Planting and caring for strawberries: everything you need to know

Do you also love the smell and taste of picking fresh strawberries? Then be sure to buy some strawberry plants. After all, strawberries are not at all difficult to grow and some varieties are even perfect for growing in a pot. Provide a sunny spot, good soil, plenty of water and nutrition and you will be rewarded with delicious strawberries.

When to plant strawberries?

Basically, strawberries are best planted from late July to mid-August. This is due to the fact that by August, the offshoots that strawberries start to form from June are usually fully grown and have formed enough roots to transplant. However, you can also find strawberry plants in pots in garden centres for planting in spring. However, these little plants should be sufficiently hardened off before you plant them in the garden.

The ideal soil for strawberries

Most types of soil are suitable for strawberries. However, strawberries are sensitive to soil-borne pests and pathogens. Therefore, grow them only a few years apart in the same place.

When planting, never use fresh farmyard manure or compost. These fresh materials attract harmful slugs and millipedes.

Planting strawberries: how to proceed

In the kitchen garden (open ground)
Work suitable plant food into the soil, for example our AZ manure for strawberry planting.
Strawberries like to take root in airy, humus-rich and moist soil.
If necessary, stretch a plastic foil over the planting bed before you commit the plants to the soil. This way you avoid weeds and ensure that the soil retains moisture and heat better. Moreover, your fruits will stay nice and dry and clean later on.
Plant the strawberries 25 to 30 cm apart in rows 50 to 60 cm apart, so the plants get enough light and air.
Water regularly during the first weeks after planting.

In a pot

Use a spacious pot 30 cm in diameter and 8-10 L capacity.
Choose good quality potting soil. Ensure good drainage by adding a layer of hydro grains at the bottom of the pot. After all, strawberries do not like wet feet.
Plant 3 - 5 strawberry plants in the pot.
Give sufficient water and regular Az Fertiliser for strawberry plants (also available from us) for higher yields and deliciously sweet strawberries.

In early spring (March-April), your existing strawberry plants like to get some extra nutrition.

However, fertilisation in strawberries is quite delicate. After all, too much nitrogen (N) gives too much leaf growth and too little fruit. As with other fruits, potash (K) is especially important for good fruit setting. Therefore, choose a suitable formula such as the AZ fertiliser for strawberry plants. It is best to give 20-35 g/plant or 60 - 100 g/m².

Incidentally, this fertiliser is also perfect for fertilising your strawberries in a pot. Because it consists of ultra-fine MINIGRAN® granules, you can easily spread it on top of the pot. For your potted strawberry plants, use 2-4 g/L of potting soil or 10-20 g/plant.

Handy strawberry care tips

If you didn't stretch plastic sheeting over the planting bed when planting, you can cover the soil under the fruits with straw as soon as the fruits start to swell. This will keep the fruits nice and clean. Moreover, this way weeds get less chance and the soil retains moisture and heat better.
To protect your strawberry plants against voracious slugs and snails, you can also sprinkle slug pellets between the rows in advance. These will keep the snails at bay.
Protect the fruit from birds with a garden net.
When watering, avoid dampening the ripening fruit. This will prevent fruit rot.
While picking, also remove rotting strawberries to nip fungal diseases in the bud.
After harvesting

After harvesting the strawberries, the old leaves are cut off in August to 7.5 cm above the heart. Excess shoots can also be cut off and planted out now.

Rake away the old straw and all other debris. Loosen the soil between the rows and hoe away the weeds.

Sprinkle again some AZ fertiliser for strawberry planters between the plants and in the rows and rake in the fertiliser.

After the third crop year, it is best to dig up the strawberry plants and plant new healthy, virus-free plants on a fresh plot.