WINTER’S COMING!
Preparing Your Strawberry Plants
Now is the time to prepare for a beautiful crop of luscious strawberries next summer — especially if you live in an area where winter temperatures drop below 15°F. Your strawberry plants need winter protection in the form of seed-free mulch. Before mulching, however, thin your plants to about 5 per square foot. If you dislike throwing away your discards, plant any healthy plants you have pulled up to new areas of the garden.
You may apply a dusting of mulch after the first light frosts, but wait until the temperature drops to 20°F before applying mulch to a depth of 3-4 inches. The plants will have hardened off by this time. Sustained daytime temperatures should be very cold before you apply mulch, because if your plants are covered too soon , they may rot. Don’t apply mulch while your plants are still growing, but do mulch before the first deep freeze.
What Kind of Mulch?
Save yourself some aggrevation next spring and summer by applying seed-free mulch.
Some seed-free mulches: pine needles, wood chips, straw, shredded newspaper, leaves.
In the Spring
When spring arrives, remove mulch, but keep it in the “alleys” between plants to prevent weeds and to cover blossoms in case of a late frost.
Record it!
Remember to record the date(s) and details of your strawberry-mulching activity and the dates of early frosts and your first deep freeze in your Garden Journal and Planner.
- You’ll be glad you did when strawberry-mulching-time comes around again next year!
