Expert advice and tips for growing your own delicious strawberries!
In the category of red fruits, strawberries are in the top spot not only because of their delicious sweet and refreshing taste, but also because they are among the easiest to cultivate.
Depending on the variety you choose, strawberries can start to bear fruit even from the first summer after sowing (in October), giving your snacks a truly unique taste.
Here are some practical tips to cultivate and harvest with your own hands this plant which is also an excellent source of vitamin C.
via almanac.com
How to grow strawberries
The first thing to do is to decide whether to cultivate the single crop strawberry plant, which produces fruit only once a year (in spring), or whether you intend to try with those called "reflowering" strawberry plants, i.e. those that produce fruit over a longer period of time, from June to November. These are preferred by beginners because they allow you to start harvesting in the very year that they are planted.* Here's how to proceed:
- Choose a position well exposed to sunlight and prepare the soil by freeing it from weeds and enriching it with organic quality compost (avoid plots in which strawberries have already been planted since there may be traces of pathogenic agents);
- The soil should preferably be sandy, with a pH of 5.5-6.5 and free from water stagnation;
- Make holes in the ground just deep enough to cover the entire root system but not more;
- Every square meter can accommodate 7-10 plants, so they will be placed in a row about 25 cm apart, observing a distance of 30 cm between one row and the other;
- Water the plants regularly, better if in the early morning, especially immediately after being transplanted and in the warmer periods; make sure to send the water directly to the base of the plant and not on the leaves or any early fruits which will expose them to plant diseases;
- If planted on the ground, the use of mulch is highly recommended, because it protects plants and fruits from direct contact with soil (which facilitates diseases), from other plants and snails. Alternatively, you can use black plastic sheet netting or opt for raised garden beds.
* When speaking about single crop strawberries we recommend varieties like Alba, Gemma, Maya and Roxana, while among the reflowering strawberry plants we recommend Anabelle, Anais and Diamante.
