Planting Strawberries in the Home Garden

Strawberries are an easy crop to grow in Iowa. With proper care, strawberry plantings can be productive for several years. There are basically three types of strawberries. June-bearers are the most widely planted type of strawberry. June-bearers flower in the spring. Their fruit typically ripen during the month of June. Excellent varieties include Earliglow, Honeoye, Surecrop, Redchief, Allstar, and Lateglow. The second type of strawberry is the everbearing strawberry. Everbearing varieties typically produce a spring and fall crop with little flowering or fruiting in the summer months. The day-neutral varieties are the third and newest type of strawberry. They are regarded as an improved, more productive everbearing type of strawberry. Day-neutral varieties will flower and fruit throughout the summer months if temperatures remain moderate. Tribute and Tristar are recommended cultivars. Strawberries require full sun and well©drained soils. Leaf, fruit, and root diseases are often problems in wet, poorly drained soils. Avoid soils where strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers have been grown within the past three years to reduce the risk of root disease problems. Late March and April is the best time to plant strawberries. Set each plant in the ground so the crown of the plant is even with the soil surface. June-bearing strawberries should be planted 18 to 24 inches apart in rows spaced 4 feet apart. Everbearing and day-neutral strawberries are typically planted in beds consisting of 2 or 3 rows that are 1 foot apart. The plants are spaced 1 foot apart within the rows. There should be a 2 foot wide path between beds. Immediately after planting, water the strawberry plants with a starter fertilizer solution to aid establishment. A starter fertilizer solution can be prepared by adding 2 to 3 tablespoons of a complete, water soluble fertilizer, such as 12-12-12, to one gallon of water. Apply 1 or 2 cups to each plant. All blossoms should be removed from June©bearing strawberry plants during the first growing season. Remove the flowers on everbearing and day-neutral strawberries for 6 weeks to allow for good plant establishment. Later flowers may be allowed to develop into fruit. Strawberry plants need one inch of water per week. Water the strawberry planting once a week during dry weather. For additional information on strawberries, obtain Pm©717, Growing Strawberries at Home, at your local county extension office.
Prepared by Richard Jauron, Extension Horticulturist, and Beth Mankowski, Educational Materials Development Specialist.
This project has been funded by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

This page part of the Pesticide Management and the Environment site at Iowa State University. Last updated [Macro error: Can't call the script because the name "gooddate" hasn't been defined.] by John VanDyk