Growing strawberries

Overview

Few crops reward a small space like strawberries. A dozen plants in a sunny bed or a couple of troughs on a patio will give you bowls of fruit that taste far sweeter than anything shipped in. They are low perennials that spread by runners, crop well for three or four summers, and then gradually decline, so think of them as a rolling project rather than a permanent planting.

Varieties to try

Summer-fruiting types give one heavy flush. 'Honeoye' is an early, reliable cropper, 'Cambridge Favourite' is an old-fashioned mid-season stalwart that tolerates most soils, and 'Florence' fruits late and shrugs off many leaf problems. Everbearers such as 'Mara des Bois', with its wild-strawberry flavour, crop in smaller pickings from midsummer until the first chilly nights, which suits pots and keen snackers.

Soil and site

Best soil: Fertile, well-drained soil enriched with compost, ideally not recently used for strawberries.

Choose the sunniest spot you have, sheltered from strong wind so pollinating insects can work the flowers. Dig in plenty of well-rotted compost a few weeks before planting. Avoid ground where strawberries, potatoes or tomatoes grew recently, as soil-borne wilts build up. On heavy clay, a slightly raised bed helps the crowns stay dry in winter.

Sowing and planting

Buy certified virus-free plants or pot up healthy runners from your own stock. Planting from July to September lets roots establish before winter and gives a full crop the next year; spring planting works, but you should pinch off the first flowers so the plant builds strength. Firm the soil, set the crown exactly at soil level and water in thoroughly.

Spacing: Set the crown level with the soil surface; buried crowns rot and exposed ones dry out.

Care

Water steadily while fruit swells, aiming at the soil rather than the leaves. Once small green berries form, tuck straw or fibre mats under the trusses so fruit stays clean. A potash-rich liquid feed every fortnight helps container plants. After the last pick, shear off old leaves, clear the straw and remove runners you don't want, then weed and mulch.

Harvesting and storing

Pick in the morning when berries are fully coloured right to the shoulder, taking a short piece of stalk with each one so the fruit doesn't bruise. Eat them the same day if you can; they keep a couple of days in the fridge, but bring them back to room temperature for flavour. Surplus fruit freezes well for jam or smoothies.

Common problems

Slugs and snails hollow out ripening fruit, so check under mats at dusk and use beer traps or wool pellets. Grey mould fuzzes berries in wet weather; good spacing, straw and removing rotten fruit promptly all help. In pots, vine weevil grubs can eat the roots, and powdery mildew may dust leaves in dry, crowded conditions.

Read more on the problems that most often hit strawberries:

• Drought stress
• Frost damage
• Grey mould
• Leatherjackets
• Plant viruses
• Powdery mildew
• Red spider mite
• Slugs and snails
• Vine weevil

Not sure what you're looking at? Try diagnosing it by symptom.

Month-by-month reminders

Jobs for strawberries come round in March, April, June, July, August and September. Each month page lists the rest of the garden's jobs for the same weeks.

Grow alongside

• Raspberries
• Blackcurrants
• Apples

Sources

Names follow Kew's Plants of the World Online; timings and spacings reflect UK growing practice and were checked against the references below. Text is our own. See our editorial policy.

• Kew Plants of the World Online — Fragaria × ananassa
• Wikipedia — Garden strawberry