BACKYARD STRAWBERRIES – EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW

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Fellow Gardeners, strawberries have become a true delight from my backyard food forest. I have been pleasantly surprised at how bountiful their production has been as well as how easy they are to grow.
From the inception of my food forest, I planted 50 strawberry crowns and they have more than quadrupled in number by year 3.

When I consider what produce is important to eat organically, strawberries are right up there at the top of the list! These commercial crops are heavily treated with pesticides.

So, let’s get into it….how can you be successful with your strawberry production?

RESEARCH

• Determine which variety of plants will be most resistant to disease in your area.
• Talk with an experienced gardener to learn what they plant and how they have success.
• Buy your plants from a local, reputable nursery (not a big box store)...Think about it…if you’re purchasing from a nursery in your area who is familiar with your climate and potential pest and disease pressures, they will be able to give you specific and practical advice.
• Consider purchasing bear root plants.
• Plant them correctly the first time.
  

As I mentioned earlier, I started with 50 strawberry crowns – of 2 different varieties. I have had varied success with each type. I purchased them from isons nursery.
The thing I LOVE about strawberries, aside from their flavor…is that they spread prolifically and every year you get many new strawberry plants having only paid for them once.

MULCH! (A Strawberry Plants’ Best Friend)

I planted my strawberry crowns in the ground, amended with gardening soil that was on sale at Costco. Next, I inoculated the roots with mychorrhizal fungi, surrounded the plants with mulch and THAT right there is key to healthy strawberry plants!

I wrote an article here about the benefits of using mulch in the garden. But, to summarize…the mulch decomposes over time and produces mychorrihizal fungi! Many plants thrive with michorrhizal fungi, but perennials do in particular. Every year, my strawberry plants spread directly into the decomposing mulch and they love it! They are healthy and strong and produce large, delicious berries.

BIRDS AND SLUGS

In order to keep the birds from snatching my berries I use reflection tape and this has been very useful. Just tie some of the tape around something near your strawberries that will allow it to blow in the wind. In the picture above, you can see the random stick I have sticking up in my strawberry patch and there is reflection tape tied to it. I used a lot of tape to keep the birds away.

I still have some birds that hop around the edges and peck strawberries but they’re not spending much time doing so, because the reflection tape blows in the wind and scares the birds away.

As for the slugs, they tend to be a problem with mulched gardens due to the moisture retention. But they can be controlled with bowls of beer laid out strategically around your strawberry plants. The slugs are attracted to the smell of the beer and will make their way into the bowl to take a drink and will ultimately drown in the beer.

Another trick to having a large strawberry yield, is to have ALOT of strawberry plants. In our 3rd year of gardening, we harvested over 57 lbs. of strawberries, and that does not include the strawberries that were slug or bird eaten which we happily tossed to our chickens.
So, planting more than you think you need is a safeguard for every type of plant that you’re hoping to harvest produce from. The animals and bugs will want to enjoy the food too and having a food forest that is full of life and diversity is a huge benefit. So, don’t try to keep all the predators at bay. Share and plan and plan to share 🙂

THINNING

I thin my strawberry plants each winter and share with friends and family because when I say they spread…they TAKE OVER! If I didn’t thin them out, they would would be on top of one another and likely suffocate each other and be a breading ground for disease. So thin your strawberry plants friends!

In order to thin them, it is ideal to wait until winter when they are dormant. You will need a garden trowel and some hand held clippers. These are the clippers that I use and they have worked well for me for many years. This is a good trowel…mine is so old I need to purchase another one.

You simply, find the plant you want to remove, dig it up by the roots and cut any runners that are connected to other strawberry plants.

That’s it! I just pull off the dead leaves and then you can either transplant that strawberry plant or give it away. Last year, I experimented with wrapping the roots of my dug up strawberry plants with moist paper towels and then putting several together in a ziploc bag. I then put this bag in my crisper drawer in the refrigerator in order to keep the plants dormant until I knew what I wanted to do with them, and it worked brilliantly!

BARRIER

I would strongly suggest you protect your strawberry plants with a barrier of some sort. Because we have a privacy fence and live in a neighborhood, it makes sense or us to plant straight into the ground. We haven’t had an issue with deer, chipmunks, rabbits, or neighborhood cats.

Buuut, I know many strawberry enthusiasts who have their strawberry plants dug up every year by critters or who have planted in a raised bed which the neighborhood cat uses as a litter box. So, if this is your situation, consider fencing in your yard or at least just your garden.

However, don’t let critters deter you from planting strawberries! Strawberries are so versatile and will grow well in containers or hanging baskets. Find what works for you and enjoy your own backyard strawberries!

TAKING CARE OF HARVESTED STRAWBERRIES

Strawberries will not continue to ripen once they have been picked, so it is imperative that you leave them on the plant until they’re completely ripe.

Once they’ve been picked, rinse them in cold water and then soak in a bowl of water with a few tablespoons of white or apple cider vinegar, then rinse again. This will remove any dirt and dead bugs still on the berries as well as remove any slug or snail goo. (yes, that’s the technical term) lol

I do the rinsing process and then leave them out to air dry. I then, place them in a glass container to go in the refrigerator. They will last longer in glass as opposed to a plastic container.

If we have a surplus I will flash freeze them. This can be done by removing the strawberry stems and placing them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and freezing them for a few hours before placing them in a bag.

Additionally, the strawberries can be sliced and each slice laid out on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and frozen the same way before putting them in a freezer bag.

IN SUMMARY

I believe my success with strawberries has come from:

• Mulch
• Privacy Fence
• Reflection Tape to keep the birds away
• Beer to control the slugs
• Planting with Mycorrhizal fungi

Now, go plant some strawberry plants and try for yourself! You’ve got this! I’m cheering for you because I want you to know the joy of a backyard garden!