How to Grow Strawberries: 8 Steps to a Real Harvest

What strawberry plants actually need, from crown depth at planting through to keeping the fruit off wet soil.

The steps

1. Pick a Type. June-bearing: one heavy crop. Everbearing: smaller, spread out.
2. Full Sun. Six or more hours daily. Shade means small, sour fruit.
3. Set the Crown Right. Crown level with the soil. Buried crowns rot, exposed dry.
4. Space Them Out. About a foot apart. Crowding invites grey mould.
5. Water at the Base. Steady moisture while fruiting. Wet leaves spread disease.
6. Mulch Underneath. Straw keeps fruit off soil. Cleaner berries, less rot.
7. Manage Runners. Cut runners for bigger fruit. Or root a few for new plants.
8. Pick Fully Red. They do not ripen after picking. Pick every day or two.

Pro tip. Pinch off the first flush of flowers on a new plant. You lose a few early berries and get a far stronger plant, and a much bigger crop, for the rest of the season.