How to Plant Strawberries in Kentucky
Mar 08, 2024
Strawberry plants are in! It’s time to get your garden soil prepared and plants in place.
Go ahead and work in your winter cover crop (green manure) to be sure it’s broken down properly prior to planting. If you are starting with bare soil, go ahead and cultivate to remove any weeds or emerging weeds from the space. Don’t pre-fertilize the soil for strawberries. If you find that your soil isn’t providing your strawberry plants adequate fertilizer after planting (plants aren't dark green), it’s best to side dress with cottonseed meal 4-6 weeks after planting.
If you receive bear root plants prior to your planting date keep them refrigerated in plastic. If you receive them and are ready to plant, keep the roots wet by placing them in a water bucket prior to planting.
Once soil is ready to plant (not soaking wet or dusty dry) lay the plants out 1-2 ft apart. Use a trowel or to move the soil part to make adequate space for the roots to stretch out. Don’t compact the roots. Be sure to keep the crown at the base of the soil level. If it’s buried it will rot, if it’s above the ground it will dry out.
Pack straw mulch around the base of plants in between the rows to keep the weeds down.
Remove those blossoms in their first year to strengthen the plants to produce abundant berries for next year. It's a terrible waiting game I know.
(*If you have an existing strawberry patch remove the straw mulch to allow the new growth to come on through. Be ready for an abundant harvest!)
What varieties do you like to grow best?!
Author
Marlena Wolf
Author
Always following her passion to make things grow, she's been an entrepreneur for 10 years, a horticultural expert for 11 years, and a mom for 5 years.
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