GARDENING : Springing Forward Now Means Strawberries Later
Few American classic desserts are more well liked than t strawberry shortcake. This year why not treat yourself to extra-delicious shortcake by growing your own berries?
A low-growing perennial plant with pretty green foliage and small white flowers, the strawberry is easier to grow than you may think--and November is the perfect time to plant.
“The best planting time for strawberries in this area is the fall,” says Sharon Whatley, co-author of the upcoming book, “How to Grow Strawberries.” “Planting now gives the plants time to develop strong root structures.”
You can find strawberry plants in the nurseries now. Plant this month and you will get a mid- to late-winter or early spring crop.
Strawberry plants come in two forms for planting--bare-root and established plants. Bare-root refers to new plants that come in bundles unplanted. The big difference between this type of plant and those already potted is the cost. Bare-root plants are very inexpensive, often costing just cents apiece.
“In the bare-root form, the most popular for the Orange County area is the Sequoia,” says Whatley. “This is generally the type you will find in the nursery because it is a large sweet berry that grows very well here. Two other popular choices are Chandler and Douglas.”
Besides bare-root strawberries, which generally fruit in the late winter and spring, there are also types that produce most of the year. Some common ever-bearer plants for the area are Ft. Laramie, Quinalt and Fern, all of which are sold as established plants.
Whatever type of plants you choose, keep a few rules in mind to ensure an abundant tasty strawberry crop.
First, carefully locate your planting site. In general, strawberries like full sun, although they can use some shade during the really hot months. You also want the area to have good drainage because strawberries do poorly when their roots are constantly wet, says Carrie Teasdale, 1987 Orange County Organic Gardener of the Year, who has grown strawberries for many years.
Preparing the soil for a strawberry bed is very important. Whatley boosts her soil with a rich compost, planting mix and sand to ensure plenty of nutrients and good drainage. Chuck Bybee, manager of Armstrong Garden Center in Santa Ana, recommends using a planting mix or other organic soil conditioner at a rate of about a 1 1/2 cubic-foot bag per 25 square feet. “This is a little on the heavy side,” he admits, “but strawberries like really organic soil.”
Planting bare-root strawberries takes some special care.
“Immerse the roots of the strawberry plants in a bucket of water that contains a little soil and bring this to the planting site,” says Whatley. “Make sure to keep the pail out of the direct sun.”
Before planting the strawberries, trim the roots back to about 4 inches. “If there are any leaves on the plant’s crown, trim all but two or three,” says Whatley. (The crown refers to the thick portion in the center of each plant from which the roots extend.)
It is important to plant the strawberries correctly.
“Stick a trowel in the ground and push the dirt over to the side,” says Teasdale. “Then place the plant in the recess with the roots straight down. When covering the plant with soil, make certain that the crown is a quarter to a half-inch in the ground and a quarter to a half-inch above ground. If you have the crown too high, the roots will dry out, if you have the crown too low, the plant will rot.”
When planting established plants, place them in the ground at exactly the same level as you find them in the containers. Although they are more expensive than bare-root plants, they do have a head start and will quickly become strong, heavy producers.
To grow healthy, tasty berries, some fertilizing is required. When planting, it’s a good idea to add a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus, because, according to Teasdale, this mineral makes the berries sweeter. A good organic choice of phosphorus is bone meal. For a commercial solution, Bybee suggest Super Bloom, which is high in phosphorus and potassium.
Stick to fertilizing with small amounts of nitrogen, because too much will cause excessive leaf growth at the expense of flowers and fruit.
Once the plants are established, you will need to fertilize again. It’s usually a good idea to fertilize when the plants start to flower and produce fruit. At this time Teasdale suggests using a dilute solution of fish emulsion every time you water. Bybee recommends Miracle Grow or an all-purpose vegetable food, which should be re-applied every month.
To promote a healthy crop, you will also want to do a little pruning. “Pinch off the earliest blossoms,” says Whatley. “Although this is difficult to do, it will result in a more abundant harvest.”
Once your strawberry bed is producing fruit, you will also want to remove the runners that develop on plants such as the Sequoia.
“If the runners aren’t clipped off, the plants will stop producing,” says Bybee.
Once the season is over, you can use the runners to produce new plants. “Simply place the runner in a pot of peat moss,” says Whatley. “Once the runner roots in the pot, sever it from the mother plant and you’ve got a whole new strawberry plant.”
To produce prime fruit, strawberries need a high level of moisture, but they should never be left to soak. When watering, do so early in the day so that the plants will dry out and won’t experience problems such as rust and mildew.
According to Teasdale, you should wait in between waterings until the plants have dried out somewhat. “Don’t wait until they are bone-dry,” she says. “Just wait until the leaves look a little dull. Then give the plants a good soaking.”
To keep the strawberry bed moist and improve the flavor, Whatley suggests mulching with pine needles.
In general, the strawberry plant is healthy and not prone to many diseases. “One problem you may have is verticillium wilt, which is caused by a fungus in the soil,” says Whatley. “This disease travels through the plant roots and affects the water-carrying system. The plants will wilt, eventually losing their leaves and dying.”
To prevent wilt, Whatley says to buy from a nursery that carries virus-free (VF) stock. You should also never place your bed in an area where tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, raspberries, potatoes or other strawberries have grown in the last two years; these plants leave the fungus in the soil.
Although strawberries have few disease to worry about, there are several critters that find them as tasty as we do. The berries are considered a delicacy by sow bugs, earwigs, snails and birds. Luckily, there are a variety of ways to keep these pests in check.
Hand pick and dispose of pests such as snails and sow bugs in the late evening. To trap a lot of sow bugs at once, Bybee suggests placing wet rolled-up newspaper around the bed. The sow bugs love this moist, dark environment and will crawl underneath. When you remove the paper, you can often trap many of them.
You can also use diatomaceous earth to control snails and sow bugs. This white powder is organic and not harmful to humans; it is made of sea creature shells, razor-sharp to any bugs that touch it. Place this around the perimeter of your bed. Or protect your plants like the growers do by elevating the berries on plastic or another barrier such as straw.
Besides bugs, birds are also a problem. Bybee suggests using Bird-X, which is a lightweight plastic netting that he says does a good job of keeping birds at bay.
And if you do lose a few berries to the birds or bugs, who can blame them?
