Grow Superb Strawberries
(Page 4 of 5)
During the first year, no matter what type of strawberries
you choose to plant, the goal is to get your bed well
established. One way to help the plants settle in is to
remove all flowers for the first four to six weeks. Doing
this allows the plants to put their energy into developing
healthy leaf canopies, root systems and runners, and, as a
result, you can expect better yields in subsequent years.
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If you are able to plant some of all three types, you will
have day-neutrals and ever-bearers producing berries the
first year after their first flush of flowers has been
removed. In subsequent seasons, you will harvest yields of
approximately 7 to 2 quarts of berries per season, per lin
ear foot of row. Ever-bearers bear the least, June-bearers
bear the most intensely (all in about three weeks for a
given cultivar) and day-neutrals the most, but over a long
period of time.
REGULAR RENOVATION
If you want strawberry fields forever, you should renovate
your beds after each harvest period. As a bed ages, the
plants become too crowded, berries become smaller and
yields decline. To renovate the planting, use a shovel or
tiller to narrow the rows to 6 to 12 inches and then thin
the remaining plants to about 4 to 5 inches apart, removing
older and small, spindly plants whenever possible. Then,
remove the old leaves by mowing the bed with the blade set
high enough to avoid hitting the crowns.
June-bearers and ever-bearers managed this way should
produce good crops of large berries for at least five
years. Day-neutrals will need to he replaced about every
third year.
After renovation, give all your strawberry beds, no matter
what type, a good weeding and feed the remaining plants the
equivalent of 5 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 feet
of row. Renew mulch between plants and, where winters are
severe, cover plants with 3 to 4 inches of loose straw in
late fall. (Be sure to remove the straw in early spring.)
DISEASES AND PESTS
Most diseases that affect strawberries can be kept under
control by buying resistant varieties and practicing
careful cultivation. When you pick, remove any spoiled
fruits.
The major pests usually are birds (cover your ripening
fruit with bird netting), and slugs or snails, which can be
controlled by eliminating weeds, setting out beer traps,
using a copper barrier strip around the bed's perimeter or
releasing decollate snails ( Rumina decollata ), a
proven slug-and-snail predator sold in garden centers and
nurseries and available via mail-order.
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