Epic Gardening would like to bestow upon you the power to grow the most juicy and epic strawberries of all time. Pick up some Espoma Organic Berry-tone and watch to learn how it’s done!
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What’s better than a delicious cone full of ice cream? How about strawberry ice cream made with homegrown strawberries? Follow Garden Answer’s latest video for how it’s done.
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Summer is in full swing and it is HOT!
With the heat, comes sitting on the porch enjoying a nice, cold drink. While some enjoy sweet tea and others enjoy lemonade, we love to use freshly grown strawberries for a special treat.
We walked you through planting strawberries in the spring and how to fertilize regularly with Espoma’s Holly-tone to give your plants proper nutrients. Now it’s time pick your juiciest freshest strawberries and enjoy them in a new way.
Check out this vertical strawberry planter:
7 Ways to Drink a Strawberry
Strawberry Iced Tea via Divas Can Cook
This summer drink is a great alternative to a traditional sweet tea by adding the perfect amount of strawberry sweet to add a hint of flavor. It is genuinely a Yin and Yang moment.
Strawberry Shortcake Milkshake via A Spicy Perspective
Strawberry Shortcake in a glass? This decadent sweet treat will have your friends asking for seconds all summer long!
Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade via Life’s Ambrosia
Give your Lemonade a twist this summer by giving it a little sparkle. Sparkling drinks are a great way to cool down by keeping it light!
Strawberry Rosé via Tammilee Tips
For all the folks that want to Rosé all Day, this take on a traditional rose is delicious. Just try to keep your guests from staring in on a strawberry wine serenade.
Strawberry Mojito via Vanilla and Bean
Everyone loves a pink drink! Take a spin on the classic mojito and add in fresh strawberries. Not only does it change the color, but it will change how you drink mojitos.
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri via Delish
Summertime classic, made fresh. This sure-fire classic will have everyone asking for the recipe. The flavors really come out with the freshness only a home grown strawberry can provide.
Strawberry Basil Soda via The Kitchn
The soda craving is real. Replace the syrupy sweet soda with a refreshing fresh strawberry basil soda. You will be surprised on how well the two complement each other.
Check out our dinner recipes using homegrown strawberries to impress any guest.
For the juiciest strawberries use:
There are very few things better than a sweet, juicy strawberry from your garden. Summer and strawberries go hand in hand, so if you aren’t already growing them, get them in the ground now.
But not everyone has a spot in the garden for this berry, so sometimes you need to come up with interesting and unique ways to plant them.
Choose your favorite from our options below and head over to your local garden center to pick up supplies and some Espoma Organic Holly-tone. Your fresh strawberries won’t disappoint!
5 Unique Spots to Plant Strawberries:
Bird Bath
If you have a bird bath lying around that you no longer need, plant some strawberries in there! Add large rocks or broken terra cotta to the bottom to ensure proper drainage. Fill it the rest of the way with Espoma’s Organic Potting Soil Mix and plant your berries!
DIY Tower
Follow along with Laura from Garden Answer as she creates her own unique take on a strawberry tower. Need step-by-step written directions? Check it out here.
Gutter Planters
These planters, which hang on the side of the house, are perfect for anyone who needs a little space. Be sure they are fastened tightly before planting. Leave a little space between plants and the sides so they can have room to drape over the sides. Once planted, water them well with Espoma’s Grow! liquid plant food.
Pallet Planter
We’ve seen Laura from Garden Answer plant a whole vegetable garden in a pallet, but we think it would be a great place for an abundance of strawberries! Gently fill them with Espoma’s Organic Garden Soil to help them grow strong roots.
Flower Box Tower
This is another DIY-type planter. Stacking up flower boxes will help keep the planters off of the ground and away from any curious creatures that might want to eat your strawberries! Plant a few of them up and watch them grow.
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We recommend using Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus at the time of planting to help produce large root systems very quickly. This will help ensure that new plantings get maximum water and nutrients from the soil to minimize transplant loss.
Looking to learn more about growing strawberries? Check out all we have to say about this delicious berry!
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Strawberries are one of the most popular berries for gardeners to grow. They pack quite a punch, they are a great source of Vitamin C and dietary fiber and have only 49 calories per cup.
When you are ready to plant strawberries, start by deciding which variety will be best for your location and stop by your local garden center for supplies. Encourage strawberries to grow by adding Espoma’s Holly-tone, an organic plant food perfect for these acid-loving plants.
You can find strawberries either as June bearing or everbearing. June bearing strawberries form flower buds in the fall as the day length decreases. You’ll be able to harvest them the following early to mid-June and for three to four weeks. June-bearing strawberries produce their first crop the second year after planting.
June bearing strawberries are available in early, mid-season and late varieties. These varieties differ by the best time to harvest. The difference between early and mid-season is only a couple of days, for late season, it’s about seven to nine days.
Though everbearing strawberries begin to bear fruit at the same time as June bearers, they will continue to produce berries throughout summer and into fall — sometimes even all of the way into October. The different varieties in the everbearing group are known as day-neutral. This means the plants do not need a certain amount of daylight to set flower buds.
The best strawberry varieties to grow
For taste. One of the most important factors in deciding which berries to grow is taste. If you’re ordering your strawberries from a catalog, look to see what the dessert quality is rated. We recommend planting the sparkle variety. These fan favorites are widely considered one of the best choices. Sparkle strawberries are medium-sized with an intense flavor and deep red coloring.
For freezing. Some people want berries that will last all season when they freeze them and not turn to mush. When you’re picking a variety, choose one that produces firm, red strawberries with a slight tart flavor. Allstar is a June-bearing strawberry that’s firm with a glossy red coloring. It produces very large berries with a mild, but sweet flavor, making it ideal for freezing and enjoying for months to come.
For size. Another factor to consider is size — do you want very large, large, medium or something in between? If you’re looking for a plant that grows consistently sized berries throughout the season, we recommend June-bearing Honeoye strawberries. These early season berries are large, firm and can be bright orange to red in color. It’s also known to produce plenty of berries.
For canning and jams. Most strawberries are well-suited for canning and jam. Earliglow, a June-bearing strawberry, is especially tasty. It sets and ripens its fruit sooner than virtually every other strawberry variety available. They have an excellent and sweet flavor, plus they are resistant to many strawberry diseases.
For growing in containers. Small space gardeners can still grow large berries. Seascape strawberry plants are everbearing and produce large berries that are bursting with flavor. This variety is also disease-resistant.
For a twist, grow strawberries vertically like Laura from Garden Answer does.
Get The Best Berries with:
Juicy, sweet strawberries picked from your own garden are simply the best. Plus, taking strawberries from your own garden to your plate is so rewarding. Create a berry garden by pairing with blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
The key to growing berries, no matter where you garden, is good-quality organic soil.
Choosing your Strawberry Plant:
The first step is to pick the type of Strawberry plant you want to grow. Take the amount of growing time Think about where you’ll plant your berries to get the best results. Visit your local garden center to find the best type of strawberry for you.
June-bearing. This traditional berry will usually produce one large harvest in late spring or early summer depending on temperature. June-bearing strawberries are available in early, mid-season and late varieties.
Ever-bearing. These scrumptious strawberries produce two to three harvests intermittently during the spring, summer and fall. Because ever-bearing plants do not send out many runners, they make great choices for containers.
Day-Neutral. Grow these to keep producing fruit throughout the growing season. They continuously fruit if temperatures are between 35-85°F. Because they produce few runners, they are great when space is limited, but the fruits are usually somewhat smaller than June bearers.
Once you’ve picked your plants, it’s time to get them in the ground. Strawberries grow best in full sun and in soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7. If your pH level is too high, add Espoma’s Soil Acidifier for ideal soil conditions.
4 Steps to Plant Strawberries
1. Plant strawberries as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring.
2. Space plants at least 20” apart. Dig holes deep and wide enough to accommodate the entire root system.
3. Plant the crown (the parts of the plant that are above ground) at soil level; firm soil around it.
4. Add compost to bed and encourage strawberries to grow by adding Espoma’s Holly-tone, an organic plant food perfect for these acid-loving plants.
Short on space or looking to grow strawberries vertically? Check out how Laura from Garden Answer grows.
Espoma products to help you grow your best strawberries yet:
It’s almost September and your strawberry plants are still yielding fresh, summer-ripened fruit!
Strawberries are delicious and versatile. They can be used in desserts, smoothies or anything that’s cooked or pureed. They can also be frozen and made into jams. Where there’s a strawberry, there’s a way! But first, you have to know how to pick.
Prepare for Picking
In September, many strawberry plants will be busy developing latent buds for next spring’s flowers. Some will rest during late summer, only to be perk up in the middle of fall. Make sure to take advantage of your strawberry plants while they’re still producing fruit! (And remember, they’ll be back next year.)
Pick strawberries in the morning, before the sun gets too hot. Immediately after picking, place strawberries in the refrigerator. Be sure to rinse them before consuming, or before preparing a dish.
If you decide to not eat your strawberries right away or make them into a recipe, you can still freeze, dry or can them.
Our Favorite Recipes
Ingredients:
Blend ingredients together using a food processor until the consistency of the dressing is smooth.
Leftovers? Store extras in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 425◦.
Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Combine eggs and oil in a separate small mixing bowl.
Mix the strawberries into egg mixture.
Blend in flour mixture until thoroughly combined.
Spoon into greased muffin tins until nearly full.
Bake at 425◦ for 5 minutes. After that, reduce heat to 350◦ and bake an additional 15-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Ingredients
Preheat oven to 400◦.
Place asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
Roast asparagus for 8-10 minutes, until just tender.
Boil. While the asparagus is roasting, boil the balsamic vinegar until reduced to about ¼ cup.
Serve and divide asparagus amongst plates and top with sliced berries, basil, and salt and pepper. Use a spoon to drizzle each serving of asparagus with the balsamic syrup and serve!
For more great berry recipes and other ideas, check out our Pinterest board and our ultimate berry growing guide!
Have a great strawberry recipe you want to share? Drop by our Facebook page!
Strawberries are a favorite summer fruit. Yet store-bought berries can’t come near the intense and fresh flavor of those picked right off the vine from your very own garden.
Packed with Vitamin C and fiber, strawberries make a great nutritious and delicious snack. Eat them alone or add to jams, pastries and smoothies.
Find out how you can get the most out of this year’s strawberry harvest.
Stop the Runners
Runners are long stems that “run” off the main strawberry plant to create new plants. Some are good but too many left unkempt will draw nutrients from the main plant and cause it to stop producing fruit.
Snip excess runners off at the base of the plant. Encourage wanted runners to root by gently pressing the end of the runner into the soil.
Beware of Mold
Strawberries are especially susceptible to a gray mold known as Botrytis that makes berries rot. Remove affected leaves and fruit ASAP to prevent further spread.
Keep fungi at bay by planting strawberries in a sunny spot and only watering at the base of the plant in the morning. A layer of straw mulch will also reduce fruit rot.
Temperature
Strawberries love warm weather, but berries suffer once temps rise above 85 degrees. Give them some shade by using row covers that can be found at your local garden center.
Fertilize
Encourage strawberries to grow by adding Espoma’s Holly-tone, an organic plant food perfect for these acid-loving plants.
Check the soil to make sure it’s loose and at an ideal pH of 5.5 to 7. If the pH level is too high, add Espoma’s Soil Acidifier for ideal soil conditions.
Now just sit back and wait to enjoy the harvest!
Espoma products to help you grow your best strawberries yet:
When it comes to choosing which berries to add to your organic garden, you can’t go wrong with summer’s favorite fruit — strawberries.
Packed with Vitamin C and fiber, strawberries make the perfect nutritious and delicious snack. Eat them alone or add to jams, pastries and smoothies.
Nothing says summer like the sweet taste of homegrown strawberries. So, let’s get planting!
Choose Wisely
The first step in planting strawberries is choosing the right variety.
Ask an associate at your local garden center for recommendations for the best variety for your region.
Start Planting!
Strawberries need lots of sun, so choose a spot accordingly. Soil should be loose and fertile with a pH of 5.5 to 7. If the pH level is too high, add Espoma’s Soil Acidifier for ideal soil conditions.
Plant strawberries in the spring as soon as the ground is workable. Space plants about 18″ apart. Dig holes deep and wide enough to accommodate the entire root system without bending it. Bury the roots, but not the center crown – it requires lots of light and fresh air.
Mix in an organic starter plant food, such as Bio-tone Starter Plus, to keep roots strong.
Encourage growth by adding Espoma’s Holly-tone, an organic plant food perfect for acid-loving plants such as strawberries.
Expect ripe berries about four to six weeks after the plants blossom.
Small Space Strawberries
You can still have delicious strawberries if you garden in a small space. They make perfect container plants! Hanging containers add aesthetic value and are a conversation starter. When plants are off the ground, there is also a decreased risk of pests and disease.
Simply fill a container with Espoma’s Organic Potting Mix and follow the same instructions above for planting strawberries in containers. Water plants well. Set the container in an area where it will receive at least 6 hours of sun. Rotate the container regularly so all sides receive equal light.
Whether you’re planting large beds of strawberries or starting with one small container, these tips will ensure success.
