Fall planting time is here and strawberry plants will be ready for shipping soon. Typically, strawberries will ship for fall beginning around mid-November to mid-December.

It takes a longer period of cooler weather or several good frosts to force strawberry plants into go dormant so they can be safely dug. Each variety reacts differently to the weather, so not all varieties are available for shipping right away. 

We generally see the Sweet Charlie, Ozark Beauty and Cardinal as ready for digging first, followed by the other varieties within the following month. 

Bare root strawberry plants are the least expensive way to have strawberries growing in your garden. Whether planted in late fall or spring, you'll want to pinch off all blooms that appear during the first growing season. Pinching off these first season blooms will force more growth into the plant. So, by the second season, they will kick off with lots more new growth. 

When planting strawberry plants as bare root remember that you will actually begin harvesting berries the second growing season in the ground. Then during that second season, you'll delight in picking tasty strawberries. Like a child on an Easter Egg Hunt, you'll hunt and collect the ripest strawberries on daily garden visits. Saving them for the end of the week, you might make a batch of jelly or jam or even slice and freeze your prized crop.

Easy to plant and grow, strawberries do not require a lot of space or care. A row of approximately 25 feet in full sun where you'll plant them a foot apart is good. They also grow beautifully in containers - just monitor the moisture in the pot's soil. 

Amend soil if necessary with aged compost, blood and bone meal to add nutrients. Set each plant so the crown is sits just above the ground level. Once planted, mulch with aged compost mix, newspapers, straw (not hay) or plant through a permeable weed barrier. Keep check on moisture over fall and winter so the soil doesn't dry out. 

Do not fertilize when fall planting strawberries or other plants. 

Book your strawberry plants now for shipping!