Raising Strawberries—a New Breakthrough!

Speed-raising strawberries, see below!

Ever since we started our homestead garden, strawberries have been one of our main crops. And for years and years, I followed all the best practices for planting and cultivating: 

*Planted healthy, bare-root nursery starts in fertile soil

*Pinched off the first-year flowers for vibrant root-growth, 

*Watered and fertilized them regularly, and as growers recommend,

*Clipped the plants down to encourage new growth at the crown.

Plus I added one additional element into my berry-raising: I really put my heart into my strawberry babies!

Now keep in mind that strawberry plants aren’t like blueberry shrubs. They generally produce a good berry crop for about 3-5 years, while blueberries will bear for many decades. Before our own blueberry shrubs started to bear reliably, my husband John and I used to visit a blueberry U-pick that had 7-foot tall, 50-year old shrubs!

Now, any of you growing strawberries, you know about the 3-5 year issue—the virus that develops in cultivated strawberries. It’s not a condition you can fight with sprays or powders; it’s just one of those inevitably things that causes the plants to lose vigor.

In a few short years, a strawberry plant will go from producing large, plump, flavorful berries to tiny, seedy ones. However, the last few years here on our little homestead, I was running into a problem: my new strawberry plants were going downhill within 2 years.

I was getting frustrated—what was up with these plants? My best guess is that our cool, very rainy climate somehow encourages the virus. Still, who knows.

So I decided to mix things up—and raise my own starts! Here’s my post from two years ago detailing the process of speed-raising a strawberry crop. 

Last summer, when the plants matured, I had what looked like an amazing crop. Then along came…

The Bear. 

He broke into our fences, knocked up the strawberry nets, then tore up the plants—and gobbled every berry, white or red, within reach. I ended up stripping these vibrant new plants of every berry, so the bear wouldn’t smell the ripening fruit.

And be motivated to invade our yard for a 3rd time.

What was interesting was that all these plants I’d stripped of berries produced long, vigorous runners! It’s my guess that because they hadn’t put energy into producing fruit, the plants had extra growing oomph.

And instead of clipping them, as is recommended, I decided to just let the runners root, and start new plants all on their own. 

Well. It was the best decision I ever made!

For this year’s strawberry season, my expectations were low. After the bear stole our berries, I kind of lost my emotional investment in raising strawberries. I went with my previous homesteady mantra when I had a crop failure: “Que sera, sera.”

What will be, will be. So here’s what happened this summer. My original strawberry plants weren’t that productive. But the runners I’d let root produced large, healthy plants, and large, high-quality berries! 

The largest berries were from the runners I let grow wild!

We didn’t have a huge crop this year, but we did have nearly 4 weeks of a nice bowl of strawberries for our breakfast. 

And here’s what’s funny.

I hadn’t fertilized the runner-set plants, I only occasionally weeded around them—and basically left them to their own devices. So that’s my new strategy:

I’ll set the strawberry runners, water them, and pick whatever berries come along next year. And be happy with what I get!

As for our neighborhood bear this year, you can see what he’s been up to at Little Farm Writer, always free to read!

Speed-Raising Your Strawberry Crop!

 What can you do when your strawberry beds are pretty much played out, but you haven’t started any crowns for next year?

This summer, I found myself in this exact situation: our garden had only one strawberry bed (which was marginal at best), and the other three beds were completely petered out. This past spring, I had never found the time to buy any new crowns, much less plant them.

I was left with two options. I could either resign myself to no berries next spring…or start my own crowns!

But first, a little about growing strawberries:

Strawberries are one of those crops that require a fair amount of planning. In early spring, you plant bare-root strawberry crowns from the nursery, and keep your baby plants well-watered and mulched that summer and fall while they develop their root systems. Any flowers they produce, you pinch off—so the plant is continuing to put its energy in the roots, and not in fruiting.

The following spring, the now vigorous plants will begin to sprout flowers, and soon you’ll see fruit setting! Once established, the plants should bear for the next few seasons.

Strawberry runners in pots

Earlier this month, I blogged about trying a new strawberry-growing technique. This new (for me) method involved potting this summer’s strawberry runners.

Strong “mother” plant setting runners

I got the idea when I found a really vigorous volunteer in the garden that was producing gigantic berries. Not only that, but after bearing, this plant began sending out very sturdy runners, which were taking root nearby.  

Before I knew it, this plant had gifted me with at least eight new baby strawberry plants. A great start for next spring, they should eventually fill this bed. But eight plants is definitely not enough for a decent crop.

Then I noticed this strong “mother” plant was continuing to pump out additional runners, besides the ones that had already taken root. I had a brainwave: I could plant these new runner ends in pots, and let the roots develop in the pots. Once the roots of each plant were established, I could cut the runner, and replant the new plant in a fresh bed!

That’s exactly what I’ve done. Last week, I filled lots of little pots with garden soil and a little well-composted chicken manure for some organic matter. I then set a runner end into each pot.

In the photo, you’ll see little rocks in the pots. Long ago, John came up with the idea to weigh the runner end down with a small stone, so the runner has contact with the soil from the get-go, and that works even better.

Now producing crowns for another bed!

I do have one marginal strawberry bed—its best years are done, but the plants have sent out a few fairly good runners. So I started six more runner pots going in this bed, and today, I’ll check out a bunch of strawberry volunteers in my bee balm. If there are any runners worth potting, I’ll start some new plants there as well.

My plan for these pots: I’ll let the plants’ roots grow for the next month and a half, into early fall. Then, before the first frost in October, I’ll transplant the new crowns into a bed to winter over, top dressed with lots of compost and mulch. By spring (fingers-crossed) the new plants will be ready to start growing in earnest.

Instead of mourning a summer without strawberries in 2023, I’m now full of hope for a crop, and eager to see how well these home-grown crowns bear fruit!