While growing strawberries can be a very enjoyable experience, there are some common problems and mistakes that can be made along the way. In order to be successful and get healthy plants and the best harvests, there are some important things to consider and avoid. These are the most common strawberry care mistakes to avoid!
Care mistakes with strawberries – helpful tips
There are many different mistakes gardeners can make when growing strawberries, and they can all have a significant impact on yield.
You choose the wrong location and soil for your strawberry plants
The first step in ensuring a healthy harvest is selecting the right plant varieties and planting them in the right locations. If you want your plants to continue to bear fruit, you will need to perform annual maintenance procedures such as removing runners and foliage. These measures are very important to ensure that your plants continue to bear fruit.
The success of the strawberry plants, as well as the size and quality of the harvest, directly depends on how well the planting site was chosen. Most strawberry species prefer a location with 6 to 10 hours of sunshine per day. They also tolerate some shade, but the more direct sunlight they have, the more strawberries you will be able to harvest.
Strawberry plants should be planted in soil that is rich in organic matter and has good drainage.
No distance between the individual plants leads to diseases
Growing strawberries in an optimal location with adequate sun exposure and enough spacing between each plant to allow for proper air circulation will help prevent the development of some plant diseases. These diseases include gray mold and black spot. Because weeds, insects and disease can wreak havoc on any crop, you should take precautions, such as proper planting, to give your plants the best possible chance of survival.
Strawberry Care Mistakes – Not Mulching Your Plants
Strawberries do best when mulched with straw. Compost and leaves are other options that can do the job. Mulch helps maintain a clean environment for the berries. It prevents the fruit from going bad and falling to the ground. In addition, mulch protects plants from extremely high temperatures and retains moisture to reduce the need for watering. If you don’t protect your strawberry roots with mulch, they run the risk of being damaged by heat or cold. However, if you’re not careful, an excess of mulch can end up suffocating the roots.
Your plants have received too much or too little water
If you pay attention to the soil, you will find it easy to water your strawberry plants properly. Stick your finger in the soil near your plants and look around. The soil should be dry on top but slightly moist on the bottom. If this is the case, water your plants thoroughly and then wait for the soil to dry before continuing to water.
If you find that the soil around your strawberries is dry, water them thoroughly and check on them more often. Wait for the soil to dry and water again if it’s muddy or damp. If the soil does not dry out for several days in a row, you should take measures to improve the drainage of the soil.
Avoid watering your strawberry plants in the middle of the day, instead do this either in the morning or in the evening. If you water your plants in the middle of the day, you could be doing them more harm than good. You’ll quickly set up a schedule that will remove any uncertainty from the pouring process.
Care mistakes with strawberries – do not remove flowers in the first year
It may seem dreadful and can be a difficult process, but pinching off the flowers on a strawberry plant for the first year after planting tells the plant to focus on establishing strong and healthy roots. Your plants should bear berries for another 3 to 5 years. If you give the plants enough time to develop a healthy root system, you will be able to harvest even more in the future.
Too much fertilizer for your plant in spring
Applying excessive amounts of fertilizer in the spring seems like a great strategy to increase fruit production, but it can result in your crops bearing less fruit. Instead of flowers and fruit, the plant develops huge leaves, so you won’t get nearly as much fruit as you should.
If you grow strawberries that bear fruit in June, you should treat them with a fertilizer suitable for berry bushes in the summer after harvest. If you only planted the plants in the summer, you should wait with fertilizing until the first new leaves develop. At this point the roots have established themselves and can take up the fertilizer.