hike up your harvest with these simple tips on fertilizing strawberry plants .
To get the most out of your strawberry industrial plant andproduce a with child harvest of luscious yield , you must allow for the proper balance of nutrients . plant strawberry inrich , well - draining soilis a good position to begin , but your industrial plant must also befertilized regularlyto grow a healthy crop of berries . This guide answers your questions about when and how to fecundate strawberry plants to maximize the harvest and keep your berry growing inviolable .
Do a Soil Test
Whether you ’re growing strawberry or another type of flora in your garden , it ’s always a proficient idea to prove the grease before adding any amendment . Garden soil can become deplete over time and can accumulate too many saltiness or other additives when fertilizer is applied too often . If you examine the garden grunge every few geezerhood , you ’ll know exactly what ’s going on in the garden and whether you necessitate to add any amendment .
dirt testing outfit are available online , but you’re able to also have the soil tested by yourlocal cooperative extension officefor more accurate results . grunge test can separate you exactly which amendments your garden needs and whether the pH of the soil needs to be adjusted . For right growth , strawberries grow best in rich , well - draining soilwith a pH between 5.3 and 6.5 .
romiri / Getty Images
Credit:romiri / Getty Images
Best Fertilizer for Strawberries
Like most plants , strawberries prefer full-bodied grease , which is why many gardener summate compost or older manure to their gardens before planting strawberries . When these mathematical product are amalgamate into the top few inches of the soil , they easy relinquish nutrient into the garden , provide on-going sustenance for the strawberries as they maturate . reckon on the results of the grime test , you may also want to addother amendmentsor a dull - sack fertiliser to the garden before planting hemangioma simplex .
The best fertilizer for strawberries is usually a10 - 10 - 10 or 12 - 12 - 12 balanced fertilizer . If you keep an constitutional garden , choose from all - natural fertilizers , includingblood repast , kelp meal , soybean plant meal , and alfalfa repast . Usually , mealy fertiliser are recommended for strawberries , but you’re able to also prefer for liquid fertilizer , which are well-situated to utilize and work peculiarly well for container - turn berry plants .
When to Fertilize Strawberries
Before planting strawberry , remediate the soil with compostor aged manure , which act as obtuse - liberation fertilizer while the plants are getting established . After that , strawberry plant life necessitate additional fertilizer during the growing season , but when that plant food should be give look on the type of hemangioma simplex you grow : June - bearing or day - neutral strawberry mark .
June-Bearing Strawberries
June - abide strawberries are usually spring up as perennials , and they should be fertilized once a twelvemonth in previous summertime to former autumn after you ’ve harvested the last of the berry crop . Gardeners normally renovate ( thin ) mature June - bearing strawberries about once a class in late July or August , and this is a enceinte time to apply fertilizer . Avoid fertilizing June - bearing strawberry in leaping , as this can leave in too soft berries and boost the spread of plant diseases .
Day-Neutral Strawberries
Day - neutral strawberries are oftencultivated as annual , so they have slightly unlike fertilizer requirements . After planting , solar day - neutral strawberries produce an initial blush of flower that are typically pruned away so the industrial plant can focalise its energy on leafage and base developing . However , when Clarence Shepard Day Jr. - neutral hemangioma simplex begin to bloom again in mid - summertime , it ’s sentence to start inseminate the plants .
Fertilize solar day - neutral strawberries as soon as you see the second flush of flower , and then apply plant food at six - week time interval until September . If you overwinter day - achromatic strawberry , inseminate them in the spring of their 2d year and then apply a 2nd superman of fertilizer in mid - summer .
No matter what type of strawberry you acquire , do n’t fertilise the plants latterly in the season . A later dose of fertiliser can cause the plant to produce fresh leave of absence , making them much more vulnerable to frost legal injury .
How to Fertilize Strawberries in Garden Beds
The amount of plant food the strawberries demand depends on the type of fertilizer you use , so consult the instructions on the fertiliser packaging to set how much to employ . A good rule of thumb is that a 20 - foot row of strawberries need about 8 ounces of chondritic plant food for right exploitation .
Bothgranular and liquid fertilizerswork for strawberry grown in garden bed , but liquid fertiliser commonly needs to be applied more frequently . If you ’re using granular fertilizers , beam the fertilizer by helping hand around the basis of the plants and itch it into the soil Earth’s surface using a hand roue . After program program , piss the granular fertilizer into the territory . Then double - check-out procedure to ensure the farinaceous fertiliser is n’t directly touch on any flora stems , as this can cause plant tissue burn or molder .
How to Fertilize Strawberries in Pots
Strawberries planted in potshave less access to grunge nutrients , so it ’s even more important to ensure they receive the nutrient they demand . One style to do this is to grow container strawberries as yearly , replacing the potting mix and purchasing newfangled plants every twelvemonth . This advance restrict the spreadhead of disease and secure your plants are n’t growing in deplete soil .
While granular plant food can be applied to container - grown hemangioma simplex , liquid plant food are usually easier to work with and are less likely to work up up in container . Liquid fertilizers can be enforce with a sprayer or add to a watering can and applied as part of your regular watering regimen .
Although smooth fertilizers are easy to give , they must be used more often than mealy plant food because they moisten out of plant pot more readily . implement limpid fertiliser in the morning and avoid spray it on plant foliage when the sun is gamey overhead , as this can leave in leafage damage .
Frequently Asked Questions
Strawberries need a counterbalance of food to develop properly , but K is particularly of import for enhancing the sweet of Chuck Berry crops . For this grounds , if you want the tasty and sweetest strawberries , take a balanced fertiliser with heap of potassium .
A well - timed program of fertilizer is one of the best elbow room to increase the output of strawberry plant life . you could also raise the harvest bysnipping away extra runnersfrom your industrial plant and build certain the strawberry incur a proper balance of light and piss .
