How to plant, mulch and maintain a strawberry plant?

Strawberries, that red fruit that we love. Accompanying the arrival of spring, they are consumed between the end of April and until mid-June. To add flavor to strawberries, nothing better than harvesting them yourself in your vegetable garden.

When the season arrives for this red fruit on the markets, you feel like growing strawberries and you wonder how to plant strawberries? You don’t need a garden to grow strawberries, a balcony is enough. Here are our tips for successfully planting this blood red fruit.

Choose the variety of your strawberry plant

About a hundred varieties of strawberries exist. Among all these strawberries, four stand out:

  • The Woodland mara is one of the most popular repeat varieties. It is known to be particularly productive and offers a possibility of harvest from May until mid-fall. Something to delight more than a follower of its sweet taste.
  • The Gariguette is known to all. A true flagship product on market shelves, it is appreciated for its firm flesh and its pronounced fragrance. Like the Mara des Bois, the harvest extends from mid-May to the first frosts of autumn.
  • Then comes a variety of climbing strawberries, the Mount everest. This strawberry is approved by many city dwellers. Growing vertically, it is easy to grow the pot plant on a balcony like the Magnum strawberry plant. This variety requires, however, to provide large stems to hang on.
  • The same goes for the strawberry plant Charlotte. As with Mount Everest, it does not require a vegetable patch and grows vertically from June until the first frosts. In addition to its pleasant scent of wild strawberries, this red fruit has the advantage of being very resistant to diseases. This makes it possible to grow an organic strawberry without the addition of chemicals.

It is good to know that climber varieties are different from both ascending and non-ascending varieties. Climbing strawberries grow in height by clinging to all supports. The rising strawberries like the Mara des bois are characterized by the production of flowers then red fruits twice during a cycle. Finally, you will have understood it, the non-rising strawberries, like the Gariguette, flower and fruit only once during the year.





Where to plant strawberries?

For growing strawberries in pots, any exterior surface is suitable. But beware of runners, these young leafless roots grow in the strawberry plant to multiply in contact with the earth. They should be removed if you run out of space or if you do not want to increase the number of strawberries.

For the garden, it is important to prepare the ground. Choose a large enough planting area that will be devoted to your strawberries for the next three to four years. Take care to clean your soil by removing all the weeds and get a spade to aerate the soil. Planting the seedlings on mounds will allow better water flow and facilitate warming of the soil. If you plan several rows of strawberries, leave room between each, for a path of 50 to 60 cm. Then use this soil to form rounded mounds about twenty centimeters high.

It is essential to plant strawberry plants according to the exposure to the sun in your vegetable garden. Strawberries producing large fruits will prefer the sun while those producing small fruits, it is best to grow them in a shady environment.

Placing strawberries next to vegetables allows the feet to enjoy the benefits of their neighbors. Our advice is to place the plants near garlic, lettuce or even parsley.

When to plant a strawberry plant?

For most varieties of strawberries, the planting season for strawberries stretches from summer to fall. Summer is therefore as important for harvesting as it is for cultivation. The arrival of the first frosts stops the production of strawberries and does not facilitate the rooting of young plants with bare roots. The period between mid-August and mid-October is perfect for transplanting strawberry runners. This avoids the difficulties associated with the end of autumn thanks to the heat of the ground. If you are planting strawberries based on the Moon, be sure to do this when the Moon is descending. The soil will be not very humid and will not drown the plants.

How to take care of your strawberries?

The climate also plays an important role in planting your strawberries. Luckily, strawberries adapt perfectly to the cold winter climate in France. On the other hand, the plants do not tolerate late spring frosts. For their maintenance, only one solution, mulching. In addition to controlling weeds, it will help retain moisture and warm the soil by serving as a cover all year round. Do not hesitate to spread straw in a thick layer around the plant or place a black plastic film on the ground and make an incision with a chisel to place the plants there. Mulching will allow water to pass over your plants and the plastic will heat the soil faster. For potted strawberries, you just need to bring them in for the winter and late spring frosts. You can stimulate the flowering of strawberries by providing them with fertilizer made up of a large amount of potassium or with mature compost.

You have all the keys in hand to plant strawberries whether in pots or in your garden. A little patience and the harvest is yours!

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Nathalie Barenghi

Responsible for parenting for the aufeminin site, Nathalie is at your side to inform you about the essentials of parents’ life but also and above all to advise you, …

created on October 12, 2012

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