Growing Strawberries in Raised Beds

Growing Strawberries in Raised Beds

Strawberry plants make a good addition to anybody’s home garden. The strawberry fruit is known worldwide for its sweet taste, aroma, bright red color, and its appearance—with yellow seeds visible on the outside.

There are many ways to cultivate strawberry plants. But the most favorite way is growing strawberries in raised beds.

• With raised beds, the strawberries are confined. Plus, raised beds have the ability to retain more heat than the ground soil.

• Almost any material can be used to prepare the raised beds—treated timbers, bricks, stones, recycled tires and concrete blocks.

• Sizes and shapes can also vary. If the yard has limited space, and the shape may not be regular, then raised beds can be prepared in any way to fit in.

• Odd shapes and sizes do not matter in growing strawberries in raised beds. What does is the way these plants receive the elements of life and make them bear fruits.

• Also, the space from the ground depends on one’s desire. The beds can be raised at any length off the ground.

Once the raised beds are ready, they should be filled with good compost or humus. If there are not composts available, well-rotted manure will do it.

But, if this too is not available, then purchasing them from garden centers is not a bad idea.

Choosing the strawberry cultivar is the next task to do. For home gardeners, there are three types of strawberries that can be readily grown, namely, June Bearing, Ever Bearing, and Day Neutral.

• June Bearing strawberry produces a large and concentrated crop in late spring. There are more berries each season from June Bearing. Moreover, the entire crop ripens over a three-week period. This plant requires more light.

• The Ever Bearing strawberry produces one crop in Spring and another in Fall. The fruits are smaller, yet they have the greatest flavor.

• The Day Neutral strawberry is capable of producing fruit throughout most of the growing season. It does not require more light as long as the temperature is kept between 35 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the fruit starts to ripen, it can be harvested in every two days, which will continue until late Fall. For sweet strawberries, pick only the red ripe fruit.

Whichever cultivar for strawberry is chosen, it is best to ensure virus-free plants. Purchasing seedlings from an established nursery will have more chances of healthy strawberry plants.

The nursery owner may have a good advice on which cultivar is best suited in which zone in the United States.

Growing strawberries in raised beds is as easy as sticking them into the beds. Although it must be certain that the crowns of the plant are not buried.

The plants grow and scatter from runners that chase across the top of the soil.

Part of caring for the strawberry garden is to regularly water it, and pick off the dead leaves. Slugs are the most common enemies of strawberry gardens.

To deter them, placing crushed eggshells as mulch for the plants is efficacious. The slugs are unable to slide across the crushed eggshells.

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