How to Grow Strawberries

The Strawberry

There are more than 20 named species and many hybrids of strawberries. The most common strawberry is the Garden Strawberry. The Garden Strawberry (Fragaria x Ananassa) originated in Europe in the early 18th century.
Fragaria comes from “fragans” meaning odorous referring to the perfumed flesh of the fruit. Madam Tallien a great figure in the French Revolution, used to take baths full of strawberries to keep her skin radiant. Many people in the 18th century thought that their long lives were due to eating of strawberries while in Argentina they were considered poisonous until the late 18th century.

Strawberries come in different sizes, shape, color, flavor, degree in fertility, seasoning of ripening, they also vary in foliage and some vary materially in the relative development of their sexual organs. In most cases the flowers appear hermaphroditic in structure, but function as either male or female. One cup of Strawberries is about 45 calories and an excellent source of vitamin C and Flavonoids (antioxidant activity).


Cultivation

Cultivation follows one or two models, annual plasticulture or a perennial systems or matted rows or mounds. Also a small amount of strawberries are produced in greenhouses during their off season.
Plasticulture is used by commercial production in this method raised beds are formed each year and then covered with plastic, which prevents the growth of weeds and erosion. Under the plastic is an irrigation tube. Then holes are punched in the plastic and then the strawberries are planted in the holes. The runners are then removed from the plants as they appear to encourage the plants to put most of their energy into fruit development. As the end of the season, the plastic is removed and the plants are plowed into the ground. Strawberry plants older than 2 years old will begin to decline in productivity and fruit quality, this system of replacing plants each year allows for improved yield and more dense plants. This is not a good practice for everyone because it is costly to form and cover all of the mounds again and purchase all new plants.

The other method is to maintain the plants year after year. The runners are kept on the plants so they can root to adjoin the plants together. The do best in strong loam (soil composed of sand, silt and clay) and it should be kept very moist. The ground should be trenched 50-100 cm deep and supplied with a lot of manure a good portion should lay just below the roots, 25-30-cm from the surface. The plants should be planted 50-60 cm apart. The plantation should be renewed every second or third year or less frequent if the runners are cut off, and the old leaves are cut off after gathering the fruit. A top layer of loam should be added to the spring when they are being to grow, but they should not be disturbed either at the root layer or at the top layer during the summer time. The fruit should not be picked until it is very ripe and dry usually it is in June or early summer.




Pollination

Most cultivars are somewhat self fertile, but bees have been shown to help with the pollination. Most commercial growers will put bee hives around their fields to increase the pollination.

Forcing

Once the strawberries are firmly rooted they are removed and transferred into well drained pots or strong enriched loam. They should be set in an open airy place, if there is going to be frost they should be covered with dry litter. The two main points of forcing strawberries you need to use stocky plants, leaves of which have grown sturdy from being exposed to light and grow them slowly until the fruit has set. The plants should be removed from the house as soon as the crop is gathered. The forced plants properly hardened make first-rate outdoor plantations, and if put out early in summer, in good ground, will often produce a useful autumnal crop.