Strawberry Planting Season: The Best Time

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Some 20 years ago, the idea came to me that strawberries planted in the fall might be the secret of greater production, especially when the matted row system grew the crop.

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The matted row system means that the mother plants are usually set from 18″ to 30″ inches apart in the row, with rows from 3′ to 4′ feet apart. 

Basic Point in Growing a Strawberry

The mother plants send out runners on either side, thus making a broad hand of plants. There is one basic point in growing a large crop: that is, a large plant with plenty of leaves. 

Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1028, “Strawberry Culture in the Eastern United States,” puts it this way: 

“Records of many plants with different numbers of leaves have consistently shown that the greater the number of leaves on a plant in fall, the greater the number of berries it will produce the next spring.”

It was about 1936 that I became certain of this fact. I had been measuring root systems, sizes of crowns, and even the sizes of leaves, trying to determine one or more factors that would give a clue to increased yields. 

For a few years after 1936, I continued to count the leaves on plants in the fall. I kept records of production the following season. The fact is so well-established now that there is no longer any doubt.

Grow Big Plants Before Winter Dormancy

With this working philosophy, the problem resolved itself to a straightforward task: growing the biggest possible plants before winter dormancy began. 

You have undoubtedly noticed that the earliest runners become the largest plants when you set a mother plant in the spring. 

For example, a plant set in early April will start its runners well ahead of plants set in mid or late May. 

Result of Setting the Plants

Many home gardeners, for one reason or another, do not get their plants set in April. I have known many instances where gardeners did not set plants until well into May. 

The result was that the matted row had many small plants in the fall with few leaves.

I have known conscientious gardeners who moved the runners around so the plants were spaced from 6” to 10” inches apart. 

But if it is lair summer before runners begin to develop, the result is small plants when it comes time to mulch.

This is where the fall setting of mother plants has an advantage. As a rule, plants can be set out safely for three to four weeks after a killing frost. 

The plants become established before freeze-up time. In the spring, these fall-set mother plants start their runners two to four weeks ahead of spring-set plants. 

The result is that when late autumn arrives, there is a bed of large plants, each with many leaves.

The fruit buds in a strawberry plant are formed in the fall. This is true of all sections of the United States, except in the southern states and along the Pacific Coast. 

Growing Points

In the northeast, the growing points change into fruit buds from about September 15 to October 15. 

In the spring, the fruit buds grow into the flower and fruit clusters; but contrary to what many gardeners think, no fruit buds form in the spring.

Generally, a fruit bud forms at the growing point of each crown and often in many of the leaf axils. 

If you set the mother plants this fall, and the runners begin forming in May or June next year, you will have much larger plants with many more fruit buds than if you set plants next spring and the runners are established during late July or August.

The More Leaves, The More Fruit Buds

Often gardeners are puzzled by the fact that many of the older strawberry leaves die during the winter. 

This has little to do with the fruiting possibilities because the following spring, the new leaves wrapped around the fruit buds unfold. 

The pivotal point is the number of leaves on the plant in the fall. The greater the number of leaves, the greater the number of fruit buds formed after the growing points have ceased to develop.

Setting Strawberries in Fall

In setting strawberries in the fall, there is one disadvantage. It means a mulching task for two winters instead of one. 

The life process of mother plants set this fall is as follows. The plants are set, become established, and mulched in late November or December. 

Next spring, the mulch will be removed. The matted row with its runner plants is formed, and the row is again mulched in the fall of 1957. 

Your first crop is in the 1958 season. During 1957, you keep all blossoms cut off.

Here are a few points that mean bigger yields. 

Soil Drainage

Strawberries need well-drained soil. Any place where water stands, even for a few hours, is unsuitable. 

Regarding drainage, as well as the fertility of the soil, we must remember that about 80% to 90% of the plant’s roots are in the top 6″ to 7″ inches of soil. 

Literally, scores of measurements of plants tempt me to say that about 90% of most varieties’ roots do not go below 6″ inches. 

Fertilizer

The texture of the soil and the root growth habits of a variety cause variation. Experts vary significantly on the fertilizing program. 

My biggest yields in average loam come when I use 10 pounds of a general fertilizer, such as 7-7-7 or 5-8-7, per 100 square feet. 

This is heavy fertilization, but with me, it pays off. I spread the fertilizer in a band 3’ feet wide. 

Thus, a 100-foot row represents 300 square feet, and for this, I use 30 pounds, raked into the top soil a week or more before setting the mother plants.

Setting Plants

With such varieties as Catskill, Strafford, Phelps, and Robinson, I set mother plants 30” inches apart in the row. 

I prefer a 4-foot width between rows. Set the plants carefully so that the crowns are just level with the soil. 

Winter Mulching

Use only plants with vigorous root systems and discard all weak-mot plants. Unless rain comes, water each plant with a cupful daily for a fortnight.

For winter mulching, old hay or straw is my first choice. I have also used pine needles with good results. I put these materials on a 3″ to 4″ inch layer. 

In recent years I have been experimenting with sawdust and have excellent results if I use four quarts poured in a heap over the plant. 

When I use two or three quarts, heaving is likely to damage the roots. I use no fertilizer in the first spring. Weeds are eliminated. 

Spacing The Plants

As the runners start, I move them around so plants are at least 8” inches apart. There is evidence that the yield increases if the plants are 10” inches apart as a minimum. 

After the first runner establishes itself next spring, this runner plant will start its own runner. I always cut off this secondary runner. 

I hoe and weed as necessary during the summer and use the sprinkler in dry weather. Always remember the goal: to grow the biggest possible plants before late fall. 

I do not fertilize in the spring of the fruiting year, for I do not believe that it promotes any bigger yield.

Fruiting Bed Production

How long can one keep a fruiting bed producing? I have read that one can keep the same plants growing for four, five, or six years. 

I use the same plants for three or four fruiting seasons. As soon as the harvest is over, the leaves are cut off just above the crowns to balance the weakened root systems.

Another dose of 10 pounds of fertilizer per 100 square feet is given, and the sprinkler is used to soak it into the soil. Soon the new leaves appear, and new roots start growing.

All my strawberries are set in the fall except for experimental plantings. It means extra mulching, but the yield increase, all the way from 25% to 50%, more than justifies the extra work.

44659 by Haydn S. Pearson