EC 1307—Revised March 2013

Growing Strawberries
in Your Home Garden
B.C. Strik

Growing strawberries in your home garden can

be an interesting and rewarding experience. By
growing various cultivars (varieties) of strawberry,
you can pick ripe fruit from late spring until frost.
If you care for plants properly, you can obtain
enough berries for your family from a relatively
small area.
Strawberry plants have a short, compressed
stem called a crown. The crown produces a whorl
of leaves, fruiting structures (inflorescences),
branch crowns, and runners. (Runners, also called
“daughter” plants, can be used to propagate new
Figure 1. Tillamook, a June-bearing strawberry, in the
strawberry plants.) The strawberry fruit is fleshy,
second fruiting season.
with achenes (seeds) on the surface. The fruit is
topped by a calyx—a green, leafy cap—which
might remain on the plant when the fruit is picked. Strawberry types are June‑bearers, everbearers,
and day‑neutrals. June‑bearers produce only one
crop a year, in June and July. Everbearers produce
Types of strawberries
two crops—one from June through early July and
June-bearers another in the fall. Day‑neutrals produce fruit
• One crop per year (in June and July) almost continuously through the growing season
• Produce many runners except when it’s very hot; then, flowers do not
Everbearers form. All types are self-fruitful, so you need only
• Two crops per year (June–July and fall) one cultivar for pollination and fruit production.
• Produce few runners The fruit of everbearers and day‑neutrals typi‑
cally is smaller, and total seasonal yields often
Day-neutrals
are lower, than those of June-bearers. However,
• Crop almost continuously (late May
the advantage in growing these types along with
until frost)
June-bearers is that you can harvest fruit for most
• Produce few runners
of the growing season. Day-neutrals are the bet‑
You can choose from various cultivars (varieties) ter choice for fresh fruit throughout the season, as
available for each type of strawberry. they have a longer fruiting period and better fruit
quality. Unfortunately, retail nurseries often lump
day-neutrals and everbearers together, calling both
“everbearers.”
Bernadine C. Strik, Extension berry crops professor,
Oregon State University
 For more information on strawberry cultivars
adapted to Oregon growing conditions, see Straw- Capping or hulling a strawberry fruit means
berry Cultivars for Oregon (EC 1618). removing the green stem and leafy part attached
to the berry. You can do this by hand (long
­fingernails help) or use a strawberry huller,
Selecting a site available in most kitchen supply stores.
Strawberries require direct, full sunlight for Note: Some cultivars are easier to cap than
best production. They bloom early in spring, so o­ thers or the cap stays on the plant when you
pick the ripe fruit. If you make a lot of preserves
don’t plant them in frost pockets—that is,
or freeze a lot of berries, you may want to con‑
low-lying areas into which cold air drains, or areas sider this when you select a cultivar.
where cold air is trapped (for example, a site sur‑
rounded by tall trees).
Strawberry plantings can remain productive
It’s important to choose a cultivar adapted to
for 3 or 4 fruiting years. You can minimize many
your needs and site. Whichever type and cultivar
insect and disease problems by rotating the straw‑
you choose, buy only certified, disease-free plants
berry patch from one site to another each time
from a reputable nursery. Even though it’s tempt‑
you make a new planting. See “Planting systems,”
ing, because it’s easy and free, don’t start your new
page 3.
planting with plants from your old patch or some‑
Avoid planting where tomatoes, peppers,
one else’s; this could introduce pest-infested soil
potatoes, eggplants, strawberries, raspberries, or
and virus-infected plants to your new planting.
blackberries have grown in the past 3 years. These
plants all can be hosts for fungi that cause diseases
such as Verticillium wilt, and for insect pests that Establishing your planting
build up in soil unless you follow a rotation sched‑
ule of at least 3 years. Strawberries are subject to Preparing the soil
several virus diseases that are transmitted to the Strawberries will tolerate a wide range of soil
new runner plants, mainly by aphids. types if you properly modify the soil. The soil
should be well drained—strawberries can’t toler‑
ate standing water or “wet feet.” They grow best
Selecting a cultivar in a raised bed of well-drained loam soil, high in
Various types of strawberry differ in fruiting organic matter, that has a pH between 6 and 7.
season and cultural requirements, and cultivars Avoid planting in heavy clay soils. If the only
within a type differ in fruit quality and flavor, soil available has poor drainage, you may be able
appearance, tolerance to pests, cold hardiness, to improve it by tiling and adding organic matter.
plant longevity, and processed-fruit characteristics. Planting on ridges or raised beds also helps if soils
June-bearing cultivars, the most common, drain poorly. A raised bed should be about 1 foot
include ‘Hood’, ‘Totem’, ‘Benton’, and high; width depends on how many rows are on
‘Tillamook’. June-bearers produce many runners. each bed (see “Planting systems,” page 3). Raised
Everbearing strawberries produce few runners; beds can be constructed with wood walls, but
cultivars include ‘Quinault’ and ‘Fort Laramie’. walls are not necessary if you can form a raised
Day-neutrals produce fruit in cycles from early bed by hilling natural soil and incorporated organic
spring until frost; cultivars include ‘Tristar’, ‘Trib‑ material.
ute’, and ‘Selva’. Day-neutrals generally produce A good supply of organic matter in the soil
fewer runners than June-bearers. improves aeration and drainage and increases

2
water-holding capacity. Apply organic matter the In the matted-row system, set plants about
summer or fall before you plant; manure, applied 15 inches apart in the row (or on the raised bed),
at 2 to 3 cubic yards per 100 square feet, is a good with 3 to 4 feet between rows (Figure 2). Allow
source. You also can use decomposed (rotted) the early runners—in the Willamette Valley, those
compost, leaves, or sawdust. formed from the “mother” plants before Septem‑
Use only materials that you believe are free ber 1—to develop and root. Sweep them into the
from insects and weed seeds. Dig, plow, or till row area before they root, maintaining a matted
the material into the soil to ensure that it will be row width of 12 to 18 inches. Keep the remaining
well decomposed by planting time. If you incor‑ 11⁄2  to 21⁄2 feet between rows clear by sweeping
porate large amounts of nondecomposed mate‑ early runners into the row and by cutting off late-
rial into the soil, add calcium nitrate (16 percent forming runners that grow into the aisle or off the
nitrogen) at 1 pound per 100 square feet to aid in edge of the raised bed (Figure 3).
­decomposition. June-bearers develop flower buds in late
It’s best to check the soil pH 6 months to a year summer for next year’s crop. Thus, early-rooted
before you plant. If the soil is too acidic (pH below runners are more productive than late-rooted ones,
6), add lime as recommended by the soil analysis. because they have more time to grow before the
(For more information about soil testing, see Labo- flower bud initiation period.
ratories Serving Oregon: Soil, Water, Plant Tissue, The hill system is ideal for cultivars that pro‑
and Feed Analysis, EM 8677, and Soil Sampling duce few runners, such as everbearers and many
for Home Gardens and Small Acreages, EC 628. day-neutrals, but it also can be used for June-
In the year before you plant, eliminate all bearers. Set plants 12 to 15 inches apart in double-
perennial weeds from the planting site. Prevent or triple-wide rows (on raised beds if necessary).
weeds from going to seed! Aisles should be 11⁄2 to 2 feet wide (Figure 4,
page 4). In the hill system, cut off all runners every
Planting systems 2 to 3 weeks. It’s best to wait until runners have
The matted-row and the hill systems are the formed a daughter plant but have not yet rooted
most common for strawberries. The hill system is (Figure 5, page 4). Removing runners before this
preferred for everbearers and day-neutrals, because time often encourages the plant to produce even
they don’t produce as many runners as June-bear‑ more runners.
ers. June-bearers usually are grown in a matted
row, but you also can grow them in a hill system.

18"

3 to 4'

15"

two rows, planting year one row, Year 2

Figure 3. Matted row of June-bearing strawberry in the
Figure 2. Proper spacing in the matted-row system. first fruiting season.

3
 12 to 12 to
15" 15"

12 to 15"

11⁄2 to 2'
double row triple row

Figure 4. Proper spacing in the hill system. Figure 5. A hill system on raised bed. Runners should
be removed at this stage, before rooting, to maintain
the hill system.

What planting system should Planting

you choose? Purchase certified disease-free plants from a
• In the matted row, the runners produced are nursery. Plant as early as you can work the soil
allowed to fill in a space 12 to 18 inches wide in spring. If you buy plants but can’t put them in
(Figure 2). immediately, “heel” them into moist soil or saw‑
• In the hill system, you must remove all run‑ dust to prevent the roots from drying.
ners that are produced. Planting depth is very important for strawber‑
• Grow everbearers and day-neutrals in a hill ries! At planting, dig a hole for each plant large
system, as these types produce few runners enough to accommodate the roots without bend‑
and won’t form a nice matted row. You can ing them. Spread the root mass and set the plant at
grow June-bearers in either system. the same depth it was in the nursery container. For
Matted row versus hill system bare-root plants, the midpoint of the crown should
• The matted row requires less labor to maintain be level with the soil surface; the topmost root
and is productive. However, if you let the row should be just below the soil surface (Figure 6,
get too dense, diseases such as fruit rot may page 5) and not exposed to air even after a good
become more of a problem, and fruit will be irrigation. If you set plants too low (Figure 6), the
smaller.
growing tip at the top of the crown may be smoth‑
• The hill system can produce both high yields ered and rot. Cover roots with soil and press firmly
and large fruit, provided you diligently to remove air pockets. Water the plants to settle the
remove all runners that are produced before
soil.
they root. The plants will branch and become
very productive.
June-bearers produce very little fruit in the
planting year. Everbearers and day-neutrals pro‑
duce a “baby” crop in the planting year. Plants will
be in full production the next year (“first fruiting
season”) and generally are productive for two
to four fruiting seasons (1 to 5 full years in the
ground). Start your new patch in the year of your
existing patch’s last fruiting season, so you won’t
skip a year of production.

4
Container growing
You can plant strawberries in barrels, plant‑ Checklist for establishing your
ers, or hanging baskets, though fruit production planting and care in the first year
in hanging baskets might be disappointing. These
• Choose a good site.
plantings require close care in watering, fertilizing,
• Eliminate all perennial weeds prior to plant‑
and other cultural steps.
ing and annual weeds as they appear.
Day-neutral types are best suited for container
• Choose a cultivar(s) suitable for your needs
production. You will need to remove runners. Con‑
and site.
tainers and soil mixtures should permit excellent
drainage. A recommended soil mixture is one part • Choose a planting system.
sand, one part finely ground fir bark, and two parts • Prepare the soil by adding organic matter
garden or potting soil. Before planting, you can and lime, if necessary, and by forming raised
beds if desired.
mix in about 8 cups of slow-release (sulfur-coated)
fertilizer per cubic yard of the growing medium. • Apply fertilizer, if necessary.
• Till the soil.
• Purchase certified disease-free plants.
First season’s care • Plant in the spring, setting plants to the cor‑
rect depth.
Fertilizing
• In the hill system or plants in containers,
A good guide for fertilization is to observe remove all runners as they form.
plant growth. Leaves should be a healthy green; a
• In the matted row, train runners to the row
pale green or yellow and poor runner growth may
(12–18 inches wide); remove all runners that
indicate nitrogen deficiency. form after September l.
In the planting year, fertilize plants with 2
• Irrigate as required.
ounces of nitrogen (N) per 100 feet of row. Use a
well-balanced fertilizer such as 16-16-16. To cal‑
culate how much product to apply during the year,
divide the amount of N you need to apply (in this In new plantings, do not apply all the fertil‑
case, 2 ounces) by the percentage of N in the fertil‑ izer at once. Instead, divide the total amount
izer (16%, or 0.16). Thus: 2 ÷ 0.16 = 12.5 ounces into thirds, and apply the first third 2 weeks after
of fertilizer per 100‑foot row). planting, the next third 1 month later, and the final
third an additional month later. (This assumes you
planted your strawberries in early spring.)
Broadcast the fertilizer—spread it evenly
over the soil surface in the row in a band a little
wider than the row width. To avoid burning plants,
Soil surface broadcast the fertilizer when strawberry foliage is
dry, and avoid getting fertilizer directly on plants’
crowns. After broadcasting, remove fertilizer from
A
C
D leaves and crowns by brushing or by sprinkler
irrigation, and irrigate right away.
B
If you use manure, wait until late fall or early
Figure 6. Proper planting depth (A) and improper depths winter to apply it. Manure applied in early fall
(B, C, D). In B, the crown is too deep; in C, the crown is might cause strawberry plants to grow later in the
too high; and in D, the roots are bent and remain near season than they normally would, making them
the surface.

5
more susceptible to winter injury. When you use Using drip irrigation under the plastic is ideal.
manure, reduce the nitrogen fertilizer rate by Although runner plants can’t root through plas‑
one-half. tic, you still should cut off runners; otherwise, the
“mother” plants get weak.
Irrigation
Strawberries have shallow roots. To get maxi‑
mum growth and yield, never let plants be stressed Care of established
by lack of water. Keep newly set strawberries plantings
well irrigated. The plants will need about 1 to
1.5 inches of water a week; supplement rain with Winter and frost protection
irrigation as needed. If your soil is sandy, you will In western Oregon, don’t protect strawberry
need to pay more attention to watering and fer‑ plants from winter cold. However, east of the
tilization. Often, plantings on sandy soil require ­Cascades, protection might be necessary.
more frequent and lighter applications of water In eastern Oregon, minimize cold damage
and fertilizer. by covering plants with 2 to 3 inches of loose
Weed management straw after temperatures first drop below freez‑
ing. Remove straw once the risk of severely cold
Weeds compete with the shallow-rooted straw‑
temperatures has passed. It’s important to avoid
berry plant for water and nutrients, and weeds
placing straw on the plants too early or leaving it
often harbor insects and diseases. Hoe around the
on too late in spring.
strawberries often enough to destroy weeds and
Strawberry flowers can be killed by frost dur‑
keep soil loose. This promotes good growth and
ing bloom; open flowers are damaged below 30°F.
permits runner plants to root quickly when estab‑
Frost-damaged flowers have black centers and
lishing the matted row.
produce either misshapen fruit or no fruit at all.
You can use sawdust or bark mulch or black
If frost is forecast during bloom, protect a small
plastic in the row to keep down weeds, conserve
strawberry planting by placing a sheet of spun‑
moisture, and keep fruit clean. (Mulches may lead
bound polyethylene row cover over the plants. Put
to an increase in slugs, however.) Mulch is particu‑
the cover on in early evening and remove it in the
larly useful for hill-system plantings. Avoid cover‑
morning once the risk of frost injury has passed.
ing the top of the crown or growing point of plants
with sawdust or bark mulch. Fertilizing
While black plastic is very useful as a mulch It’s best to fertilize established June-bearing
in hill system plantings, clear plastic isn’t as suit‑ strawberries in late summer to promote growth.
able, because weeds thrive underneath it. You can Fertilizing strawberries in spring is not recom‑
apply plastic most easily just before or just after mended except in weak plantings. Spring fertil‑
planting. Before planting, place the plastic over the izing results in excessive runner formation and
planting area or raised bed. Overlap the edges of leaf growth—the latter can promote fruit rot—and
plastic and hold them down with soil. Cut circles doesn’t promote more or larger berries. If you use
6 inches wide in the plastic where you’ll set the manure, wait until late fall to apply it.
plants. Plant through these holes. The best time to fertilize established June-bear‑
If you lay plastic just after you plant, feel ing strawberries is at renovation (see page 7). Fer‑
for the plants under the plastic and carefully cut tilize plants with a total of 2 ounces of nitrogen for
holes around them. The holes cut in the plastic do each 100 feet of row. If you use a well-balanced
allow some weeds to grow around the plants, but fertilizer such as 16-16-16, apply 12.5 ounces of
the holes are necessary to ensure that plants get fertilizer product per 10-foot row. Broadcast the
enough water and fertilizer.

6
fertilizer all at once, spreading it evenly over the ensure the berries swell to maximum possible size.
entire row length and width. Irrigate right after The other is from late August through early fall,
fertilizing. when the plant resumes growth and forms flower
If you aren’t mowing the plants (see “Renova‑ buds for the following season’s crop.
tion”), brush or wash the fertilizer off the leaves.
Give day-neutral or everbearing types the same Weed management
amount of fertilizer, but divide it into thirds or Keep the planting free of weeds by cultivation
fourths and apply in equal installments from spring or hand pulling. Check with your county office
through early August. of the OSU Extension Service or a garden supply
store for herbicides registered for use on strawber‑
Irrigation ries in the home garden.
During the growing season, established straw‑
berries need about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per Renovation
week. On sites with sandy soils and on any site June‑bearers can be maintained for sev‑
during very hot weather, plants may need more eral fruiting seasons if properly managed and
water. If rain isn’t adequate, irrigate the plants. renovated after harvest (Figure 7). Renovation
Wet the soil 6 to 8 inches deep with each irri‑ improves the next season’s yield and may decrease
gation. Don’t apply so much water that soil is satu‑ fruit rot significantly, especially if leaves are
rated (excessively wet) for long periods. Standing removed from the planting. The planting should be
water is harmful, even for a day or two. vigorous and relatively free from weeds, insects,
After the first season, there are two critical and diseases. Renovation is not recommended for
times when good soil moisture is important. The day‑neutrals or everbearers, because they are still
first is from just after bloom through harvest, to fruiting in late summer.
• After harvest, mow foliage to about 2 inches
above the top of the crowns. The best time
to mow in western Oregon is from July 14
to August 1. Use hedge clippers or a rotary
mower with the blade raised high. Remove and
burn or bury all plant debris to reduce disease
risk. Take care not to damage the crowns.
• Narrow the rows to about 10 inches wide by
using a tiller, shovel, or hoe (go no deeper than
1 to 2 inches).
• In older plantings, thin out old and weak
plants, leaving vigorous 1‑year‑old plants.
(This is time consuming, however, and not
absolutely necessary.) The best plant density is
about five to six plants per square foot of row.
• Remove weeds and keep the planting free of
weeds. Rake new runners into the row.
• Fertilize (see page 6).
• Irrigate as needed.

Figure 7. June-bearers about 2 weeks after renovation

in mid-August.
7
 Checklist for taking care of your
Harvest
mature planting Pick fruit every few days, depending on cul‑
All types tivar and weather. Warm temperatures and/or rain
• Protect the planting from frost if possible. necessitate more frequent harvesting. Pick all ripe
Avoid planting in frost pockets, or use row berries; fruit left on the plant becomes overripe,
covers. and disease and insect problems may develop.
• Control weeds. Harvesting in the morning and picking fruit so
• Irrigate as required. that its green, leafy cap stays on usually give a lon‑
ger shelf life. Avoid washing fruit until just before
• In the hill system, remove all runners that form.
using it, to prevent softening and decay.
• In the matted-row system, train runners to the
Expect yields of 1 to 2 pounds per plant or
row (12–18 inches wide); remove all runners
15 to 20 pounds per 20-foot row. Yield varies
that form after September l.
greatly with cultivar and age of planting; the best
June-bearers
yield is usually in the year after planting.
• Pick fruit from June to July.
• Renovate the planting after harvest, or remove
it if it’s no longer productive. Pest and disease problems
• Fertilize in late summer. The most serious disease problems of straw‑
• Irrigate if necessary. berry are Botrytis fruit rot, root rot, and Verticil‑
Everbearers and day-neutrals lium wilt. Insect problems include root weevil,
• Pick fruit in June and July and in the fall (for aphid, spider mite, crown moth, and symphylan.
day-neutrals, pick throughout the season). Photos and suggested control measures for these
• Remove the planting if it’s no longer productive. pests are in Extension’s online PNW pest manage‑
ment handbooks at http://pnwpest.org/
• Fertilize; make three or four applications from
spring through early August.
• Irrigate if necessary. For more information
Strawberry Cultivars for Oregon, C. Finn and
To renovate June‑bearers in the hill system, B.C. Strik, EC 1618
mow off foliage 2 inches above the crown, remove Laboratories Serving Oregon: Soil, Water, Plant
and burn or bury all plant debris, and remove all Tissue, and Feed Analysis, J. Hart, EM 8677.
runners through the fall. Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook
Remove all plantings that are no longer pro‑ and Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Manage-
ductive or that lack vigor (generally, plantings that ment Handbook. Revised and reissued annu‑
have had three fruiting seasons). Start a new plant‑ ally. http://pnwKDQGERRNV.org/
ing in another location during the last year your Soil Sampling for Home Gardens and Small Acre-
existing planting is fruiting. ages, M. Rebotham and J. Hart, EC 628.

© 2013 Oregon State University

Trade‑name cultivars are listed as illustrations only. The OSU Extension Service does not endorse any listed cultivar or intend any discrimina‑
tion against others not listed.

This publication was produced and distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Extension work is a co‑
operative program of Oregon State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Oregon counties. Oregon State University Extension
Service offers educational programs, a­ ctivities, and materials without discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender identity or expres‑
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Extension Service is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Revised March 2008. Revised March 2013.