How to Make a Strawberry Plant Produce More Berries

Strawberries are popular fruit that grows in many places in the United States. There are three different main varieties: the Juneberries, which fruit once a year; Dayneutrals that produce often in protected areas and Everbearers, which are best as ground covers. Junebearers are the best for the home. Strawberry production does drop off after a couple years of production, but there are certain techniques you can use to improve the harvest from your strawberry plants each year.

Fertilizer

Pruning shears

Mower

Wheat straw

Pick your berries every other day to keep production high. Remove the berry so that the cap is still on and 1/2 inch of stem is attached to the berry. Pinch the stem with your thumb and middle fingernails to make a clean cut.

Fertilize the strawberry plant after the last picking of the year to improve performance in following seasons. Apply nitrogen to the garden at 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound per 100 feet of strawberry row.

Mow the foliage of the plant to remove the top of the plants at the end of the season. Set the height of your mower just above the crown of the plant.

Cut the plants back so that the row is between 6 to 8 inches. This allows the rows to grow back to about 12 to 18 inches in the growing season, which is optimum.

Thin plants so that there are only five or six plants per foot of row.

Apply 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water per week until frost.

Mulch the plant with wheat straw once the plants have gone dormant in December.