As we all know, strawberries are delicious and also good for you. I recently purchased some bare root ever-bearing strawberry plants. I have always wanted to grow strawberries and this year seemed like the perfect time to try my hand at it. After doing some research, I discovered that bare root plants are the best way to start growing strawberries. Bare root plants means that the only thing you receive are the crown of the plant, where leaves sprout, and the roots. They look kind of sad, but it is just the plant in dormancy.
Bare root strawberry plants
When I received my plants, I immediately got to work to prepare them for planting. When you receive bare root plants, you are supposed to wash them to get rid of any bugs and excess dirt, trim the ends of the roots, and let them soak in water for a few minutes to jump start the growth process. After preparing the roots, I planted them in small plastic cups that I use for my small plants (Yes, I know plastic, but I reuse them). I used regular potting soil as the planting medium.
Young plants in their start containers compared to their transplant containers
After planting them in the cups, I watered them and then placed them in a sunny spot outside. After watering them daily and watching closely for about a week, I was rewarded with some brand new, bright green leaves. The first appeared one at a time and then all of the sudden, it was an explosion of leaves. I left them in their starter containers for about a month so that the roots had time to grow and strengthen.
Potting soil used when transplanting
After anxiously waiting the month, I replanted all but one of the plants into bigger pots. Unfortunately, one of the plants didn’t grow but that is why most bare root plants are sold as multiples. It is recommended that strawberries are planted in pots that have at least a 12-inch diameter so that the runners have room to spread. I had a few of the generic black pots laying around so I put them to good use. I used Miracle Gro Garden soil and transferred the young plants into the pots.
Ever bearing strawberry plants bloom year-round, which means that the plant can produce fruit all of the time. After I transplanted them to their bigger pots, they did flower. However, there was only one or two flowers. I pinched the buds off so the plant would focus its energy on growing. Pinching the buds off also encourages the plant to produce more blooms in the future. The bigger the plant, the more blooms you will get.
They have been in these pots for about two months now and they are thriving. I purchased some TRUE Organic Berry and Fruit plant food to fertilize my plants. This fertilizer is great for replenishing the nutrients in the soil and provide much needed minerals that the plant uses to grow large, delicious fruit.
I haven’t seen any blooms on my plants in a while, so I probably need to fertilize them again. The smaller containers means that the plants absorb the nutrients from the fertilizer a lot faster than if they were in 20-gallon pots. This is my first-time growing strawberries so I expect some fails and triumphs but that is all part of the fun!
