With our instructions for many sweet fruits

the essentials in brief

• Purchased young plants are best planted in summer
• Strawberries like a sunny to partially shaded location and prefer loose, humus-rich soil that allows rainwater to drain off well
• Strawberries go well with garlic, onions, Tagetes or lettuce; they should not be combined with potatoes, cucumber, roses or tomatoes

When is strawberry planting time?

You can plant strawberries pre-cultivated with root balls in the pot at any time. As the most important prerequisite for healthy growth and a rich harvest, the soil must not be frozen. It also depends on the correct distance from one another of 30 centimeters in the row and about 60 centimeters between the rows.

If you want to get the best out of your strawberry plants, a more differentiated approach comes into focus. Single-bearing strawberries create their flower buds in the previous year when the days get shorter. The best time to plant new young plants is from mid-July to August. Plant double-bearing garden strawberries between early and mid-August.

Everbearing strawberries bloom and fruit continuously throughout the season. For this Permanent carrier the time window for planting in the bed and on the balcony opens in spring, ideally after the ice saints. Planting monthly strawberries in late summer or autumn often results in disappointment because the plants may not produce flowers immediately. Only after the first winter rest does the process get going, so that from spring onwards, strawberries that are everbearing live up to their name.

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Buy young plants in specialist shops

Planting strawberries - step-by-step instructions

Strawberries need a planting distance of about 25cm

Two weeks after the soil was prepared, the bed soil has settled. Choose a mild day with dry weather as the planting date. Aside from the young strawberry plants, you'll need a rake, hand shovel, and water-filled bowl, as well as a watering can. How to properly plant strawberries in the garden:

1. Place the root ball in soft water until no more air bubbles rise
2. Rake and weed the bedding soil
3. Dig plant holes at a distance of 25-30 cm (row spacing 40-60 cm)
4. Pot the strawberry plants and position them in the center of the planting hole
5. Fill in the excavation with a shovel or hands and press down gently
6. Fill the watering can with rainwater and water each plant individually

How deep should strawberries be planted? This question gives many hobby gardeners a headache when they first plant strawberries themselves. Indeed, correct planting depth is key. As a rule of thumb, the root ball is lightly covered with earth so that the plant heart is clearly visible. The figure below illustrates how to do it right.

Planting instructions for balcony gardeners

Thanks to their modest space requirements, strawberry plants are ideal for growing in pots and flower boxes. They are primarily everbearing Strawberry varietiesthat transform the balcony into a picturesque snack garden with tireless flowers and countless bite-sized fruits. The following overview summarizes all the key data for growing strawberries on the balcony:

• Location: sunny to partially shaded, likes to be bathed in air and without blazing afternoon sun
• Substrate: Organic berry soil or high-quality potted plant soil, preferably without peat
• drainage: 5 cm high layer of Expanded clay,(€ 16.36 at Amazon *) Pottery shards or gravel under the substrate
• Vessel volume: Pots and boxes from 5 liters capacity with a bottom opening as a water drain
• Plant spacing: 15 to 20 cm

For a decorative touch, socialize strawberries on the balcony with pretty and beneficial neighboring plants. Proven strawberry friends are violet, Marigolds and marigolds. A combination of standing and hanging strawberries is nice to look at and beneficial for the harvest.

Variety selection

Varieties bred for commercial cultivation cannot hold a candle to strawberries for private cultivation. Instead of cost maximization and transport stability, more meaningful attributes are in the foreground for home garden varieties, such as full-bodied aroma, juicy sweetness and uncomplicated care. The following table names recommended varieties by name, lists outstanding properties and has tried-and-tested ideas for possible uses:

Strawberry gardeners with a weakness for rarities shouldn't miss out on white strawberries. The furious pineapple strawberry 'Pineberry Snow White' bears white strawberries that bear red seeds in small dimples. The 2 centimeter small fruits melt on the tongue with a taste of strawberries and pineapple. The single-bearing variety is equally suitable for beds, balconies and patios.

Digression

Pull strawberries from seeds for the month

Location and soil quality

Strawberries need a lot of sun and loose soil

Strawberries want a sunny location. The more rays of the sun caress the plants, the sweeter the fruits become. A sheltered location is an advantage. Of course, there should not be a complete calm so that the leaves dry quickly after a rain shower.

In loosely permeable soil without the risk of waterlogging, strawberry plants meet all expectations of a lush fruit curtain. The soil should be rich in nutrients, fresh to slightly moist and deep with an optimal pH value between 5.5 and 6.5. You can fix minor deficits in the soil quality as part of the preparatory work without much effort.

Soil preparation is the be-all and end-all

A rich harvest of juicy, sweet fruits largely depends on the soil you are in Planting strawberries. Two weeks before the start of the planting season, the starting shot is given for the preparation of the soil in order to make the garden strawberries attractive in the bed or in the greenhouse. Here's how to do it properly:

1. Floor two spade dig deep
2. Remove stones, roots and coarse debris
3. Deciduous compost, deposited manure or humus Spread as a 5-10 cm high layer
4. Work in fertile soil with a rake

Please do not use conventional garden compost for the preparatory work in the strawberry patch. As part of the production of Compost soil Numerous components from the kitchen and garden are used, which increase the salt and lime content, which is not good for sensitive strawberry roots. If there is no leaf compost, manure or humus available, use packaged potting soil without peat from the trade.

Plant strawberries in mixed culture

In the natural garden design, biodiversity reigns, which is applied in a varied planting plan. Strawberry plants are the beneficiaries of a balanced Mixed cultureif plant neighbors are carefully chosen. The following table summarizes which plants go well with strawberries and which are better kept at a distance:

Explanations of the mixed culture

If you plant strawberries and onions together, fungal diseases are bad cards. Garlic, onions and marigolds ward off voracious snails. Salads of all kinds as well as herbs, mainly chives, parsley, dill or chamomile, promote aroma and taste. By combining different strawberry varieties in the bed, you improve fertility and harvest yield.

Strawberries and onions are a dream couple in the bed

Rose plants, on the other hand, do not have good neighbors with strawberry plants. This not only applies to roses themselves, but also to raspberries, blueberries and other berry bushes that are part of the diverse plant family Rosaceae. Soil fungi, nematodes and wireworms spoil the joy of growing strawberries if you associate the plants with potatoes, cabbage and tomatoes. Furthermore, please avoid all vegetable plants that, as neighbors, cast shadows on strawberry plants, such as cucumbers, pumpkins, courgettes or melons.

Planting strawberries vertically - tips & tricks

Imaginative balcony gardeners have discovered unorthodox planters for strawberries, such as a disused rain gutter or gutter. An extra space-saving version is in the tube for planting strawberries vertically. The following guide may serve for your inspiration:

Material requirements

• PVC pipe (diameter 100 to 150 mm) with matching end cap
• PVC pipe (diameter 20 mm) for irrigation with matching end cap
• Burlap or Garden fleece for sealing
• Hole saw or jigsaw
• drill
• Potting soil (ideally without peat)
• Gravel, expanded clay or potsherds as drainage
• Monthly strawberries as seedlings, e.g. B. Hanging strawberries 'Mount Everest' or 'Parfum Freejumper'

Choose a sunny, warm and sheltered location on the balcony, terrace or in the garden for the attachment. In practice, a stable wall trellis has proven itself well for the vertical cultivation of strawberries in a pipe. Further options are installation in a raised bed, a large bucket or simply vertically in the bed with a wooden post as a back support.

Step-by-step instructions

At the beginning, please measure the large pipe at the desired height, suitable for the selected wall mounting. The inner irrigation pipe should protrude 10 centimeters. How to build and plant a vertical strawberry pipe:

1. Drill holes with a diameter of 10 cm each in a staggered arrangement at a distance of 20 cm
2. first hole 20 cm above the lower end and 10 cm below the upper end of the pipe
3. Attach the end cap at the bottom
4. Cut a thin irrigation pipe
5. perforate the middle section of the pipe with small holes
6. Wrap the pipe with burlap to protect against ingrown roots
7. fix with wire vertically and centrally in the large pipe
8. Attach the end cap at the bottom
9. Fill the soil with a 10 cm high drainage made of gravel, expanded clay or clay scissors
10. Fill in substrate up to the first hole
11. Plant the strawberry seedling

Please place a strawberry plant in each planting hole in the pipe. When planting, make sure that you do not cover the plant heart with soil. To pour on, let the water from the watering can slowly run down into the irrigation pipe from above.

Propagate in good time by offshoots

Strawberry plants thrive as perennial perennials with limited productivity. After maximum yields in the second and third year, the plants have passed their zenith in the fourth year of cultivation. Fruit quality and harvest yield now leave a lot to be desired, so that a change to a new location is urgently recommended. Optionally, you can plant young plants that you have bought in. Forward-looking strawberry gardeners mark the floral top workers and use their most vital offshoots for propagation for free. This is how the plan works:

• in the 2nd Mark strawberry plants with particularly high yields with wooden sticks
• Select a healthy offshoot that is closest to the mother plant
• Use a hand shovel to lift offshoots out of the ground without separating them from the mother plant
• Dig in the clay pots and fill them with surrounding garden soil
• Place cuttings on the substrate, press down and water

While the mother plant continues to supply its offshoot with nutrients, its own root system forms in the pot. If you feel resistance to the train after a few weeks, the separation can take place. Lift the pot together with the young plant out of the ground. As a new location, please choose a sunny, nutrient-rich place in the bed, where previously there were no strawberries or rose plants.

Care tips

Straw protects against weeds and prevents the strawberries from lying on the ground and rotting

When young strawberry plants are growing or there is no rain, you should patrol daily with the watering can. The maintenance program also includes regular weeding. Do not use the Garden rakeso as not to injure the shallow roots. Instead, just pluck out weeds. Mulching with dried lawn clippings or straw suppresses brazen weeds and prevents ripening fruits from lying on the ground.

At the end of the harvest season, clear away the straw layer. Now is the best time to cut back. Cut Remove all offshoots that are not used for reproduction. Remove all leaves as pathogens may have accumulated on them. The valuable plant heart remains unmolested by the scissors. Fertilize Always keep your strawberries after they have been harvested, because this is the time when the buds for the next year are created. To do this, loosen the soil a little, remove any remaining weeds and distribute an organic one Berry fertilizer.(€ 11.35 at Amazon *)

Although strawberry plants are reliably hardy, we recommend light winter protection in the bed. A cover made of fleece or a thick layer of mulch made of leaf compost or autumn leaves is well suited. Pots, buckets and Window boxes(€ 7.99 at Amazon *) with strawberry plants cover with jute, fleece or bubble wrap. Place the vessels in a protected wall niche on wood or a similar insulating material.

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The strawberry family

frequently asked Questions

What can you plant between strawberries?

For garden strawberries, a row spacing of 40 to 60 centimeters has proven to be good for a comfortable harvest. At the same time, this distance offers sufficient space for the cultivation of further useful plants in the sense of an advantageous mixed culture. Recommended plant neighbors for strawberries are onions, garlic, chives, marigolds and parsley and lemon balm because it is also useful as a natural bulwark against diseases and pests do.

When can you plant strawberries?

The best time to plant strawberries in the bed is from mid-July to mid-August. At this time, garden centers and online retailers offer a wide range of high-quality varieties for growing in the garden. If you prefer double-bearing garden strawberries, the time window for planting opens between August and September. You plant monthly strawberries for the balcony as early as spring when the danger of frosty nights is over by mid-May.

What types of strawberries can I plant and harvest in the same year?

Classic garden strawberries are planted in autumn because a cold stimulus in combination with short days is required to induce blossoms in the heart of the plant. Only after a cold phase in winter will the plants give you juicy, sweet fruits from early summer. This shortcoming is circumvented with frigo strawberries, which are subjected to an artificial cold stimulus by a specialist. Frigo varieties planted in spring bear the first fruits after an average of 10 weeks. Long-term fruiting varieties, such as monthly strawberries and wild strawberries, are irritating to the cold and the length of the day doesn’t matter. Planted in the spring after the ice saints, you can nibble on tasty little strawberries that same year.

Should I replant strawberries every year for a premium quality harvest?

By far the most popular strawberries are known as single-bearing varieties. This classification does not refer to the lifespan, but refers to the harvest time from May to June. Strawberry plants thrive as hardy perennials that provide you with tasty fruits in summer for several years. In fact, in the second and third years, the plants reach the zenith of fertility and profitability. A new planting is only considered from the fourth year if you want to maintain the crop yield at a high level.

Do they really exist, black strawberries?

In fact, strawberry plants with black fruits are the innovative 'Nerina' variety. However, the strawberries do not turn black, but turn dark red when fully ripe. 'Narina' is one of the single-bearing garden strawberries with a late ripening period from the end of June. The best time to plant this rarity is between mid-July and early August, when you aim for a rich harvest of the particularly aromatic strawberries in the following year.

Can I still plant strawberries in September?

Strawberry plants need several warm days so that they can take root in the soil. Without sufficient roots, the perennials are vulnerable to frost despite their natural winter hardiness. The time window for growth is only open long enough if you plant by mid-August at the latest. Otherwise there is a high risk that the valuable plants in the soil will rot. This premise applies to all single-bearing garden strawberries. If you missed the autumn planting date, you can quickly plant everbearing monthly strawberries or frigo plants in the next spring, which will bear their first fruits a few weeks later.

Tips

The best time of day for the strawberry harvest is the morning with dry weather. To harvest They are fully colored fruits with a plump skin that gives way a little when pressed lightly. Always pick a strawberry with the stalk and green sepals. This harvesting technique guarantees that the sweet juice does not leak.