Early start ensure top strawberry harvest

250414GCclearwaters EFFECTIVE: Bird protection frame made with alkathene pipe attached to waratah stakes. PICTURE / GARETH CARTER

The best time to plant strawberry plants is now. This is not to exclude planting throughout the year but by planting during May & June you will get the maximum production from their first year of growing which means - lots of strawberries for Christmas!
Strawberries would have to be the most popular berry fruit grown. They will fit into any size garden and also grow well in pots and containers. They are quick to give results.
Varieties
There are a number of varieties available, two of the particularly good ones that do well here in Wanganui are camarosa and camino real.
Strawberry varieties fall into two main categories; short day varieties and day neutral varieties. The biggest difference being the fruiting peak falls at a different time, so if you plant a mixture of these varieties you will be harvesting fruit for a longer period.
Short day varieties initiate flowering when, as the name suggests, the days are short in winter and spring. Subsequently the bulk of the fruit of these varieties will start in early November, mostly finishing after Christmas. Some seasons as the days shorten in autumn flowering is also initiated and a small crop may be produced. Camerosa and camino real are both short day varieties.
Day neutral varieties, in contrast, will fruit any time of the year when the temperatures are warm enough for growth. These varieties tend not to have such a large flush of fruit at once but produce consistently for a longer period.
While strawberry plantings can be made year round, planting done in the cooler months tends to result in heavier cropping than plantings made in warmer months. If they are planted too late, ie, closer to the longest day (December), they will tend to produce an abundance of runners instead of fruit.
Where To Grow
There seems no limit to how and where strawberries can be grown, and they are fairly foolproof that anyone can plant them and be rewarded with fruit!
They can be grown in old car tyres where the heat of the tyres hastens ripening. This method keeps the fruit off the ground and subsequently clean from soil. They can be grown in hydroponics, in glazed or terracotta pots or specialist herb/strawberry planters. They are an edible option to grow in a hanging basket or they can fit in the herb garden. Some grow them along the edge of a vegetable garden and others will dedicate a spot to mass produce their favourite berry!
Many will grow strawberries in pots and containers of various forms. If you are planting strawberries in pots make sure you should use a specialist potting mix such as Tui Strawberry Mix - as with the success of most plants the quality of the media they grow in plays a significant role in the success you will experience.
The biggest factor to growing good strawberries is site selection. The plants need a sunny position and a well drained soil that has good structure. When planting strawberries, in the garden the addition of compost or broken down animal manure will help improve soil structure, and bulking up the soil can give height that will aid in good drainage.
Mulching & Feeding
Mulching the soil surface between plants will prevent weeds, maintain an even soil temperature and prevent moisture loss in summer. A mulch will also help to keep the fruit clean. Suitable mulches include straw, sawdust, pine needles, pine bark or wood shavings.
The traditional and very effective method of growing strawberries is to cover the raised mound with black polythene plastic or weed mat making a small slit for each plant. The black mulch attracts heat increasing soil temperature making fruiting earlier and the fruit clean from dirt.
Cultural Notes
Strawberry plants will produce significantly more fruit if they are watered and fertilised regularly. Like many plants you can buy a specially blended fertiliser such as Tui Strawberry Food which is blended with the appropriate proportions of NPK and trace elements. While they like to be well drained, plants will need to be watered during the summer months. This is best done in the early morning to reduce the risk of humidity build up.
Strawberry plants will produce good crops for three years after which time the "mother" plants are best thrown out. The plants will generally produce runners each season during late summer. In the first year it is beneficial for the next year's fruit production if these are removed before growing too much as they will drain the plant of energy that will benefit next season's fruit. However in the second and third season saving some runners and replanting will allow you to replenish or enlarge your strawberry patch.
For plants that are starting their second or third season all the dead leaves from the previous season should be pruned off and removed during winter. This helps minimise the hosting of pests and diseases. Plants should then be fertilised in August or early September.
Strawberries are relatively pest free, just keep an eye out for slugs during spring which may eat the new leaves, and the occurrence of aphids and mites during the summer months, which may require control.
Bird Control
Planting strawberry plants (like other fruit trees) is ironically a great way to attract birds into the garden! So to enjoy the fruits of your labour, bird control is essential when growing strawberries and it seems that this is the area where many people come unstuck.
The most effective method is to construct a frame on which bird netting may be draped. The frame needs to be able to hold the bird netting at least 30cm above the plants so when birds sit on the cloth they are not able to reach through the netting and eat those precious morsels.
The netting also needs to be secured around the base to prevent side entry from the birds, the use of bricks or similar weighting netting to the ground is effective.
There are a number of different frame options from bending number 8 wire or steel into hoops, to making a "square" frame with garden stakes.
A friend of mine has a fantastic bird protection frame made with 30mm alkathene pipe wired on to metal waratahs that had been banged into the ground, see the above picture. During the fruiting season this is draped with bird netting and held on to the ground with posts, wood or bricks.
How many to plant? A rule of thumb is to plant five plants for each family member. If you want to eat bowlfuls of strawberries every night during summer then plant more!
Have a good week!
¦ Gareth Carter is General Manager of Springvale Garden Centre