November 21, 2024

VIDEO: Strawberry Plant Winter Preparation! How To Protect Your Strawberries Over Winter (2020)


Prepare and Protect Your Strawberry Plants This Winter! As the temperatures begin to drop in fall, with winter looming on the horizon, let me show you exactly how to get your strawberry mother plants ready for winter to ensure maximum production the following spring. With your strawberry plants in dormancy, now is the perfect time to set them up to be winterized and prepped.

Begin by removing all the dead leaves from your mother plants. I cut mine right down to about a cm above the crown. But I also take special care not to cut any new buds that may be coming up. We live in a mild climate, so often our strawberry plants will have new shoots appearing at any given time…so just be careful! Also, remove any weeds and debris from the surrounding area. I also take the time to make sure that the crowns of the plants are ABOVE the soil level. Crowns that sink below the soil surface are subject to rot and poor production.

Next, I amend my soil, especially for the plants grown in containers. Strawberry plants are heavy producers and take a lot from the soil. I amend with things like rock dude, alfalfa meal, canola meal, rock phosphate, Epsom salts, and oyster flakes. I don’t use chemical fertilizers on the farm as I much prefer to feed my soils to feed my plants. As such, winter is the perfect time for amending because the plants are dormant, but the soil is very much alive! Just sprinkle liberally on the surface and you’re good to go!

Lastly, exposed soil is a bad word here at The Ripe Tomato. No planting is complete without proper mulching of that top layer. I only use organic mulches, preferring things like grass clippings, shredded leaves, bark, hay, or straw. I place a thick layer around the crowns. If you are in a really cold area, its permissible to spread the dry hay or straw over the crowns for protection, taking special care to uncover after the last frost the following spring.

Also, if you need some quality pruning shears for all your strawberries and other plants, I recommend these guys from my Amazon Affiliate link!

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28 thoughts on “VIDEO: Strawberry Plant Winter Preparation! How To Protect Your Strawberries Over Winter (2020)

  1. Why do you have to cut the strawberry plants so there’s a few centimeters above the crown? Newbie here and would love to be informed. Thank you for such great content!

  2. My hubby worked in a strawberry field as a kid and said they cut off the foliage in the winter but I didn't believe him until I saw your video, thanks!

  3. This is awesome information and exactly what I was looking for. Our beds were in their second year this year and did very good but I wasn't sure what to do to max out our production for next year. We started with one 4' X 4' bed and I let it spread into another 4' X 4' bed but now I need to stop them. This will help wonderfully. Thank You for the content, well done.

  4. I live in Seattle and hVe my strawberries in a raised box. I tried the mound method and found it difficult a haven't. I want to level the bed and put BT he strawberries to bed for the winter. Should I filled it up now and replant the plants that were on the sides of the mound? Will he grow roots and then go dormant?

  5. I'm new to your channel love that I can repurpose my strawberries. My garden this year was aweful Beatles were so bad. I also got something that turned my leaves black. I tried many natural things and nothing helped. I don't want to use pesticides because I have dog's. Hopefully over the winter I can find a solution.

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