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key growing information
How to Grow Day-Neutral (Everbearing) Strawberries
How to grow day-neutral (everbearing) strawberries: site and soil, starting from seed, spacing, planting crowns, mulching, fruiting seasons, storage and first-year care.
By Hensley’s Seed Co.
Day-Neutral/Everbearing Strawberries - Key Growing Information
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Fragaria spp.
CULTURE:
Strawberries like full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil enriched with compost or aged manure, with a pH of 6.5–6.8. Prepare the beds 6–8 months ahead to get perennial weeds under control. Don't fertilize at planting, as it can push soft top growth that's easily damaged by cold.
PLANTING (SEEDS):
In the North, sow in March or April; in the South, from mid-June to early July. Scatter the seed thinly and press it into moist soilless mix, keeping it moist until seedlings appear in 2–3 weeks. Use 20-row flats or open flats with drainage, and keep the soil at 60–75°F (16–24°C) if you can. Move seedlings into plug trays or 1–1½" apart in flats, then on to bigger pots for selling full-size plants: one plant per 3–4" pot, or 3–5 per 8" pot. Plants can go outdoors any time, 1' apart.
PLANTING (PLANTS):
Set plants 12–18" apart in rows 3–4' apart. Some growers plant closer, 5–9" apart in single rows or 10–20" apart in staggered double rows, and remove every runner for the life of the bed. Plant with the roots straight down and the middle of the crown level with the soil surface. Water and keep weeded. In cold areas, mulch with straw in late fall once plants go dormant to buffer freeze-thaw cycles and heaving, then rake it aside in spring as growth starts. Mulch left in the aisles and around plants keeps fruit clean and helps hold down weeds.
HARVEST:
In the North, plants fruit from midsummer into October. In the South, they fruit from late winter to early June, rest through the hottest months, and pick up again from late August into October. Yields and berry size may drop when it stays above 85°F (29°C). Day-neutral beds stay at their most productive for up to two seasons once established, or can be grown as an annual. Don't renovate day-neutral varieties.
STORAGE:
Keep berries unwashed at 32°F (0°C) for 3–7 days, or freeze them for longer storage.
NOTES:
Help new plants put their energy into getting established by picking off every flower bud for the first 6 weeks after planting. We also suggest removing all runners in the first year.
SPECS:
About 100 plants per 100' of row, or 14,520 per acre at 12" spacing with rows 3' apart.
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