Growing Strawberry Plants

Fragaria : Rosaceae / the rose family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
        P P            

(Best months for growing Strawberry Plants in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • Easy to grow. Plant with crown (of roots) just covered.. Best planted at soil temperatures between 50°F and 68°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 12 - 39 inches apart
  • Harvest in approximately 11 weeks. Strawberries bruise easily when ripe, handle carefully. Pick with a small piece of stem attached..
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Better in a bed on their own to allow good sun and air circulation
  • Avoid growing close to: If you are using rotation beds, avoid putting strawberries where you have grown tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or eggplant
  • Ripening fruit
  • Strawberry plants

Strawberries are low-growing leafy plants which grow 12 - 15 cm (about 6 inches) tall and will spread to about 50 - 100 cm (20 - 40 inches). They have five petalled white or pink flowers. The flowers are followed by the delicious red fruits (which have their seeds on the outside).

Later in the season the plants send out runners like thin stems across the garden which will take root to form new plants. Cut them off and leave the parent growing. You can transplant the runners or let them grow where they rooted to produce new plants.

At the end of fruiting, trim off old yellow leaves and clean up any mouldy fruit still attached.

Strawberries like well drained soil with plenty of humus. To prepare your bed, dig in some compost before planting and possibly use a liquid fertiliser during the growing season. Well fed strawberries taste better.

To protect the fruit from moulds and mildew use some form of mulch around the plants. Straw, pine needles, or black plastic are all suitable. Mulch will also help suppress weeds.

Protect your plants with some sort of netting or bird scarer or you will lose most of your crop!

Strawberry plants often need replacing after a few years as they get affected by viruses and stop producing well.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Strawberry Plants

Pick strawberries and eat them straight from the garden warm from the sunshine - delicious!

Strawberries can be used in any dessert needing soft fruit or berries. Summer pudding (which also has raspberries and blackberries or boysenberries), mousse, trifle, dipped in melted chocolate or just with cream.

Sprinkle a bowl of strawberries with balsamic vinegar and a little sugar to enhance the flavour and colour.

A quick jam of diced strawberries cooked in the microwave with an equal weight of sugar until completely soft won't keep but can be used right away.

Your comments and tips

10 May 11, Chris Howden (Australia - temperate climate)
My garden is terraced. The supporting walls are made from natural rocks. The gaps are a wonderful home for slugs and snails that thus far have beaten me during the winter as no bait will survive the rain we have down in Denmark WA. I have even tried copper tops to my raised beds to stop the little Bu****s This is now the 6 th year of winter vegetables and so far 5 rounds are to them. Anyone got any ideas ??
20 May 11, syd smith (Australia - temperate climate)
get yourself a couple of khaki cambell ducks they love snails and their poo is great for the garden
14 May 11, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have just planted some winter vegies and have noticed that on watering them the water runs away. I have heard about gypsum should I be able to apply this now and does it take immediate effect as I belive my soil is mostly clay, although I bought in a truck load of Garden mix soil to cover the garden area My summer crop was leafy and looked ever green but No vegies... Is this due to me planting in an old chicken area and too much fertiliser? I like gardening and don;t want to give up. Any feed back from you guys will be much appreciated... Thank You .
02 Jun 11, (Australia - temperate climate)
bury plastic cups into ground and put beer into the cups snails love the yeast and get drunk and drown
04 Jun 11, (Australia - temperate climate)
Start a 2-3 sections compost bed. We have clay and always add some gypsom before we plant in a new area. Compost and mulch, when it breaks down, is really good. It takes time to build up good soil, but if you have good sun and install some drip irrigation ( not all that expensive if you do it slowly) you will find your vegies growing really well. Suggest raised beds also. We used pine ( unfortunately treated) and then one can build up the soil gradually, layer by layer. Crop rotation is also what we try to do. It's a learning curve for most of us. Don't give up. Just keep working on the soil. Good luck. JVK
17 Jun 11, arthur (Australia - arid climate)
Chris Howden 10 May. Is it possible for you to line your garden plot say to a depth of say 500 -800 inside the wall with a blck plastic,leaving it about 50mm out of the ground. I believe my self in covering all my plots with grass chips.stops a pests and also good food for the worms.
13 Jul 11, martin sanders (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I live just sth of Brisbane. My strawberries are being eaten from the bottom I have straw mulch and don't think its birds. I have'nt seen any slugs can u please assist
17 Jul 11, Rodney & Koren Riddle (Australia - temperate climate)
Ants are your problem!
25 Dec 11, gary ellard (Australia - temperate climate)
millapeeds love strawberrys,rock mellon and watermellon. They drill little holes. Have had that problem here in Adelaide. Put down some snail/slug pellets. This helps to control them for a little while. Hope this helps.
13 Jul 11, gigi (Australia - temperate climate)
how often do you need to feterilise your strawberry plant?
Showing 1 - 10 of 339 comments

Ants are your problem!

- Rodney & Koren Riddle

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.