Tasting your own home-grown strawberries is a completely different experience than buying them at the supermarket. People usually grow their own strawberries for the rich flavor. When freshly picked, home-grown strawberries have a strong aroma and taste that will make you forget all about the ones you used to buy at the grocery store. They can be planted in proper rows or beds, or you can let them sprawl over your kitchen or garden walls. You can even plant them in tiny jars or hang them in baskets. No matter where you choose to plant them, you’ll harvest fresh and delicious strawberries that taste nothing like the store-bought varieties. Here’s a helpful guide on how to grow strawberries at home.
Types of Strawberries
When it comes to growing strawberries, there are three types to choose from, June-bearing, everbearing, and day-neutral. June-bearers grow the largest and produce a single crop every one to two weeks. Everbearers produce an early crop that is larger than their late crop, and they also produce a few berries in between crops. On the other hand, day-neutral strawberries bear fruit throughout the growing season. In comparison, day-neutrals and ever-bearers produce smaller and fewer berries. If you’re not sure which type to choose and don’t mind picking fewer and smaller strawberries, go for ever-bearers or day-neutrals as they will give you fresh berries throughout the year. However, if you want a considerable quantity of berries, you should go for June-bearers as most people do.
Growing Strawberries
You can either grow your strawberries using seeds or buy the plants and transplant them in your garden. It’s recommended to start with strawberry plants as seeds are more difficult to grow. But, if you are born with a green thumb, you can plant strawberry seeds with the help of online guides that will explain how to care for them and where you can buy your seeds from. In any case, before you start growing strawberries indoors, you need to choose a suitable location. However, you need to choose the strawberry varieties you want to grow before picking the planting site. A successful growth process also includes choosing a watering system, preparing the soil, planting the strawberry seeds or plants, adjusting the environment and temperature as needed, restoring the berry beds after harvesting, and preserving the plants.
Picking the Right Quantity to Order
A big step in learning how to grow strawberries, or any other vegetable or fruit, is to know the right amount to start with. You need to know how much you need for the first patch and how much you are going to harvest. To determine how many plants or seeds you should buy, you need to identify how much space you have and how often you crave strawberries. You don’t want to grow too many that you become overwhelmed, nor too little that you become frustrated when you need more strawberries.
Buying Strawberry Seeds and Plants
After you decide what type of strawberries you’re going to grow and how much you’re going to grow, you’ll need to find a good deal on the plants or seeds. This step is the easiest as there are plenty of gardening stores available both online and in all regions. You can ask around to find a trustworthy place to buy your gardening supplies or you can simply go online and look up the store, choose your desired quantity, and place an order. Just make sure you get an idea of the average prices so you can find the best deal possible.
The Planting System
Strawberries are usually grown as perennials, with the exception of some varieties that can be grown as annuals in hotter parts of the world. For the best results, strawberries are planted annually, and they have to be nurtured during the subsequent years. The planting system you choose should depend on the type of strawberries you grow. For June-bearing strawberries, use the matted row system. On the other hand, if you’re growing day-neutral or ever-bearing strawberries, you should stick with the hill system, also referred to as the mound or mounding system. Other systems used for growing strawberries include the hedgerow system, the double hedgerow system, and the spaced row system.
While there are many reasons why people choose to grow their own strawberries, the strong flavor is the most prominent one. Freshly-picked strawberries are rich in flavor, unlike the ones you can buy from a grocery store. You just need to learn how to care for them and choose the suitable variety for the environment or soil you have.
