How to Grow and Harvest Strawberry
Strawberries are also known for their sweetness. They are super flavorful and sweet to eat, and they are really easy to grow. Strawberries are considered one of the easiest fruits to grow; even for beginners, they can be super easy to cultivate. I have been growing strawberries as long as I can remember, and every time my harvest has been better than expected. Today I will show you how to grow strawberries and harvest them in your home garden.
Best Time to Grow Strawberry
Strawberries can be considered an all-around fruit; you can grow strawberries any time of the year. There are many varieties of strawberries that can grow any time of the year, although it takes a little time to grow strawberries. If you ask me about the best time to grow strawberries, well, if you wish to have a bountiful and effective harvest, I would say early to mid-spring or early autumn is the perfect time to plant strawberries.
Where to Grow Strawberries
Many people think strawberries need specific places to grow. Well, that information is totally wrong. You can grow strawberries almost everywhere. For your information, you can grow strawberries in pots, containers, tubs, towers, and even hanging baskets. A hanging basket with a strawberry plant is super flexible and beautiful. You can also plant strawberries in a small area in your garden. And do not plant them where tomatoes, chrysanthemums, and potatoes recently grew because these plants are susceptible to verticillium wilt. Verticillium is a disease that can be easily passed on to strawberry plants.
How to Get Strawberry Seeds
For growing strawberries, you can make your own seeds or you can also buy them from the closest nursery. Or you can buy good-quality seedlings from a nursery. It depends on you; if you want to make your own strawberry seeds, you can do so. To be honest, it’s really easy to make your own strawberry seeds. All you need to do is buy strawberries from the market. After getting strawberries from the market, first of all, you have to peel the skin with a sharp knife; remember, do not cut the fruit too deeply. Now you need to lay the strips seeds up on a piece of clean tissue paper. Then, put them in full sun for 2 or 3 days to dry out. After two or three days, the skins will be completely dry, and you can easily extract the seeds from them. All you need to do is rub the skin, and the seeds will come loose. Like I said, it’s pretty easy. Now all you have to do is plant those seeds in the soil.
Prepare Soil for Plantation
If you want to grow vegetables or fruits, you must prepare the soil for planting. Because if you wish to have a better yield, soil preparation is the most important part. Without soil preparation, you cannot have a good harvest. For strawberries, they like loose, well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter. Before planting, we must remove weeds and rocks from the land. Strawberry plants grow much faster with fertilizer and compost. We have to mix fertilizer and compost before planting. For strawberry plants, I recommend well-rotted manure; it helps to improve fertility and aid water retention. Now let’s talk about how to prepare soil for container strawberries. For containers, we will use 70% cocopeat and 30% compost. After mixing cocopeat and compost, we have to fill the containers. After filling the container, press the soil with your hand to make an even surface. And the soil is ready to grow strawberries.
Planting Method
After soil preparation, planting must be done correctly if you wish to have a better yield. Every vegetable and fruit has a proper planting method. If you use the planting method perfectly, you will have a good harvest for sure. After growing strawberry seedlings, you have to plant them into the land. You can plant seedlings along with containers, or you can plant just the seedlings into the land. Remember, the space between each plant should be 10-20 cm and apart should be 4-8 in. This way, you can easily plant strawberry plants.
Taking Care
Taking care is the most important part in every prospect. Without taking care, you cannot establish anything, as in gardening as well. If you wish to have a satisfying harvest, you must take care of strawberry plants. So how will you take care of the plants? It’s pretty easy to take care of strawberry plants. You have to make sure that your strawberry plants are getting enough sunlight every day. You also need to water them early in the day regularly. Additionally, you have to avoid overhead watering because overhead watering might invite unnecessary problems.
Harvesting
Harvesting is a very fun part of every gardener’s life. Harvesting strawberries is also very easy and fun. After planting strawberry plants, it takes only 60 to 90 days to bear fruit. That means you will start to get fruit in only two or three months after planting. Now, how do you harvest strawberries? When you see that your strawberries are red all the way up, that means your strawberries are ready to harvest. You have to always be gentle with the plants and the berries because a damaged plant won’t produce much next year. So, you have to grab the stem an inch or so above where it connects with the strawberry, then do a twist and pull, and put them into the basket or container.
