How to Grow A Lot of Strawberries

Strawberries are one of the funnest and easiest fruits you can grow, and in this guide we'll show you how to grow a LOT of strawberries in a small planting area! You really can never have TOO many strawberries, especially since they preserve so well by way of canning, jamming, drying, etc.

Before we jump into planting, it's important to know the difference between the 3 main strawberry varieties:

#1. Everbearing
This variety produces strawberries from spring to fall.
#2. June-bearing
This variety produces a large crop in the spring.
#3. Alpine
This variety produces all throughout the summer.

If you're growing strawberries to make preserves or jams, we recommend you grow the June-bearing variety, as they all grow at once. For those that want to make strawberry jam and have a fresh batch for eating, plant both Everbearing and June-bearing varieties!

How to Grow a Lot of Strawberries – A Gardening Guide

• Choose a sunny area in your garden. Strawberries need at least 6 hours of sunlight per day.
• Till the soil and add a little bit of mulch. If your soil contains a lot of clay, consider growing strawberries in pot.
• If you decide to grow strawberries from seeds, please keep in mind you won't have strawberries until next season.
• We recommend growing strawberries from seedlings. These can be found at your local nursery.
• As soon as the ground can be worked, plant your strawberries 12-18 inches apart.
• Water your plants regularly but do no let them sit in soggy soil.
• During the first year, you'll notice a lot of “runners”, which are stems that grow out to the sides. These runners will need to be pinched off during the first year. (see image below).

Strawberry Pests & Diseases

Strawberries come with their own set of problems, such as pests and diseases. Never plant strawberries where you've planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, or potatoes. These plants can carry a soil-borne fungi called verticillium that can damage the strawberry plants.

Other things to watch out for are snails, slugs, and earwigs which all love strawberries. See how you can keep pests away from the garden in this article!

Harvesting Strawberries:

Always harvest strawberries when they are completely red, from top to bottom. If you see a little bit of white at the top, let your strawberries ripen for another day or two – they will be that much sweeter! Simply pick off with your hands or cut at the stem using a knife.

So now that you know how to grow a lot of strawberries, it's time to roll up your sleeves and get to planting!

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