Category Archives: Growing Tips

How Long Does It Take To Grow Strawberries?

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I know what you are thinking: How long does it take to grow strawberries? This is what everyone wants to know, whether they are growing from seeds or planting plants. We as humans tend to be a little impatient, so when you first plant your seeds or plants, it can be very hard to wait to see the results of all of your efforts!

Knowing how long they take to grow will also help you decide the best time to plant strawberries, since depending on when you plant them, you may have to wait a few weeks or wait several months.

So, let’s try to clear up some of this confusion on how long you can expect to wait!

If you are a serious strawberry grower, you will have to wait a very long time for your plants to grow and start producing fruit, because most people will pinch off the flowers so the plant puts more energy into growing strong roots (and therefore reproducing). In the long run, this is going to be much better for your plants and give you a better crop for a longer period of time. But it is hard to be patient!

Typically you can expect that most plants, when grown from seed, will take about 4 to 6 weeks to sprout, at which point the crowns of the plant will be visible. You can then expect it to take a few more weeks for the first flowers to appear. Though you won’t want to do it, picking those flowers off at first will help your plant to instead establish strong roots and propagate. If you do this in the spring, you will likely get another crop of flowers by late summer or early fall and at that point you’ll be able to keep them there. Remember that different berries produce fruit at different times – June bearing varieties will only flower and produce fruit in June, ever bearing and day bearing varieties will typically give you at least two crops per year, one in the spring and another in the fall.

Once you see flowers on your plant, it usually takes another 30 days or so for these flowers to turn into the fruit that all of us are so excited to finally see. It can take another week or so for the fruit to ripen. Once it is ripe, you will want to pick it right away to avoid it becoming moldy or diseased.

Now that you know how long it takes for strawberries to grow from their beginning stages of seeds into a fruit producing plant, you can see that patience is very important! It may be anywhere from a few months to even a year to see to the results, but the hard work will pay off when you have a blossoming strawberry plant that gives you a nice crop!

Best Time to Plant Strawberries

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Many people ask me what is the best time to plant strawberries, and I always answer the same way: there’s never a bad time! However, there are a lot of variables to the answer of this question, and so it really all depends on how you intend to grow them.

If you are planting strawberries indoors, then you really don’t need to worry about the time and season much at all. The only thing you may need to take into consideration is that there is not as much natural sunlight in winter months as there is in the spring and summer, but as long as your strawberry plant is getting at least 6 hours of sunlight a day, this usually isn’t much of a problem for most people, not to mention there are always indoor sun lamps to choose from. If you want to grow your strawberries indoors, then check out our section on Growing Strawberries Indoors

Another factor to this question is whether you are growing strawberries from seeds or using already grown plants. If you want to have plants ready to plant in the garden after the frost is over, then you will want to start them indoors several weeks ahead of time of when you wish to transplant them.

Some will tell you the best time to plant strawberries is in September while temperatures are still warm. You will have to wait to see the fruits of labor, since the blossoms will not appear until next spring, but this does typically give your plant a lot of time to grow mature roots and usually helps ensure an excellent crop next spring and summer. It is very important that if you decide to plant them in the fall that you take extra precautions to protect them over the winter. Many people will cover their beds with straw over the winter months to help insulate them from the cold temperatures. Strawberry plants do not need to be replanted each and every year. Since the plant is self reproducing, you can typically plant one and it will grow more plants and then you can later weed out the older ones as needed, typically every two to three years, though some plants can continue to bear fruit longer than that.

If you are ordering plants, then you’ll usually be lucky that you don’t typically have to wait very long to see fruit or flowers, since typically these are mature plants that are ready to go. You simply plant them as soon as the frost dangers are gone, do your best to take care of them and you’ll soon have beautiful and delicious strawberries to eat!

We love strawberries, and it’s great to know that you really can plant them just about anytime as long as you follow the right care tips for strawberries. The only thing that is variable is when you will see fruit, since most berries only produce fruit twice a season, typically spring and summer.

So what do you say? When do you think is the best time time to plant strawberries?

Growing Strawberries From Seeds

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It’s certainly much easier to get fruit and flowers from strawberry plants, but many people are also interested in learning about growing strawberries from seeds. It’s not that more difficult, though it will take some patience and a few special tricks to get little plants you can then place in your garden or favorite containers.

First, you’ll want to consider which types of seeds you want to use and buy. There are all kinds of strawberry seeds to consider, and where you plan on growing them will help you pick the right one.

For indoors and in cooler climates, it’s usually best to stick with the Alpine Mignonette Heirloom varieties, since they do not require as much sun, though they will still need sunshine. They are an ever bearing strawberry, which means they will have typically two batches of fruit each year.

For those of you planting outdoors or in a sunny place, you can also choose between June bearing and other everbearing varieties, with June berries only producing fruit in the June, and the other types usually producing a crop in both spring and fall.

Now, many people will get frustrated that their seeds will not germinate, and it happens quite often to those who simply stick the seeds in some dirt and hope for the best. This is because in order to trick the seeds into growing you need to mimic their natural habitat, especially when growing Alpine berries.

When you get your first package of seeds, you’ll have to wait a few weeks, but the wait will be well worth it when you get a better conversion rate of seeds into plants!

Wrap your seed packet in a paper towel and place it into a freezer bag. Place in your freezer for anywhere from two weeks to four weeks, with four weeks being the optimal recommended time. After four weeks, you’ll want to take your seeds out of the freezer and then place them to defrost slowly and naturally. Some people will place them in the refrigerator overnight to do this before letting them warm up at room temperature.

After your seeds are room temperature, you’re ready to start planting! It’s recommended that all seeds start indoors to help improve your chances, since when outside you will not have much control over the temperature or whether some hungry birds will try to eat it.

You can use just about anything for starting seeds, whether you choose to use small cups or a tray – some people will reuse biodegradable egg cartons as seed trays, which is certainly as easy and affordable option. You can also use seed starter trays like these that can work just as well also.

If you will be using your own blend of dirt, it’s recommended to use a mixture of potting soil and sand or peat moss, since strawberries like sandy soil best. You’ll want to place them near the top, not too deeply in the cup with only a thin layer of soil over them.

Then, you’re ready to place them in a place where they will get plenty of natural sunlight or what we typically do is start them in our basement where it’s okay if they make a mess and we have more space. We use a Sunlight Floor Lamp which works great for providing “natural” light and leave it on for about 8-10 hours a day over our seedlings.

Once your seeds are producing plants, you’re ready to transfer them to their respective pots or place in the garden. It’s very important that you do not plant them too close together or else they will compete with each other for the nutrients in the soil and likely not grow as well as you’d like. About 12 inches apart is a good rule of thumb. Now that you know how to grow strawberries from seed, you’re ready to do some more reading on how to help them grow their best depending on how and where you want to plant them!

Here’s some additional resources on our site to help you:

How to Take Care of a Strawberry Plant

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If you want delicious and beautiful strawberries to eat and enjoy, then you’ll need to learn how to take care of a strawberry plant. These plants are not difficult to care for, but you do have to remember to give them a little attention, or else like any living thing they will not thrive or grow as you’d hope.

Now, the different techniques you practice will depend on things like how you planted them and where you planted them at. A field of strawberries needs different care than one that is planted in a strawberry pot, but most berries all have the same needs of water and sunlight.

Give Your Plant the Best Environment to Grow

Strawberries will flourish when the environmental conditions are ideal. It can be difficult to get the optimal conditions outdoors all the time since the weather is unpredictable, but if you are growing strawberries indoors than you have better control.

Sunlight: Your plants will need about 6 hours of sunlight each day. Some species such as Alpine Strawberry Seeds do okay in the shade, but the majority of them should be planted in a spot where they can get a good amount of sunlight. If planting indoors, using a sun lamp or keeping your planter near a window and rotating it each day can work just as well often times. Be careful that they do not get too much sun however – they will not survive well in direct sunlight in very hot temperatures – strawberries like cooler weather more than hot weather!

Water: Strawberries have very shallow root systems, which means they need a very steady schedule of watering. If your plant has not yielded many berries or has very small leaves, it is usually an indication of water stress. You should never let the soil go below 50% moisture. (Many people want to know how many times to water a plant per week, but it really depends on the level of moisture in the soil. For this we recommend a simple little inexpensive gadget called a soil moisture meter)

Temperature: Strawberries do not do well in very hot climates, and they will not blossom if the soil temperature is too hot. If indoors, you will want to keep the temperature at about room temperature around 65-68 degrees. Outdoors you will want to make sure you do not use black mulch or black plastic covers over your plants, as this will cause the sun to make the soil underneath too hot.

Protect Against Pests

Strawberries can be affected by things such as molds, bugs, and plant eating animals just like any plant can be. Using fungicides and incesticides is one option, but the harsh chemicals are not worth the risks if you ask me. The best thing to do is practice a few tips for prevention.

Place straw around the berries: Find a local farmer near you who has fresh straw available and place it around the beds as you would with mulch. This keeps the fruit off the ground and protect it from rotting and moisture loving molds.

Pick Berries Daily: Do not let your berries stay on the vine once ripened, as this can increase the likelihood of problems.

Space Properly: Plants that are grown too close together do not do as well as those properly spaced. Most find that planting them between 12 to 18 inches apart is a good rule of thumb to follow.

Use a Fence: I’ve lost a many good strawberries to deer, groundhogs, and other garden pests. Fencing around a garden can help, you may also want to plant marigold flowers close by to deter the groundhogs. If birds are a problem, consider draping netting over the plants.

Prevent Stress: Make sure your crop gets the right amount of water, sunlight, and other environmental factors and your plants will be much less likely to become diseased.

Learning how to take care of strawberries will take a little practice, but the payoff is always well worth the time and effort invested in growing these plants – who could resist the delicious temptation of fresh, homegrown strawberries?

What is the Best Soil for Strawberry Plants?

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A strawberry field with sandy soil.

One of the most common questions we get asked is “What is the Best Soil for Strawberry Plants?” While strawberries are very forgiving on the different types of dirts and soils out there that are available, there are some things to consider before choosing a strawberry beds soil mix – and a few common mistakes many people make that can cause your plants to not produce fruit at all.

For starters, strawberries do not grow well at all in dirt that was previously used for tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and peppers. You need to be very careful where these plants were grown before – so when possible, use fresh soil and wait at least three years before planting strawberries in those spots. Those plants are highly susceptible for causing Verticillium Rot which isn’t good for your strawberries at all!

Strawberries do not like too much water, but they also need watered often, so that is another factor to consider when choosing a potting mix.

If you are someone who likes to measure PH before planting, it should ideally have a PH ranging between 5.5 and 6.3 to promote the best alkaline acid environment.

Strawberries do very well in sandy soil mixtures. Something you can do is either look for a sandy loam mixture at your local garden supply store, or even create your own mixture by combining one part top soil or building sand and three parts potting soil along with your favorite fertilizer. If using sand, it should be coarse as they use for concrete and not fine like playground sand, as this allows more room for air to breathe around the plant’s roots.

How you fertilize your plants is entirely up to you. If you have access to good quality manure or a compost pile that works very well for all natural options, and they are also many other different fertilizers available. You should only need to fertilize the plants at the very beginning of the growing season, though some may fertilize again after the first round of crops. Never fertilize more than this! It could make your plant not flower or produce fruit!

Lastly, you will want to make sure the soil you are growing in stays cool, as strawberries will not grow in very hot temperatures and you’ll want to protect your plants from ground bugs and diseases. While black plastic covers for dirt are popular for keeping away insects and mold, and the use of lawn mulch may also be appealing, neither one is the best option.

You might be surprised at what you should use – straw! (This is why strawberries are called strawberries after all!) Find the cleanest and freshest hay/straw available to you and cover the ground all around. It will help keep the ground cooler, protect against those pesky diseases and pests, and is usually pretty cost effective as well. If you do not have any access to straw in your area, another viable option is to use clean pine needles. Avoid mulch when possible, as most trees are full of fungi that could potentially cause problems for your plants. Best of all, in the fall when the crop is done, you can cover the plants with the hay to protect them from the frost and winter seasons until you’re ready to grow next year! If you carefully tend to your garden you will never need to buy a strawberry plant again, as they are perennial!

What potting soil mix for strawberries do you like the best? Tell us what you do in the comments below!