Strawberry (June-bearing)
Fruit · cool season
When to plant
- Set out bare-root plants about 3 weeks before your average last spring frost.
Pinch off first-year flowers for a bigger crop next year.
Frost dates depend on where you live. Enter your ZIP code to get exact dates.
Dates by zone: 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b 10a 10b
Growing basics
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours)
- Spacing
- 12–18 in
- Soil temperature
- At least 45°F
- Containers
- At least 1 gallons
- Plant family
- Rose family (berries, fruit trees)
- Harvest per plant
- About 1 lb
Companions
Good neighbors: Borage, Spinach, Lettuce, Thyme
Keep apart: the cabbage family (brassicas). Cabbage-family crops can stunt strawberries.
Keep apart: Mint. Mint spreads aggressively into neighbors. Keep it in a pot.
Keep apart: Fennel (bulb). Fennel slows the growth of most garden plants. Grow it on its own.
Keep apart: Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke). Sunchokes spread aggressively and shade neighbors.
Pests and problems
Grow it well
Tips
- Tuck strawberries in for winter. After a few hard frosts, once nights reach about 20°F, cover the plants with 3 or 4 inches of loose straw. Pull it back into the paths in spring, when new leaves start to grow.
- Net berries before they ripen. Birds know when fruit is ripe a day before you do. Put netting over berries and cherries as soon as the first ones start to color.
Strawberry (June-bearing) seeds on Amazon (opens a new tab)Bird netting on Amazon (opens a new tab)Straw for mulch on Amazon (opens a new tab)Bypass pruners on Amazon (opens a new tab)
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