How to start growing strawberries

Strawberries can be grown easily and cheaply from seeds and these will produce plants very quickly when sown in the spring to give a small crop in their first year. However, it is more usual to buy strawberries as ready-grown plants called runners.

When buying strawberry plants it is important to get them from a reliable source since a good grower will only obtain plants from virus-free stock, and it is well worth paying a little extra for these as they will fruit better and for longer.

Although you can buy plants in pots it is quite common for mail order runners to arrive as bare rooted plants.

On receipt, place the roots in a small bucket of water for a few hours before planting. You will notice a chunky crown just below the canopy of leaves. Plant the crown about half way so as not to bury the very tip of the crown.

Plants bought as cold-stored runners can be planted virtually all year round, but certainly from March until the autumn. When planted in spring they should fruit in summer. You can get earlier pickings by forcing your strawberries – in March or early spring bring your strawberries inside or cover with a cloche to give them more warmth. However, it is important that strawberries are not brought inside over winter as they need a period of cold.

Where is best to plant strawberries outside?

The great thing about strawberries is they are very adaptable, and will happily grow in a strawberry pot on the patio or a hanging basket as well as in the soil on the veg plot.

If planting in the garden, make sure that your strawberries are in an area that gets a lot of sun in the summer, ideally six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day (however Alpine strawberries can cope better with shade).

As well as choosing an area which receives a lot of sunlight, you should plant your strawberries in an area which does not become waterlogged in winter.

Strawberries will grow best when planted into previously dug soil which has had some well-rotted organic matter such as manure or garden compost incorporated, preferably the previous year.

In the garden, strawberry plants will be growing in the same spot for three to four years before they need replacing, so it is wise to make sure that any weeds are removed prior to planting. As a safeguard, plant your strawberries through a mulch of polythene or ground-cover fabric to prevent weeds from building up.

How to keep your strawberries coming back every year

Feed your plants in spring with sulphate of potash at the rate of 15g per sq m (1⁄2oz per sq yd) to give them a boost in preparation for fruiting. Avoid nitrogen feeds as these encourage lots of leafy growth at the expense of berries.

During the winter remove all the old growth before plants begin to send up new leaves and remove runners, which tend to sap the plants’ energy.

If your plants are young and healthy with no signs of virus, some of the best rooted runners can be planted in pots or in rows on the plot to make new plants for fruiting next year.

How to propagate strawberries

Did you know that after you’ve bought one strawberry plant, you basically have an endless supply?

All you need to do is propagate your strawberries. Take a runner from your strawberry plant, pin it into a new pot and water it in, not yet removing the runner from the main strawberry plant. Give your new plant a few weeks to root, and then you then simply cut the runner off from the parent – and there you have a brand new strawberry plant!