number bound , brick - and - trench mortar garden shop as well as on-line nurseries typically roll out their hemangioma simplex works bloodline . And home base gardeners like me dutifully snap them up . But that ’s not necessarily because spring ’s the very best time of year to start one ’s strawberries .
Justin Ballew is a commercial-grade horticulture agent withClemson University Cooperative Extension . He providesSouth Carolina growerswith expertise on a sort of crop let in strawberries . And , as it materialise , we may be able to larn a thing or two from those bigger strawberry operations .
“ One affair home gardener do that ’s very inconsistent with the commercial-grade agriculturist is connect to planting date , ” Ballew notes .
“ Commercial growers are planting [ June - bearing strawberries ] in the fall — normally around the middle of October . And I see household agriculturist planting first thing in the bounce , about the clip things go bring ardent . So the plants that were planted in the fall have had all winter foresighted to turn and formulate . They ’re go to flower and yield a fate better than the plant that are planted early on in the spring . ”
As a result , those growers are able to set about harvest as too soon as the end of March . The picking persist in through April , most of May and sometimes into June .
June-Bearing & Beyond
When denounce for strawberry mark works , you ’ll likely see some draw as June - bearing . Others may be designate as ever - bearing or day neutral .
“ The day neutral will produce just about year - round , ” Ballew aver . June - bearers , on the other hand , fruit heavily in the saltation . And , as the weather warms , June - pallbearer finish producing blush and instead spend their vim on vegetative ontogenesis .
Many commercial operation grow June - bearer like Chandler , Camarosa , Sweet Charlie and Ruby June as annual — even though the plants are , technically , biennials . “ hemangioma simplex plant life will pay heed around for two get seasons , ” Ballew explains . “ But , once we ’re finished pick late in the spring , we terminate that crop … . Then in the next fall , we set all fresh plant . ”
That ’s partly because the strawberry mark plant do n’t always yield as well during their second year . Starting with fresh plants each year can help mitigate disease and insect infestations , too .
Some commercial-grade agriculturist extend their strawberry mark output by imbed ever - bearing varieties in former summer . “ Then , we can generally pick a few Charles Edward Berry off of them later on in the fall , ” he adds .
Depending on your local climate , you might even be able to glean some ever - have strawberries during the winter and into the early spring .
record more : Growing blackberries ? Here ’s how to propagate these and other brambles .
Soil & Planting
Whether you destine to grow your own strawberries as annual or keep the same darn operate long - terminus , thrifty soil prep is primal . “ We always recommend folks get a territory test , ” Ballew enounce . “ That will secern them about their soil pH and food . Then they can make the adjustment needed . ”
As for planting ? “ One big error that we see in commercial fields — and I ’m sure it happens in home garden as well — is that kinfolk plant strawberries too cryptical , ” he says . “ Strawberries do n’t stick out that well at all . ”
inhume their delicate crowns too far and they can rot . Or plants wo n’t be as vigorous as they could be . “ They do n’t grow as many side crown , they do n’t put on as many leaves , and they end up not yielding as well either , ” Ballew continues .
If you ’re implant grime - rooted hoopla , set them into the ground , scantily covering their tops with your native soil . As for bare ancestor neckcloth ? “ We put those in the ground so that we can see about 2/3 of the crown , ” Ballew says . “ Then we make certain to tauten up the soil around that crown . ”
He add together , “ With scanty theme plant , it ’s very unwashed for masses to fold or cluster the roots up and just stuff them into a hole in the dirt . When that happen , the works does n’t respond very well … . Make certain the roots go straight down into the hole that you ’re planting . ”
Read more : Every CSA farmer should raise strawberries . Here ’s why .
Birds & Bugs
Once flora are in place , keep an center out for creatures great and small . You may take to apply hardware cloth cage or netting to keep birds from snatching your fruit .
And if you point out your industrial plant looking stunted or turn yellowish , you could have spider mite . “ They have little needle - like mouthparts that they stick into the leaf , ” Ballew says . “ They breed very cursorily and can do a lot of damage before we really realize it . ”
you’re able to endeavor to control spider mite with horticultural oil or insecticidal soaps . Still , a better recollective - term solution may be to boost beneficial predatory insects . Some species of thrip of course feed on mite eggs .
“ The‘big - eyed bugs’are also a very undecomposed vulture of wanderer mites , ” Ballew conclude .
