How to grow…Strawberries
Tomorrow is national strawberry day (not a darn clue why it’s in February) so I thought I would take this opportunity to talk to you about one of my favorite fruits…the delicious Strawberry.
Like most garden crops, there are a ton of different types and varieties to choose from when it comes to strawberries. The types are:
June-bearing: Produces a large crop in the early summer. You can grow them in Colorado, but the plants are susceptible to late frosts damaging the crop.
Ever-bearing: Produces two larger crops in early summer and fall, and smaller crops throughout the growing season.
Day-neutral: Produce all season so you can get your daily harvest.
Within each type there are a ton of varieties (cultivars) to choose from. Personally, I have Ozark Beauty (everbearing) and Tribute (day-neutral) strawberries - both of which do really well in our climate.
Other varieties that do well include Fort Laramie or Quinalt.
After you have chosen your varieties, you’ll need to decide where you’ll be planting.
Choose a location with at least 8 hours of sunlight. It should be in an area that can go undisturbed - strawberry plants spread. Make sure your planting area is amended with quality compost and drains well, strawberries don’t like wet roots.
You can buy starter plants, bare roots, or choose to start your plants by seed (if you’re going this route, I recommend winter sowing them).
Planting starter plants (or plants you started yourself) is standard to most transplants. Place your transplants in the ground right at soil level. Space them at least 12” apart.
*image provided by CSU Extension. Click to find out more
But planting bare roots requires a little more finesse.
Soak your bare roots in water for an hour or two before planting. Dig out your planting hole and create a small, firmish mound in the center. The size and depth of the hole will depend on the size of your bare roots. Remove any dried leaves. Drape the roots over the mound so they lay flat without bending - it should look like a star with the tip pointing up in the middle.
Cover the roots with soil and lightly pat down. Make sure that the soil does not cover the whole bare root. Soil should only come up about half way up the crown of the plant. Water them well. Pinch off the first flush of flowers to help strengthen the roots. You can fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer throughout the growing season or top dress with compost or worm castings.
Before the ground freezes usually by mid-December, cover your strawberries with about 2” of mulch. Roots are shallow so they need to be protected from the cold.
In the spring, you should start to see leaves greening up. Clear out the mulch a little bit at a time to allow the sun to reach the plants. You should leave a little mulch in the bed to reduce weeds, protect the roots, and keep the strawberries off the soil.
Need help with strawberries? Make sure to schedule your free 20-minute consultation here.
