Growing Strawberries

A strawberry patch can be a bed, a border edge or a few containers near the kitchen. Start with a manageable number of plants, then use your harvest notes to decide whether to extend it.

By Simon Adams · Updated 25 October 2026

Choose your harvest pattern

Summer-fruiting varieties give a concentrated crop; perpetual varieties provide smaller flushes over a longer season. Alpine strawberries have small, aromatic berries. Decide whether you want enough fruit together for preserving or a regular handful to eat fresh. Keep the variety label: it will help explain when your plants crop and how you should manage them.

Plant without burying the crown

Choose a sunny, sheltered position with fertile, well-drained soil. Spring and late summer or early autumn are useful UK planting windows; adjust to local conditions elsewhere in Europe. Avoid a frost pocket where flowers are easily damaged.

Prepare the ground by removing perennial weeds. For a bed, allow roughly 35–40cm between plants and 75cm between rows. Spread the roots into the planting hole, keep the crown at soil level and water in. The crown is the short central growing point where leaves meet roots: burying it invites rot, while leaving roots exposed risks drying.

Make containers easy to look after

Use a draining container and peat-free potting compost, with the crown level with the surface. Pots need regular moisture checks. Position them where you can reach every plant for watering and picking, rather than choosing a display that is awkward to maintain.

Care for developing fruit

Water and feed as needed, keeping the root area supplied without leaving plants waterlogged. A clean layer of straw or suitable fruit mats helps keep berries off the soil. Check underneath for slugs and remove damaged fruit promptly. If using bird netting, secure it firmly and inspect it so wildlife cannot become trapped.

Pick fully coloured berries regularly. Record the first and last picking dates, flavour and whether the amount suited your household. Those observations are more useful for next year’s choices than a promised yield.

Root runners and renew the patch

For plants that produce runners, peg a healthy young plantlet into a small pot of compost while it remains attached to its parent. Keep it moist and sever the connection after it has rooted. Do not use weak or diseased plants as your nursery stock.

Plan to renew the patch after about three to four years, preferably in a different position. Label replacement plants by variety and year so you can renew a section at a time rather than losing track of the whole bed.