When Is the Best Time to Plant Strawberries? A Detailed Guide to the Best Planting Time

Strawberries are loved by many people for their sweet-and-sour taste and their cute appearance. We know that after winter sets in, and as spring approaches, strawberries become available to buy. But do you know when strawberries are planted?

When Is the Best Time to Plant Strawberries

They are generally planted in autumn. In a greenhouse they begin to flower when winter sets in, and harvesting can begin before the Spring Festival and continue right through to the end of May.

How to Sow Strawberries

1. Cold treatment. Before sowing, wrap the seeds in gauze, soak them in water for one day, then place the seeds in the refrigerator for cold storage for about 15 days, in order to break the seeds' dormancy.

2. Soil selection and preparation. Strawberries like fertile, loose, breathable, slightly acidic soil. Before sowing strawberry seeds, break up the soil and spread it in the sun for three days to disinfect it, then mix and stir it evenly with an appropriate amount of organic fertilizer. If you have the means, you can also directly use a soil disinfectant and stir it into the soil to disinfect it.

3. Sowing. Put the prepared soil into a pot, then water it thoroughly once. After the soil has absorbed the fertilizer for 1 hour, you can scatter the strawberry seeds on top. Try to scatter them as evenly as possible, because strawberry seeds are very small, and scattering them in one clump will reduce the germination rate.

4. Watering. After scattering the strawberry seeds, sprinkle on a little fine soil. The soil does not need to be too thick, 2-3 mm is enough to cover the strawberry seeds. After sprinkling the fine soil, use a spray bottle to moisten the seeds. Try not to pour water over them, to prevent the strawberry seeds from being washed away.

Care After Planting Strawberries

1. Watering. Generally, after sowing there is no need to water too frequently. Just follow the rule of not watering when the soil is not dry, and watering thoroughly when you do water. If it is hot and dry summer weather, you can increase the frequency of watering. After the seedlings emerge, you need to keep the young seedlings moist. Do not let the seedlings get too dry. When keeping them moist, do not use too strong a stream of water, otherwise the seedlings will be washed flat onto the ground. Also do not put the seedlings in a place with harsh sunlight, to avoid scorching the seedlings to death.

2. Transplanting. When the seedlings have grown 3-5 leaves, they can be transplanted. You can transplant the young seedlings into flower pots to grow strawberries as potted plants, or transplant them into the ground for cultivation. When transplanting, you can move them together with their roots and the soil around them, which can increase the survival rate.

3. Fertilizing. Strawberries do not need fertilizing before transplanting. After transplanting, they also cannot be fertilized right away; you must wait until the strawberry seedlings have adapted to the current environment before applying some dilute fertilizer. Generally speaking, the nutrients in the soil are enough for strawberries to flower and fruit, but in order to get more flowers and more fruit, it is still good to apply a little dilute fertilizer.

4. Light. The growth and development of most plants cannot be separated from light, especially plants that bear fruit. Therefore you must ensure that strawberries get enough light every day, so that they can bear fruit.

5. Flowering period management. When strawberries are flowering, you can carry out hand pollination. The specific method is to touch the flower buds of the female flowers against each other. If a single strawberry plant has especially many flowers, you can appropriately remove some of the more wilted flowers, which can raise the fruiting rate.

6. Fruit management. When strawberries set small fruits, you need to take fruit protection measures. Fruit protection mainly means finding a way to keep the strawberries from resting directly on the soil, otherwise some microorganisms or small animals in the soil will cause the strawberries to rot. When the strawberries are fully ripe, harvest them as early as possible to prevent them from being eaten by insects and birds.

How to Protect Strawberries from Pests and Diseases

1. Powdery mildew. Control measures: In winter and spring, clean the plot and burn the rotted branches and leaves, appropriately increase the spacing between plants and rows, promptly remove old leaves that lie against the ground so the plot has good ventilation, pay attention to drainage after rain, control the application of nitrogen fertilizer, and spray 70% thiophanate-methyl at 1000 times dilution or 800 times dilution of Tuijunte for control. 

2. Gray mold. Control measures: Apply more organic fertilizer, apply appropriate amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, control the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied to prevent excessive vegetative growth, do not plant too densely, and keep the density within 8000 plants/667 sq m to facilitate ventilation and light penetration; use plastic film mulching to prevent the fruit from contacting the soil, strengthen plot cleaning, promptly remove old branches, leaves and fruit as well as diseased flower clusters and diseased fruit, spray for control, and do a good job of early prevention. Starting from the bud stage, spray once every 7-10 days, spraying 3 times in a row, using 50% Sumieiling at 800 times dilution or 65% zineb at 500 times dilution as a spray. 

3. Verticillium wilt. Control measures: The main measure is soil disinfection. After the strawberry fruit harvest is finished, dig out all the plants in the field, then plow the soil, and quickly form beds or ridges. After the rainy season, in the hot high-temperature season, irrigate between the beds, then cover with plastic sheeting for about 1 month. Relying on the sun's irradiation, the temperature under the plastic sheeting reaches about 50°C, which can serve to disinfect the soil. 

So it turns out that when planted in autumn, strawberries taste best by the time they reach maturity! Strawberries are a very delicate fruit, and when planting them you also need to pay attention to many things and put in more effort. So when we pick them, we should also be more careful! Don't waste the grower's hard work.