Strawberries Zone 6B Growing and Using

What is the best thing about June? Fresh strawberries, of course! Strawberries are easy to grow and provide an excellent yield for the amount of space.

In addition to the fantastic taste, strawberries have many great qualities. They are the first fruit of the season and the quickest fruit to produce from planting to eating. Strawberries are also very nutritious and are loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants.

Varieties

Strawberries are divided into two categories – June bearers and Everbearers.

June bearers as the name imply produce an abundance of berries in the month of June. They produce a larger crop in a shorter time period. June bearers are great for making jam and canning because you get a crop all at once.

June bearers come in early, mid, and late-season varieties. By planting some of each you can extend your season. Here in Zone 6B, we need to be mindful of the blossoms on our early bearers. A late frost can kill the blossoms so cover them with garden fabric on any cold nights.

Everbearers and Day Neutral plants produce a medium crop in spring and another crop in late summer or early fall. Occasionally you will get a summer crop but many of them will not make flowers if the weather is above 85 degrees. They are great for eating fresh although many make nice preserves as well.

Strawberries are self-pollinating. However, they will cross-pollinate if there is more than one variety close by. Cross-pollination often leads to bigger crops.

Here are a few of my favorites that have done well in my Kentucky Zone 6B location.

Earliglow

Earliglow continually gets awards for best-tasting berry and it is delicious. Medium-sized berries are very early. I often place a tunnel with garden fabric over mine since they start to blossom before the last frost, and I don’t want to lose any.

Earliglow is hardy and has good disease resistance. They hold up well in the freezer. 

Jewel

Jewel is a mid-season large variety with superb flavor. A nice firm berry that is very winter hardy.

Ozark Beauty

An everbearing variety the Ozark Beauty is tasty and hardy. It produces flushes of berries throughout the season. Large fruits. Does well in containers and strawberry planters for gardeners with small spaces.

San Andreas

This is a day-neutral berry that does well in my summer heat and humidity. It produces small flushes throughout the season. Wonderful flavor.

San Andreas produces fewer runners than many strawberry varieties so it’s more suited to row cultivation.

Growing

Strawberries like full sun, lots of nutrition, and moist soil. They are perennials and will produce for several years although yield will start to diminish over time.

Strawberries like rich soil. It’s best to prepare your bed the fall before planting. Till in lots of compost. If you are preparing your soil at least six months before planting, you can pile on fresh manure right from the barn and till under.

If you have the typical clay or poor soil of Zone 6B you can add greensand to help break up the soil and add nutrients.  

Strawberries like slightly acid soil with a pH around 6.0. Test your soil and add amendments if necessary. Read our article on soil testing.

You can also place black plastic or landscaping fabric over the soil to kill emerging weeds.

Location

Since strawberries will be in the ground for several years, they need a spot where they are not in the way of your annual production. I like to have perennial garden areas. Strawberries, rhubarb, and asparagus all do well next to each other.

Starting

Strawberries are started from dormant plants and transplanted into your garden. Typically, you order strawberry plants in bunches of 25 plants.

You can also purchase them at big box stores, but I do not recommend that as they have not been handled well.

If you get your plants and you are not ready to plant, or the weather is not cooperating, you can place them in a bag and put them in the vegetable crisper in your refrigerator. Check to make sure the roots are not getting dried out and spray them with water if they do.

Planting Out

When you are ready to plant remove any brown dead leaves and give the roots a good squirt of water. Sometimes the roots are very long. I trim roots to about five inches long. Spread the roots out so they aren’t clumped together.

Use a trowel to dig a hole and place the plant in the hole. Firmly press the soil around the roots.

It’s important to plant strawberries at the right depth. The crown should be level with the soil.

Matted Row

There are many philosophies about planting out strawberries. The main difference is if you want to let your strawberries propagate themselves by putting out runners. This is referred to as a matted row system.

Runners are vines that extend from the mother plant outwards. They typically have a couple of leaves and they “plant” themselves several inches from the mother plant.

These runners develop into plants that will produce berries. However, eventually, the mother plant dies. Even with the empty space she leaves, the bed becomes very crowded and yield diminishes. So every few years the gardener tills up the bed and starts again.

Conventional Row or Hill System

This is what I use. I plant my strawberries in a row with the plants twelve inches apart with sixteen inches between rows. I don’t let the plants make runners. Or when they do I trim them off.

You can plant these trimmed runners and grow them out for another bed. However, I’m not convinced they have the same hardiness and yield factor.

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Seeds

You can start strawberries from seeds however, they won’t bear fruit till the following season. The advantages are less disease and hardy plants.

To start from seed, you will need to first expose seeds to cold air. Simply place the seeds in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer for two weeks. This makes them think winter has occurred.

After they have reached room temperature you can sow them in a planting tray. Press seeds into some moist starter mix and place in a warm growing room under lights.  

Don’t cover the seeds as they need light to germinate. This will take two to three weeks so be patient.

Transfer them to four-inch pots after they have three leaves. Once the spring weather has stabilized and you are out of frost danger you can transplant outside.

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Remove Those Blossoms the First Spring

Ok – I will tell you that I flunk at this every time I plant new berries.

In theory, you should remove the blossoms on new plants. This gives the plants time to grow and get well established. Therefor e they will make bigger fruits.

However, I never remember to do that chore and before I know it, I have baby berries growing and I can’t pick them!

So, what do I do? I give my strawberry plants a nice drink of fish emulsion, pick off some flowers that are present, and let the young fruits keep growing.

Strawberries as Annuals

Many commercial farmers raise strawberries as annuals. The typical first-year yield is one pound per plant. After that, the yield diminishes and the strawberries are more prone to disease.

Growing them as annuals gives you many advantages. You can have them in your regular garden rotation. (Don’t have strawberries follow the tomato family). This method also keep diseases from building up.

When you plant them in the fall the plants will have plenty of time to get established. Strawberries are daylight sensitive so when planted in September they will put energy into the root system. They will not make blossoms.

Mulch them heavily over the winter. Then in spring pull back the mulch. The berries will be ready to make sweet large fruits.

Photo by Mariah Hewines

Different Ways to Grow

Strawberries are a great crop for urban landscapes and those short on space. They readily grow in containers and barrels and look great in a hanging planter. There are many containers that are made just for strawberries.

Mulch

Strawberries do not like weeds (who does?). They have a shallow root system and don’t compete well with other plants.

Mulching strawberries will reduce weeds and keep the soil from drying out as fast. Mulching them under several inches of straw in the winter will protect them from the cold.

Water

Strawberries like to be moist. This is especially important from blossom to harvest.

A drip irrigation system works well. Don’t water strawberries from above as this can encourage fungus and molds to grow and spread.

Pests

Strawberries are prone to numerous pests which you can avoid with good organic care. Talk to your local extension office to find out what problems are common in your area. Then you can purchase varieties with resistance to them.

Strawberries can share diseases with the tomato family and roses. Surprise! They are closely related to roses and apples. So, don’t plant them before or after those crops.

White Grubs

Grubs will dine on the plant’s root system which causes poor growth. They are especially popular in areas that had been grass or fields prior to having a garden patch.

Till your soil in fall to expose overwintering eggs to the cold. If you have chickens let them on the soil to dig up and eat the grubs.

Fungus

Strawberries are prone to fungal diseases specifically gray and brown mold. Make sure to plant at least twelve inches apart to allow for good air circulation. Don’t water from above. Use drip irrigation.

Leaf Beetle

There are many species of leaf beetles including the strawberry leaf beetle. As adults, these insects devour the leaves of your plants. As larvae in the soil, they eat the roots. Beetles overwinter so fall tilling and using poultry can dramatically reduce populations.

Root Disease

Black rot and Verticillium wilt are common in some areas.

Weeds

Weeds are a pest especially grasses that grow up and can reduce yield. Geese have been used commercially for centuries to weed berry patches. Unlike chickens who like to dig for grubs, geese prefer to graze.

If you have a commercial crop you might consider about three geese per acre. Often the white Chinese geese breed is recommended. However, I find these geese to be mean, even by goose standards.

All geese seem to have a chip on their shoulder, but I like the Pilgrim Geese for a good all-around homestead goose.

Goober Goose at Fox Run

Songbirds

Some species of birds eat berries naturally in their diet.  If your local birds have decided to make a feast in your strawberry garden, then you need to protect your plants.

You can easily do this by covering the plants with deer netting. Yes, deer netting not bird netting. Bird netting is very flimsy and will just get torn and tangled. Deer netting is a heavier weight and will last longer.

In addition, you can choose to share some with the local birds by just covering half the bed. Turtles also love berries.  

Harvesting

When you harvest your berries do not just grasp the berry and pull. That can damage your plants. Grasp the strawberry close to the stem, twist gently, and then give a gentle tug. That way the cap remains on the berry and the stem will regrow.

Strawberries have a short window of perfection. Once they are ripe, they will hold on the plant for a couple of days.

Enjoy Your Strawberries - Recipes

Our domestic strawberries were cultivated from the wild ones that grew throughout North America and Europe. Native Americans mixed wild strawberries with cornmeal to flavor the bread. European settlers expanded that idea into strawberry shortcake.

Strawberries are great added to so many things. A few strawberries liven up morning oatmeal or French Toast.

Smoothies and milkshakes.

One of my favorites! Homemade strawberry milkshakes. Photo by Denis Tuksar

They are wonderful in salads. Strawberries pair well with spinach and young greens. They are also delicious with oranges on top of cottage cheese.  

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

This is my all-time favorite. I have fond memories of making this jam with my father. I had to stand on the kitchen stool to help.

Dehydrate

Dried fruit makes a great snack but boy is it expensive. What to do with that glut of Juneberries?

Dehydrate them for snacks.

First, remove the hulls. Next slice the berries. Lay them so they are not touching on your trays.

Follow the directions for your dehydrator. Mine takes about six or seven hours to completely dry.

Also, I’m not very good at slicing mine the same size. So, I pick out ones that are done and let the thicker ones go a bit longer.

Store them in an airtight glass or plastic container labeled with the date.

Freeze

Another great way to preserve your strawberries is to freeze them.

Begin by removing the hulls. You can leave the berries whole or cut them in half. Spread the strawberries single layer, not touching on a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer.

Once frozen take them out and put them inside plastic freezer bags with the date on them. Then place the bags back into the freezer.

Just a Word if Your Purchasing Strawberries

You may not have enough strawberries for your needs (wants). Going to a farmer’s market is the next best thing.

Be sure you ask the farmer about their growing practices. Strawberries are on the top ten dirty list for pesticide residue.

The same applies for a pick your own farm. Seek out one that uses organic or at least sustainable methods.

Read our article on the Top Ten Reasons to Eat Organic

Whiten Your Teeth!

Strawberries contain a substance called malic acid that naturally removes stains. Mix in ½ teaspoon of baking powder with one smashed berry. Brush your teeth for several minutes.

Use caution and just do this twice a month. Malic acid is strong and too much can be detrimental to tooth enamel.

Author, Ame Vanorio, is the director of Fox Run Environmental Education Center, and has been gardening organically and selling produce since she was 16 (that’s almost 40 years!)