Gardening Like a Ninja: A Guide to Sneaking Delicious Edibles into Your Landscape by Angela England

Author:Angela England [England, Angela]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.
Published: 2016-02-08T16:00:00+00:00

Strawberry (Fragaria spp.)

Long a part of cottage gardens and kitchen gardens, the strawberry plant may seem relatively small, but it produces some of the most popular soft fruit you can grow.

Photo courtesy of Alexis Watters, founder of BeanAndBee.com

BOTANICAL INFORMATION: Short-Lived Perennial

Garden Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa)—Comes in three categories: Day-neutral, spring-bearing, and ever-bearing.

Alpine Strawberry (Fragaria vesca or sometimes Fragaria alpina)

GROWING GUIDE

Strawberries are unsung heroes of the edible landscape. They are beautiful, clumping herbaceous plants that stay small enough to be easily contained, have charming apple-like blooms, and of course, produce delicious fruit. Plant strawberry crowns or roots in the late fall where winters are mild. In cooler climates, plant in early spring as soon as you can work the soil.

Strawberries tolerate cold weather well but will stop producing flowers and fruit when the weather gets above 90 degrees. Therefore, all varieties, especially Alpines, will appreciate a little bit of evening shade in hotter climates. A good layer of mulch over the garden soil is always appreciated as well. Keep the soil consistently moist and water at ground level to help prevent spreading diseases.

Strawberries don’t need nitrogen-rich fertilizers if you want plenty of fruit, but will benefit from growing in soil that is well amended with plenty of organic matter. For spring-bearing and ever-bearing strawberries, you can remove the flowers the first year to allow better root development. You’ll end up with more berries the following year. Although I must be honest, I usually forget to do this. I’ve started planting Alpine berries so I can stop fussing with this type of “pruning” altogether.

I love to use strawberries as border or edging plants. They mix well interplanted between larger perennials and shrubs as a ground cover as well. I’ve also seen some amazing hanging baskets with strawberries, but in our area they dry out too quickly to be practical. Day-neutral and Alpines will provide a longer-lasting harvest over several weeks in the spring and summer versus a single flush of berries. The garden berries typically need full sun for best berry production, while Alpines tolerate shade much better.

Alpines are clumping strawberries that do not send out runners, but some strawberries do. If your strawberries send out runners, let the new plants at the end begin to take root, and then cut the runner to create a brand-new plant. Strawberries tend to die out after a few years, so these new plants will keep a bed renewed. Sometimes digging the main strawberry plant and dividing it will help renew waning strawberries.

POTENTIAL PESTS AND DISEASES

Probably one of the biggest problems with strawberries is root rot. Be sure not to plant your crowns too deep or to keep the soil too soggy. Leaf diseases like mildew, leaf spot, or leaf blight can be tough. And, of course, slugs, aphids, mites and other pests will appreciate a juicy strawberry plant. Keeping your plants healthy, removing rotting fruit quickly, and using natural pest control for slugs will help get a good crop from your edible beds and borders.

HOW TO USE

Strawberries are used often to flavor many dishes and desserts.

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