Strawberries

[aja32]

Anyone ever grown strawberries on raised beds?  I ordered plants that came in a minimum of 25 plants per order.. this seems like a lot for one bed, but the site says they can be planted densely.  Any thoughts?  (ps they are all-summer fruiters, and are supposedly an easy type to grow).

[mattemma04]

I put mine pretty close together. You will get runner growth that you need to pinch off so there is more main plant growth.I always try to get those runners planted elsewhere. A raised bed is great for drainage. I just planted mine all over.Slugs have turned out to be my only issue.

[aja32]

Thank you! Do you think 25 plants is too many for a raised bed?  Its about 4' x 6' if I had to guess.  How long should the runners be before you pinch them? 

[bionicsquirrel]

I just planted 30 strawberry plants in a raised bed that is 4x4 and I think there was plenty of room. I put a border of onions all around them too.

I am curious about the pinching off the runners thing, I have never done that. Please tell me more. How do I know what to pinch off?

Also, usually my plants die back end of season and then come back in the spring, but this years they all died. I probably had 10-15 plants.  We had a few freezes, but nothing unusual.  Any advice?

[chattyprincess]

The runners thing is easy, Once you see a runner coming off the main part of the strawberry plant you pinch it off. I usually catch mine when they are just a viney looking thing so I toss them but if you let them they will form leaves. Once this happens you can tuck it into the dirt and it will grow into its own plant. Does this make sense? Lol...

I love strawberries in pots. Especially everbearings in hanging pots, pretty green foliage and fun red strawberries. The foliage is really shiney and green so I have even done a plant of two mixed into a pot of decorative flowers.

[clothmama]

My husband and I were new to gardening 2 summers ago and planted everbearing strawberries in one half of a 4' x 12' bed (not sure how many, but there were quite a few). We really should have given them their own bed because started to take over the whole thing by the next summer lol! As long as they have their own exclusive raised bed or you are good about keeping the runners from going all over, I think you should go for it! Mmm strawberries. This post is making me hungry.

[lmonter]

Oh heavens, you can squish 25 plants in a fairly small space.  I've thought of pinching off runners, but meh.  Never really got around to doing that in a big way, so my strawberry plants multiply like bunnies.  I think one year we pulled out all the strawberry plants from one of my 4'x12' raised beds, and lost count about halfway through the bed at 100+ crowns.  Ahem.  So yeah, pulling runners can help with that kind of problem.  Just keep the strawberries super mulched, and keep an eye out for slugs.  ;)

[SuzyLee]

I planted 2 plants in a 4x8 bed. No sense planting them densely since thy will spread to fill the whole bed.

I would plant a few and sell the rest on craigslist.

[titania8]

Can you tell me about the onions? Are they supposed to help with bugs/slugs/something else? Or just a good use of space?

I need to order some more strawberry plants. My stepdad swears by tri-star, so I got some last year and will probably get the same to fill in where I need. But just for fun, what does everyone else like?

[SuburbanHippie]

I'm wanting to plant strawberries again, but I seriously fail every single year.  The plants grow like crazy all over, but produce less than 3 actual berries.  Then they die over the winter and I'm stuck buying new plants again the next year.  I had really dense soil the first year, but I heard they like sandy soil so I made it sandier the next year and still no stinkin' berries.

Also, I was tricked by a weed that looks just like a strawberry plant except with different colored flowers.  I let these grow all over the garden thinking that I was doing so well.  Ha! FAIL!

[bionicsquirrel]

Honestly, I planted onions with the strawberries partly because I had onions that over wintered still in that bed and I needed it for strawberries, but also because in my companion planting books they all say that the strawberries will help the onions grow better and I have trouble with my onions rotting.

As for what strawberry plants to order, I buy from a local seed and feed mom and pop store that sells organic starts for cheap. I got all 30 plants for $10 this year.

Thanks for the pinching off advice.  I will try that because my bed is only 4x4.