Tips For Growing Strawberries

Companion Plants to Strawberries: Bush Beans, Borage, Brussel Sprouts, Chives, Marigold, Lettuce, Onions, Sage, Savory

Antagonistic Plants to Strawberries: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower

Storing Strawberry Plants - Once a strawberry plant breaks dormancy, each day it remains out of the ground will reduce future yields. After purchasing a new strawberry plant, if you can't plant it immediately you should place it in a plastic bag and keep it in your refrigerator to help it remain dormant.

Use Narrow Rows - Strawberries will grow better in narrow rows than in wide ones because plants in the middle rows will suffer from shading. Space the plants four inches apart in rows twelve inches wide. Mulch them and let flowers appear while removing all of the runners. The first year's crop should appear in around two months and next year's crop will be more fruitful. Strawberry plants grown this way produce heavier yields with larger berries for three to five years.

Protection from Birds - If birds are getting at your strawberries, get some mesh onion bags and open them at their seams, then sow them together to form a large net which will protect your plants when it is draped over them. 

Winterizing Your Strawberries - Put some mulch over your strawberries to help them through the winter, although, keep in mind that it is better to use too little mulch than too much. Thick mulch might cause water to sift downwards and into the soil, where it will freeze in cold weather and suffocate the plants.
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How To Make Your Berries Last Longer - "Berries aren’t like apples and oranges, though, they go bad a lot faster, so getting them to last a little longer can be a huge money saver. Here’s what I do to get my berries to last longer:  I give them a little soak in a vinegar bath.  It’s one cup vinegar to 3 cups water.  It will kill any spores that might be on the berries and buy you some time.  Once they’ve soaked, I line my salad spinner with paper towels {to protect the berries} and give them a light spin to dry them a bit.  Finally, I put them in a container in the fridge {also lined with paper towel to absorb any remaining moisture} and leave the lid cracked a bit to get circulation to the berries." -- 100 Dollars a Month
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Strawberries - One cup of sliced strawberries contains 98 mg of vitamin C. 
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The Strawberry Journal

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April 15, 2014
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...I also bought one strawberry plant to fill in "the patch." I had three strawberry plants left over from last year in the one container, and it had room for one more. I actually got a lot of strawberries out of those three last year. I love strawberries, num num num, but regrettably I get an allergic reaction to them if I eat too many. Well, last year, there was always a few strawberries to pick every day and it didn't take more than a couple of weeks and I must have eaten too many. Wham! I broke out - just in time for guests from out of town to arrive too! Still, who can have a garden without strawberries? It would be an abomination! I'd like to grow more actually, and try to do other things with them than just pluck and eat them fresh, although that's pretty good too. They're fairly easy to grow and I could have more by getting a hanger or something that holds multiple pots and attaching it to one of the pillars on the side of the balcony. Another thing for next year's garden - these four will have to suffice for this year. .
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June 19, 2014
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...the strawberries (below) which are now cranking out abundant, tasty little berries for me, of which I sampled my first few only a couple of days ago. Mmmmm... you know, homegrown strawberries are certainly smaller than store-bought ones, which are sometimes almost as big as an apple, but the taste of the homegrown strawberries is one hundred times better. I cringe to think of what kinds of genetically modified tinkering goes into those huge store-bought strawberries.
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Yummy Strawberries

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Strawberries

April 7, 2015

The strawberries have perked up and the radishes and kale have poked up nicely, so I guess that's the silver lining to this cloud.
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April 22, 2015
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The strawberries have started to flower, and the radishes are plugging along, although I thought they'd be bigger by now. Perhaps I planted them too early... I hope I don't get a repeat of the Great Radish Famine of 2014!
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Strawberries (Left) and Radishes (Right)

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