How to Grow Your Own Food: How to Plant Strawberries

In January I dug up my strawberry beds to make room for this years tomato crop.  Although I was able to salvage some of the plants, the original strawberry plants had been there about 4 years, so I decided this year would be a great year to order new ones.

I wanted to buy in bulk.  So I went online.  I decided to place an order with Raintree Nursery.  Not only were they a {somewhat} local nursery, but I had ordered blueberry bushes from them in the past and was pleased with the quality and service I received.  After going back and forth a bit, I decided to purchase 2 different varieties.

TriStar {250 plants}

TriStar berries are the only berry we have ever grown {I think}.  They are everbearing and early.  TriStar berries are great for snacking and making homemade jam. TriStar berries are the perfect backyard berry in my opinion {that is IF you can keep the squirrels from snatching them}.

Seascape {250 plants}

This is a new variety for us. According to their description, SeaScape berries perform beautifully in the south, and are PERFECT for greenhouses.  Which is exactly why I bought them.  I figure, even if Scott the Squirrel and his pesky friends eat all my TriStar berries I plant outside, they won’t get my Seascape berries I plant inside the greenhouse.

We’ll see who gets the last laugh this year!

So, how to do you grow strawberries?  It’s simple.

If you order your strawberry plants online or buy in bulk from a local nursery, they will most likely be sold in bundles of 25. This is by far the cheapest way to buy strawberry plants.  Once you’ve decided on a  location for your berry patch {make sure you choose one that receives plenty of sun}, carefully untangle your berries.  I always lay mine out and inspect them for mold, or any other sort of damage. Next, give them a little drink by placing them in a bucket and adding a little water.

Once your berries have had a drink, dig a small hole, spread out the roots and then cover the roots with dirt. Make sure the soil is level with the crown of the plant {enlarge photo above}.  Water regularly.

In a few weeks your new berry plants will look like this.

And in just a few short months, they will be ready to harvest!

If you really want to go the thrifty route… You can grow strawberries from seed.

Will you be growing strawberries this year?

Do YOU have a favorite strawberry variety?