Strawberry is that red colored pulpy fruit, which is hugely cultivated in hybrid species and belongs to the genus Fragaria. It is worldwide appreciated as one of most favorite fruits of human beings, which is also used to flavor in the almost possible thing that uses to eat to apply on skin! After witnessing its easy-to-grow excellence, many gardeners begin to cultivate this fruit in their own garden to get this highly functional fruit within their easy reach. You can grow this tasty crop in your garden area as well as in the indoor climate in a garden container, too! Let’s check out some important sides of this beautiful fruit along with its growing procedure, in this article ahead-
Growing Strawberry:
1. Soil
- Strawberry plant needs a bit acidic soil, so mix some compost or fertilizer in your potting soil mixture that could provide a little acidic quality in it.
- The pH level of your soil must keep in between 5.5 to 6.8 to get the best-growing
- This crop can bear clay base soil if you can add some composted leaves into the soil mixture.
- Rotted sawdust or any type of bulky sort of organic matter could you to planting strawberry as well.
- This crop also requires well drainage system for full nourishment, so pick some sand based soil to cultivate strawberry in the garden.
- If you choose fully sand-base soil then, stir at least 1 to 5-inch layer of rich compost on the top coating.
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2. Season
- Strawberry could cultivate wonderfully during the season of winter, spring, and fall when the plant could clutch enough sunlight along with the bearable warm climate.
- Strawberry chiefly has two types of varieties, among them, one is particularly grown best in the season of summer, but the rest one you can cultivate at any time of the year if you can arrange manageable atmosphere to grow this plant!
- You should keep all the strawberry plants within 60 ̊F to 80 ̊F temperature for the whole growing season to make the root system well, and provide adequate nutrients to healthy flowers and fruits.
- June bearing strawberries taste the best flavor among its all equivalents.
3. Planting
- After selecting the spot in your garden, and preparing the soil, dig some holes in a row to the depth of 3 to 4 inches.
- Sow plants at least 20 inches apart from each other, so then, your plant could get enough space to grow with bushier form.
- This measurement is essential when you are going to plant your strawberry plants in the crown form, but, if you are starting the sowing session from the seeds, then dig only 1 to 1.5 inches deep hole for putting each seed.
- If you want to cultivate several plants in a huge space of your garden then, leave at least 4-feet distance between each row to circulate adequate space of growth.
- Now, after placing the germinated plants or seeds into those holes, cover them up with a thin layer of organic compost or musher potting soil mixture.
- Then, water the land with lots of water and make sure that whether the drainage system is working properly or not!
- As strawberry plants require a well-draining system at the beginning, thus, it will be better if you can plant your seeds or crowns in a raised bed component, rather than the garden area. After reaching a certain length, you can easily transplant them in your selected garden area, if you want!
- You are sowing the strawberry plants or seeds directly in the garden area or a garden raised bed object, but never forget to supply at least 8 to 10 hours of sunlight to your plants at their initial stage at any circumstance; otherwise they won’t meet the perfect growth of a healthy plant.
- Now all you have to do is that take proper care of your delicate plants and protect them from every possible harm or damages.
4. Care
- This plant grows best in the tropical climate, so, plant your strawberry plants at the right season of the year or comprehensively arrange the needed atmosphere where you are going to place the strawberry plant in your garden.
- As strawberry plants love sunny and warm weather to grow, thus we will recommend you to plant your crop during the summer season and never place any shadow or partial shade over the plants ever!
- Strawberry plants like rich soil so; add a huge amount of organic compost to enrich the soil properly before sowing.
- These plants require lots and lots of water throughout the whole growing session thus, never let the soil dry for a single hour, especially at the primary stage.
- Once fruit appears in your plant, reduce the amount of water and avoid any touch of water to the fruits, whenever you water strawberry plants.
- Avoid any kind of nitrogen-base fertilizer for planting strawberry, as this will compel the soil to produce poor nourishment to your plants!
- Always clear the unwanted weeds or any creeping plants near the base of your strawberry plants and remove the extra shoots from the main stem to keep the growth consistency perfect.
- Prune your strawberry plants carefully to keep the stem burden free, and you can start the pruning process immediately when they reach the length of 6 to 8 inches.
- Protecting your fruits along with its plants is another significant step you need to take for caring the strawberry plants. These vibrant colored tasty fruits s not only affected by the pests and diseases but, also by the birds or other flying creatures too! So, arrange some kind of protective barrier around your strawberry farm to protect them from such damages.
And for protecting strawberries from some common pests and disease, check out the below mention process carefully-
5. Pest and Diseases:
It is superfluous to say that this plant and its amazingly tasty fruits are easily infected by the several disgusting pests and unwanted diseases. Let’s check out some common troubles and their remedies of strawberry plants now,
Spider mite, cluster caterpillar, Heliothis, looper, Rutherglen bug, aphids, Queensland fruit fly, cutworm, etc. some common insects which are most frequently harm the strawberry plants and its fruits along leaves all through the growing season. Using pesticide on such harmful insects or worms would be the best way to get rid of them most easily. You can also apply some other tactic like planting some effective companion plants in the same field where you plant strawberry; providing water forces; using protective mulches; etc.
Fusarium wilt, gray mold, lethal yellows, blight disease, crown rot, base rot, black spot, powdery mildew, transit rot, etc. are some typical fungus, bacteria and infective diseases which could hugely harm your crop and its root to kill it down. Planting diseases free fresh seeds or crowns are the best way to stay away from such troubles. Or you can do some other easy process to handle such crisis like, renovate the plants by mowing or removing clipping; or rotate your young plants, clear weeds all the time; attach the support to the stalks so then, they could be detached from any kind of soil and water contact, etc.
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Growing Strawberries Indoor in Containers:
Strawberry is a great plant to grow in a garden pot or container under the indoor climate, thus several gardeners dare to try this cultivating in their small indoor area with the appropriate circumstance. Let’s check out the perfect process of this cultivation as follow-
- At first take a 5-gallon bucket or a 16-inch wire basket or a garden pot with a wide mouth and fill it up with potting soil-compost mix till the 2/3 part.
- Add some quantity of sphagnum moss or coconut fiber to your potting mixture before start the planting process.
- Now, buy some damage-free seeds from the market to begin your sowing
- You can buy some germinated seeds or crowns directly as well, because growing strawberry plants from seeds seems a bit tricky and it demands a long period along a lot of patience, too!
- However, after arranging the crowns, plant them similarly as we have discussed above and provide loads of water thoroughly to your crowns.
- Make sure that water doesnt flood out your crowns from its roots, and then place the planter into a sunny warm place for the next few months, where it could get at least 6 to 8 hours of full sunlight straightly.
- After a gap of 2-3 months, provide pine needles or straw made mulches to your plants. This will help keep the base and root shade-free and fresh.
- Now all you need is just water regularly, fertilize often, prune, and provide adequate protection to your strawberry plants until they produce fruits.
- Once you see that plants start producing fruits, water less often, fertilize rarely but prune frequently and protect the whole plant from any kind of wilt, worms, pest or disease, until it reaches the perfect harvesting period.
6. Harvest
- Usually, strawberry fruits will be ready for harvesting after the certain period of 4 to 6 weeks after the blossoming.
- When you are harvesting be careful to cut by the stem lightly and never pull the berry forcefully from it, otherwise it may kill the whole stem along with its fruits!
- Pick only fully ripe red strawberries and the rest half-ripe strawberries must be ready with next three days for sure.
- Though the harvesting amount and the duration usually depend on the variety of strawberry, yet the harvesting period could last at least for 3 weeks for the utmost varieties.
7. Storage
- After harvesting an abundance of fresh and red berries, you need to store them in a proper way, isn’t it and for that placing them in your refrigerator would be the best way to keep them fresh.
- Don’t forget to soak up each piece of strawberry before store them in your freezer and it will be even better if you can skip the washing part of them before placing in the refrigerator.
- You can even store them another way like placing them in an open Tupperware container and then place them in your freezer. But, never put any moldy piece in your container if you want to keep all berries fresh and good condition.
- Colander or baking trays are also great choices keep strawberries fresh and juicy for a long while.
- You can preserve strawberries in the zipper bag as well, just cut them off from the middle before storing them this way.
- Sprinkle some sugar granules over the sliced strawberry before preserving them in the zipper bag.
- To get the flavor of this fruit a very long period, you can make strawberry ice cube after blending them smoothly.
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Nutrition, Calories, and Benefits of Strawberry:
This superbly tasty fruit is enriched with various good nutrients and beneficial qualities. Thus, several health experts prescribe this fruit to eat on a daily basis for numerous reasons. It is the natural source of vitamin C, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, calcium, iron, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, etc. numerous advantageous protein, vitamin, and mineral supplements. Every 100 grams of strawberry holds 33 calories, which is also very appreciating for such a pulpy juicy fruit!
- Strawberry benefits our body and its several organs for its various high nutrient values and providing the unbelievable immunity to our system is probably the best of them!
- It also caters a lot of antioxidants to our body that hugely benefits us in our every single drift.
- Strawberry strengthens our eyesight and protects them from the harmful instinct of sun rays.
- This berry fruit also helps us to fight against the frightful germs of cancer.
- The most applauding part of this tasty fruit is that strawberry keeps the wrinkles away from us and provides younger-looking skin type in a truly natural way!