit producing well. 29: The best way to replace them is to let runners root in the 30: Diseases: Many fungal diseases infect strawberry plants third year, and collect the runner plantlets to replace your old and fruits. Good soil and care will help keep diseases at bay. plants. 31: To learn more about Strawberry diseases visit, Visit NC 32: Happy Strawberry Growing! State’s excellent document on diagnosing strawberry diseases: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/diagnosis-of-strawberry-diseases Visit blackgold.bz Learn more and discover expert how-to gardening videos, articles, exciting monthly garden giveaways and our $3.00 rebate. We also offer free horticultural advice through our Ask a Garden Expert support service. © 2018 Sun Gro Horticulture Canada Ltd. All Rights Reserved. ® Our Expertise is Growing, All the Riches of the Earth, RESiLIENCE and Sun Gro are registered trademarks of Sun Gro Horticulture Canada Ltd. ® Black Gold is a registered trademark of ODIN Enterprises II, LLC. Used under license..