Appreciated by adults and children alike, strawberries are red fruits of strawberry plants. Rich in water, vitamins and minerals, these berries have multiple health benefits. They can be eaten as a dessert with whipped cream, in jams or even in a tart, in a cake or in a verrine. Generally it is at the beginning of spring that the first strawberries appear. If you want to plant strawberries at home and increase the production of red, juicy fruits, here are our tips for having 4 times more strawberries.
Easy to grow, strawberries are perennial plants with leaves 10 to 15 centimeters tall. Strawberry plants require fertilization and soil moisture to provide good strawberry production. In this article, we reveal our tips for increasing the strawberry production of your strawberry plant.
How to increase strawberry production?
If you like growing strawberries in your garden or vegetable patch, you know that these red fruits require special attention. Here are two tips that will allow you to pick as many strawberries as possible:
Chop the strawberries to get a large amount of strawberries
To have a large quantity of strawberries, mulching may be important. This process consists of covering the ground with materials that can be of organic or plastic origin. Depending on the material chosen, the purpose of mulching is to eliminate weeds, regulate soil temperature and humidity, reduce watering, nourish the soil or even encourage the production of runners. The latter represent stems whose end has a seedling, which once planted in the ground can develop roots. According to the Gerbeaud website, strawberries prefer shredded wood, a potting soil that can be used to mulch strawberries. Very compact, helps fight off undesirables and increases strawberry production.
Remove dead leaves to encourage strawberry growth
After harvest, a strawberry plant needs to be pruned. It will be necessary to cut the dry leaves but also the dead ones, and eliminate the stolons. And for good reason, the foliage of a strawberry plant can carry disease and harbor a number of pests . When you remove those unwanted leaves, throw them in the garbage and don’t use them in the compost.
What type of strawberry should you choose to have beautiful strawberries?
There are many varieties of strawberries capable of satisfying all tastes. Everbearing strawberries such as Mara des bois, Charlotte or Reine des Vallées are the most used for home cultivation. Even if they give a lower production, they can be accompanied by a harvest spread over time. The latter generally lasts from June until the first winter frosts. Among the non-reblooming strawberries we remember the Gariguette, the Rubis des jardins or the Magnum. They produce large, very sweet red fruits only once a year, towards the end of spring or until summer.
How to grow strawberries?
To grow strawberries, you don’t need to be a professional gardener. Here are our recommendations:
- Choose a sunny location and remove weeds from your plants
- To plant your strawberries in pots or planters, choose a container with holes as strawberries require well-drained soil.
- Prepare a mixture of garden soil and potting soil for planting your strawberries before spreading the mulch
- Cut runners that may take up too much space and plant them when you want new strawberry plants
- Water your plants but allow the soil to dry out between each watering
- Remove dead leaves at the end of the season.