Strawberry plant: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you plant strawberries?
Choose a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained soil. Weed it and incorporate well-rotted compost before planting. In a temperate climate, plant in spring or in late summer to early autumn, according to the plants available and local conditions. Avoid frozen or waterlogged soil.
Space plants about 35–40 cm apart, with roughly 75 cm between rows. Spread the roots in the hole and keep the base of the crown, where the leaves emerge, level with the soil surface: bury the roots, but leave the centre exposed. Firm gently and water to settle the soil. While the plants establish, water when the soil starts to dry, without leaving it saturated. Keep mulch clear of the crown.
Make the hole deep enough for bare roots to extend downwards without folding. For a potted plant, moisten the root ball and keep it intact during transfer. Check the crown height again after watering, as the soil can settle: gently lift a plant that has sunk too deeply or add a little soil over exposed roots. A buried crown risks rotting, while a plant set too high dries out more quickly.
How to care for this plant
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Maintain the mulch
Check the mulch around your strawberries and top it up if needed. Keep the crown clear so it does not stay damp.
How do you harvest strawberries?
Pick strawberries when they are fully ripe, with the colour typical of the variety and a developed aroma. Most varieties turn red, but some remain white or yellow. They do not ripen further once picked. Summer-fruiting varieties produce a concentrated crop; everbearing varieties can fruit over a longer period, depending on the weather. Check the plants regularly and pick carefully, leaving the green calyx and a short stalk attached, without pulling on the plant or squeezing the fruit.
Eat the berries soon after picking, as they keep poorly. Keep them cool if you cannot use them straight away, set aside any damaged or mouldy berries and wash the sound fruit just before eating. To use a surplus later, you can freeze the washed fruit, with the calyx removed and the berries drained. Thawed strawberries soften: use them in smoothies, sauces or cooked desserts.
Strawberry plant
- Type : Fruit trees
- Botanical Family : Rosaceae
Characteristics
- Lifecycle : Perennial
- Exposure : Full Sun
- Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
- Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
- Mature height : 25 cm
Sowing & Planting
- Greenhouse crops : Unheated greenhouse
- Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
- Plant Spacing : 40 cm
- Row Spacing : 40 cm
Maintenance
- Maintenance : Moderate
- Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
- Soil Type : Humus-rich
- Soil pH Preference : Acidic
- Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
- Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
- Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
- Pollination : Insect-pollinated
- Propagation : Division