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Some Sweetheart strawberries starting to ripen in Queensland's winter sun |
This has got to be one of the easiest fruits you can grow in the backyard. Plus it is so tasty and prolific. You've got to make space for them now! Even if you're short on space and rent or live in an apartment strawberries are very adaptable to living in a pot.
We're growing three different varieties of strawberries - Tioga, Sweetheart and Redlands Crimson. Tioga's growth and fruit setting is very average - but that might be because it's better suited to a cooler climate. Sweetheart has done well and is very sweet to taste - except the fruit is setting in autumn (fall) - so maybe it's everbearing. Sweetheart is also very odd by the fact it's one of the few strawberries propagated by seed. Redlands Crimson was developed locally in south east Queensland so it does very well in our subtropical climate producing great tasting yields and goes crazy sending runners everywhere. We've also planted Fraise des Bois, a white strawberry cultivated in Paris. This is one of the most intriguing taste sensations you'll ever have - but you need to pick these white strawberries when they're very small.
Growing conditions
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Strawberries love full sun and a well manured free draining soil.
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During the fruiting season they'll need around an inch of water each week.
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They're technically a perennial so live for a few years producing fruit. After 3-4 years (or even sooner) the plants usually become diseased and die.
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Make sure you don't grow strawberries where other strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, capsic*ms and chillies (peppers) or eggplants have grown in the last 3 years. Otherwise your strawberries might get verticillium wilt, speeding up the rate the plants die.
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Our strawberry patch features runners from the variety Redlands Crimson sprawling through planned raised beds |
Garden care
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Strawberries are best grown from certified disease-free stock.
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They can be a bit fickle so you'll find strawberry plants at your local nursery will best suit your growing conditions.
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You'll find most strawberries flower in spring, set fruit which is harvested late spring/early summer, send runners out in summer and become dormant in winter. There are also everbearing varieties available which can set a second crop in autumn (fall). Here in Queensland Redlands Crimson flowers and starts setting fruit in winter.
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In mild winter climates it's best to plant your strawberries out in autumn (fall). Strawberries are best planted out around 3 weeks before your last expected frost in colder climates.
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When planting a strawberry plant make sure that about a third of the crown is above the soil. If you plant too deep or shallow they plant might die.
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There are two schools of thought on growing strawberries.
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Grown in mounds, surrounded by black plastic. This discourages runners, putting all growing efforts into the original plant. Strawberries are usually planted in cuts made into the plastic about a foot apart. Not as many berries are produced with this method, although the fruits tend to be a lot larger. The black plastic keeps weeds down and warms the soil faster in spring (but could make the soil too hot in very warm summer conditions). Growing them in mounds also improves drainage.
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Let the strawberries run rampant in raised beds. Using this method the original plants, usually set a foot and a half to two feet apart, take over an entire bed with runners set in summer. The mass of strawberry plants keeps weeds down and usually produces a lot more berries.
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A lot of gardeners advocate removing all blossoms in the first year. This usually isn't a problem though as it's already done before they're sold to home gardeners. The idea behind this is to give the plant strength to set runners. Don't lose sleep about this if you're letting your runners grow rampant in a bed. After all you don't want too many runners.
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In cold climates you might want to mulch your strawberry plants during winter to protect them from frosts. Remember to move the mulch in the morning.
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As mentioned above the big killer of strawberries is verticillium wilt. But they can also fall victim to leaf and fruit diseases. Play safe and destroy any tainted plants, making sure you avoid growing strawberries in the same spot for at least 3 years. Slugs and snails can be a problem too, so lay beer traps, lay protective barriers (like lime or sawdust) or get out with a torch at night to get them.
Harvest time
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Make sure your berries are fully red before harvesting to maximise flavour.
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Cut the stem above the berry with scissors.
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During summer it's not uncommon to harvest every day or two.
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If birds are a problem consider netting or some other way to scare them off.
