Strawberries
- Puget Summer - New release. Late variety. Fruit ripens late making this a fresh market or home garden variety. Strong fruit stalks keep the fruit in the leaf canopy off the ground. Large berry, berry is larger than Totem. Sweet berry great for eating off the vine. (spring crop)
- Quinault - Washington State Release. Recommended for Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest. Does porrly in the South and not suitable for California. Large berry , firm and deep red with good flavor. Good for eating fresh, deserts, and preserves. Not recommended for freezing. High yielding, bigorous plants produce many runners, susceptible to mildew. Fruit too soft for fruitstands sales but excellent for pick your own and home gardens. (evergreen - everbearing)
Planting Tips:
Plant strawberries in the sunniest area of your garden. They require full sun for most of the day, although some late afternoon shade is tolerable in midsummer. Good water drainage through the soil is essential. Soils with high clay content are typically poorly drained, while sandy soils drain very well. If the soil is heavy and tends to stay wet, it is best to plant on raised beds to improve drainage.- Spacing:
- High density, 18" x 4 ft.=7260 plants per acre. Normal density, 2 ft.
x 4 ft. = 5445 plants per acre.
In some forms of bed culture 10,000 to 12,000 are often planted per acre. This is NOT recommended for the amateur and requires instructions beyond the scope of these notes. - Planting Instructions:
- Plant your strawberries early in the spring. Frost will not hurt the plants. Position the roots so that they are straight down into the ground. Do not allow them to curl up. Pack the soil around each plant taking care not to disturb the proper depth. Water in well and continue to irrigate, as needed. Plant spacing should be 18" to 24" apart with the rows being 42" to 48" apart.
- Fertilizing:
- Wait for growth to start to avoid burning the roots. Without a soil test we recommend a good balanced blend of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Sulfur. The same fertilizer that works in your vegetable garden will give excellent results on strawberries. Use a 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb per 100 square feet. This should be applied and incorporated before you plant and again in early August when the plants are developing fruit buds. Weed control is essential for strawberries. Cultivate your crop on a regular basis to eliminate weed pressure. Contact your local extension office for herbicides that are labeled for strawberries.
- Mulching:
- In areas that have cold winters, mulching is necessary to protect your strawberry plants. Cover your plants with straw in late fall. Approximately 3" to 5" will be sufficient. Remove the straw in early spring when you notice new growth on the plant.
Care of The Planting
- Everbearing Varieties:
- After planting keep all flowers picked off until June 1 - 15. This establishes a strong plant. Plants will flower and fruit the rest of the Summer and Fall until a frost occurs. The original mother plants should be rouged out after the 1st or 2nd year. Treat them like an annual.
- Spring Crop Varieties:
- Fertilize and water well the first year to promote good flower bud
formation that Fall. The first crop is picked the following spring.
After harvest the plants go dormant prior to Summer and Fall growth and fruit set. After the last berry is picked mow the plants off with a lawn mower set just above the crowns at the soil surface. The old leaves left after harvest are going to die anyway and mowing is good sanitation and helps keep fruit rot at a minimum as the planting ages.
In the fall thin runners so they are 3" - 5" apart. If possible mow tops off in January or February prior to the spring flush of growth. This helps prevent fruit rot. In our area winter rains often make mowing difficult. We do it when the ground is frozen. - Disease Control:
- When your receive plants from us they are Virus Free. Aphids spread virus. Rigid insect control avoids this problem. Control aphids with Diazinon. Organic gardeners may plant Rainier or Totem - these two varieties are Virus Tolerant. Strawberries are susceptible to Red Stele root rot. To avoid this problem plant strawberries in a well drained area of the garden.
Information Source: Weeks Berry Nursery