Prepare and Protect Your Strawberry Plants This Winter! As the temperatures begin to drop in fall, with winter looming on the horizon, let me show you exactly how to get your strawberry mother plants ready for winter to ensure maximum production the following spring. With your strawberry plants in dormancy, now is the perfect time to set them up to be winterized and prepped.
Begin by removing all the dead leaves from your mother plants. I cut mine right down to about a cm above the crown. But I also take special care not to cut any new buds that may be coming up. We live in a mild climate, so often our strawberry plants will have new shoots appearing at any given time…so just be careful! Also, remove any weeds and debris from the surrounding area. I also take the time to make sure that the crowns of the plants are ABOVE the soil level. Crowns that sink below the soil surface are subject to rot and poor production.
Next, I amend my soil, especially for the plants grown in containers. Strawberry plants are heavy producers and take a lot from the soil. I amend with things like rock dude, alfalfa meal, canola meal, rock phosphate, Epsom salts, and oyster flakes. I don’t use chemical fertilizers on the farm as I much prefer to feed my soils to feed my plants. As such, winter is the perfect time for amending because the plants are dormant, but the soil is very much alive! Just sprinkle liberally on the surface and you’re good to go!
Lastly, exposed soil is a bad word here at The Ripe Tomato. No planting is complete without proper mulching of that top layer. I only use organic mulches, preferring things like grass clippings, shredded leaves, bark, hay, or straw. I place a thick layer around the crowns. If you are in a really cold area, its permissible to spread the dry hay or straw over the crowns for protection, taking special care to uncover after the last frost the following spring.
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