Is it possible to successfully grow strawberries in a short season climate?

A young teenage friend asked me how to grow strawberries here in the High Sierra -- that sent me on a quest to give him at least a bit of “industry-standard” information, though I’m very happy with my “intuitive climate-related method” of growing strawberries. Below I’ll discuss my own method interspersed with more formal information -- well, initially my method did develop from a study of methods recommended by expert gardeners and was then adapted to my growing region and experience.

Types of strawberries: Everbearing strawberries produce berries in Spring and in the Fall. Day neutral varieties produce throughout the growing season. Both of these types are best for smaller growing spaces, as they do not make many runners. June bearing strawberries are divided into early, mid and late types which produce berries in the Spring. They mattify, producing lots of runners and resultant new strawberry plants.

Right now the nurseries are selling strawberry plants in bloom. A more economical way to buy plants is from nursery catalogs, often sold in bunches of 25 plants for a very small cost. 25 plants per person will supply a family with ample strawberries for the growing season.

An encouraging fact is that strawberries are hardy and not so fussy, so everything does not have to be perfect!

My “High Sierra” method: I use this method so that I can control soil type, temperature, weeds and nutrients in my special environment among the pines (acidic soil) in a climate with a short season. This is the plan I created for my young friend to follow:

Create a raised bed: This should be 10-12 inches deep. I buy my raised bed materials from Gardener’s Supply, a super catalog with all sorts of great gardening items at quite good prices. A raised bed can easily be built from purchased lumber as well. I have found that less than 10 inches depth cannot provide the nutrients, root depth, and warmth needed in this climate. Garden bed corners can also be purchased and the lumber fitted to the corners. My 4 x 6 foot raised bed is mature enough to have reached its plant limit; in the fall I will expand into a 2 x 10 foot raised bed, using some existing runners to start the bed.

Locate the bed in full sun, a location that warms up early in the spring, but that won’t bake the plants in the heat of a summer day. Line the bottom of the bed with weed-block cloth. Good drainage in a raised bed is generally a given, and strawberries will need it, as the crowns of the plants should never sit in water. Compost plus bagged steer or chicken manure plus good soil or bagged garden soil with added nutrients can be mixed together to provide a rich growing medium. Your soil pH should be between 5.0 and 7.0 (slightly acidic).

Dig a hole about 5 inches wide and deep enough to accommodate the plant roots. Place the crown slightly above ground level and make sure the roots are completely covered. I use a 12 inch x 12 inch planting grid (idea borrowed from the Square Foot Gardening method) and place 4 plants per square if they are everbearing or Day neutral varieties, or 2 plants per grid if they are June bearing varieties which need room for runners. Even if I have used pre-packaged soil with added nutrients as well as compost and manure, I still add a 10-10-10 fertilizer prior to Spring planting (whether a new bed or an established bed). I repeat this for everbearing varieties before the Fall bloom period.

I recommend a dedicated strawberry bed if space allows, especially in the High Sierra climate where a controlled environment is so important. Strawberries should not be planted with members of the nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant) due to a bacteria that can spread between nightshades and strawberries. Strawberries can cause problems to plants in the cabbage family so should be planted separate from them.

Now, your first crop in a new bed will have small, not-so-sweet berries unless you pluck all blossoms and cut runners the first year to allow each plant to develop. My preference (laissez-faire) is to allow the plants to bloom and produce berries because I love the pretty white blossoms and the small bright red berries are so lovely to see. Either way, you won’t have much of a first year crop of strawberries.

Another planting method is to plant rows 3 to 4 feet apart with plants spaced at 18 inches to allow plenty of room for the runners to “mattify”. And strawberries adapt beautifully to hanging planters or baskets. I am planning to make a hanging basket for my friend mentioned above so that he will have some strawberries to enjoy this season and maybe get really inspired to carry through with creating a strawberry bed for his parents and brother in our High Sierra location.

Planting a new bed in the Fall gives the plants a chance to develop before Winter and to then be ready to produce the following Spring. An absolutely wonderful organization I can recommend to visit with information about “everything strawberry” can be found by searching the term Strawberry Plants.