Strawberries are a popular home garden crop across Ohio, offering fresh, sweet fruit. Successfully growing these plants requires understanding the specific timing and care needed for the state’s climate. The initial success of your strawberry patch hinges on when you place the plants in the ground, ensuring they establish strong root systems. Getting the timing right directly affects the size and quality of future harvests.
Optimal Timing Based on Strawberry Variety
The time to plant strawberries in Ohio depends on the specific variety, but generally falls in early spring. June-bearing varieties, which produce one large crop annually, should be planted as soon as the soil is workable, typically between early March and mid-April. This early planting allows for a full season of vegetative growth, as next year’s flower buds are set in the fall. Planting too late significantly reduces the potential yield for the following year.
Everbearing and day-neutral varieties offer a more flexible planting window, but early spring is still preferred for the strongest establishment. These types are best planted from late April to early May, after the threat of a hard frost has passed. Unlike June-bearers, day-neutral plants can produce fruit throughout the growing season, provided temperatures remain moderate. Established crowns of June-bearing plants can also be set in late August to mid-September, allowing them about six weeks to root before the first hard freeze.
Preparing the Site and Planting Techniques
Selecting a location for your strawberry patch is the first step toward a successful harvest. Strawberry plants require full sun exposure, needing at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day. The site must also have excellent drainage, as strawberries are sensitive to excessive soil moisture that can lead to root rot. If drainage is a concern, planting in raised beds or on ridges is recommended.
Before planting, the soil should be prepared to meet the needs of the strawberry plant. They thrive in loose, fertile soil with a high content of organic matter, improved by incorporating compost or aged manure. Strawberries prefer a slightly acidic pH range, ideally between 5.8 and 6.5. When planting bare-root plants, depth is important. The crown, the short stem where the roots and leaves meet, must be set so that only half of it is covered by the soil to prevent the plant from failing to establish or drying out.
First-Year Establishment and Maintenance
The first growing season is dedicated to establishing a robust root system and strong mother plants, not to producing fruit. For newly planted June-bearing strawberries, all flower stalks must be removed as soon as they appear throughout the first year. This practice forces the plant to redirect energy away from fruit production and into developing a large, healthy crown, ensuring a much larger crop the following year. Everbearing and day-neutral varieties should have their blossoms removed only until mid-June in the first year, after which they can be allowed to fruit for a small harvest later in the season.
Maintaining consistent moisture and managing runners are important tasks during the plant’s first summer. The soil should be kept consistently moist, especially during dry periods, but without becoming waterlogged. Strawberry runners (horizontal stems that produce new daughter plants) need to be managed according to the chosen planting system. If using the matted row system, allow some runners to root to fill in the row. In the hill system, remove runners entirely to focus energy on the main plant. Once the plants have experienced several sharp freezes in late fall (typically November 15th to 30th), they must be covered with a two to three-inch layer of straw mulch for winter protection.