Strawberries will never taste quite as sweet as they do when you’ve grown them all by yourself in your backyard. And, it’s relatively easy to do! Whether you’ve got a whole garden to enjoy, or just enough space for a raised bed, container or pot, growing strawberries is something even a novice gardener can get around.
Strawberry plants are sold in small pots at nurseries or can even be bought by mail-order. Be careful to ensure you buy virus-free stock as strawberries are prone to disease. About 20–30 plants provide enough fruit for a family, but even a couple of plants can be a delight to grow.
There are now many named varieties including some bred in Victoria, such as Toolangi. Other sweetly flavoured strawberry varieties have come from Japanese breeding programs. Of the new strawberries, Alinta is a modern variety that produces small but tasty fruit with a long harvest period.
If you’re keen to learn how to grow your own strawberries, scroll on.
QUICK TIPS
Best suited to a temperate climate, it’s best to plant strawberry plants from May–June.
Strawberry plants spread as they grow, so allow at least 30cm between each plants.
Full sun, good ventilation and fertile, well-drained soil is vital.
Be careful you’re not growing straberries where you have grown tomatoes, potatoes, capsicum or eggplant.
What month is best to plant strawberries?
The best month for planting strawberries in Australia is around May-June. Prior to planting, dig over the soil to remove weeds and any large clods, and add in plenty of compost, animal manure or blood and bone.
Position your strawberry plants about 30cm apart, in full sun. Strawberries do best in well-drained soil so plant them into soil that has been mounded up slightly. The crown of the plant, which is the swollen stem base, must be left at the surface of the soil and not buried too deep.
For those familiar with the term companion planting, strawberry plants can benefit greatly from being planted beside herbs such as sage, dill, coriander, thyme and chives. But perhaps, more importantly, are the plants to avoid growing near your strawberries, which include tomatoes, eggplant, capsicum, roses, mint and potatoes. The reason for this is that these plants can easily pass on diseases to vulnerable strawberry plants.
How do you grow strawberries in Australia?
Water well, especially when the young plants are establishing and during dry summers. Surround each plant with a layer of straw mulch so the fruit does not spoil by touching the soil. To feed your mini berry farm, sprinkle a small handful of complete fertiliser (such as tomato food, which is high in potash) around each plant as it comes into first flower, and water well.
When to pick strawberries in Australia
For the fullest flavour from home-grown fruit, pick the berries at the right degree of ripeness. They are at their best when each fruit is three-quarters red. Keep a watch out, as the fruit ripens quite quickly and can deteriorate or be eaten-up by tiny garden creatures. To avoid bruising ripe fruit, harvest it using scissors and leavea small piece of stalk attached.
Do you need to prune strawberry plants?
Over summer, strawberry plants send out runners. These modified shoots can be used to propagate new plants but if you don’t need new plants, cut these runners off. After fruiting has finished, tidy up the bushes by giving them a hard prune down to 10cm. After four years, plants become under-productive. Remove old plants and replant with new virus-free stock.
How to store strawberries
Once you’ve harvested your strawberries, it’s important to store them correctly so they don’t deteriorate (which can happen quickly when stored incorrectly.) A few things to consider include:
Keep them dry: its important to wash your strawberries before eating them, but excess moisture left on the berries can cause them to spoil quickly.
Store them in the fridge: strawberries need to stay in the fridge, covered, as not to loose any natural moisture.
Handle with care: the skin of strawberries is delicate, so avoid any thrashing and bashing that could bruise them.
Eat them quickly: they don’t last very long, so to avoid dissapointment, eat them relatively quickly after picking (or freeze them for later.)
Common strawberry plant diseases and pests
Strawberries are very desirable to creatures other than humans. Possums, birds, slugs, snails and even dogs compete for the luscious fruit. Bird netting or wire mesh stretched over the plants may help. Repel snails and slugs with pet-safe baits or squashing.
The disease botrytis or grey mould can affect strawberry fruit and leaves. Remove brown or soggy fruit. Apply a registered fungicide to new flowers but pay careful attention to all withholding information (the time between spraying and harvest) on the label.
Powdery mildew, a fungus that causes a whitish-grey powder on the leaves, can also affect strawberries. Treat plants with fungicide or regularly apply a milk spray (one part milk to nine parts water). Full sun and good air circulation reduces powdery mildew.
TIPS FOR SWEETER STRAWBERRIES
Wash them before you hull them (that is, before removing the green stalk).
Cut strawberries up and they’ll taste sweeter.
To store strawberries, take them out of their punnet and place them in the fridge on paper towel.
Can you take the seeds off a strawberry and plant them?
While it is possible to collect seeds from a strawberry and re-plant them, what grows will not necessarily be the same as the original fruit you took the seeds from. Most strawberry plants you buy are hybrids, and therefore it’s best to repurchase from a nursery, rather than attemp to cultivate your own strawberry plant from seeds.
SHOP GARDENING EQUIPMENT
Little Veggie Patch Strawberry ‘White Soul’ heirloom seeds, $5.75, Biome
These seeds grow into a gorgeous white-skinned alpine variety of strawberries that are naturally pest resistent. Common creatures like slugs and snails get confused by their disguise and stay away.
Mr Stacky Australia five-tier stacking planter vertical garden, $55, Amazon
With enough room for 20 plants, this clever stacking vertical garden is ideal for growing strawberries on balconies and in small gardens. Made from a treated polypropylene, it won’t crack or fade in the sun, and is quick and easy to water in one go. It’s also available in a black and grey colour.
Boutique Garden windowsill strawberry kit, $17, Spotlight
Got a sill? Got strawberries. This clever garden kit includes everything you need to grow your own strawberries, including the perfect size planter to sit on your kitchen windowsill. It would also make for the great affordable gift for a budding gardener.
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PhotographerGetty Images
WriterJennifer Stackhouse
WriterJane Edmanson
