How to Plant Seascape Strawberries
Strawberries … our family loves them. My husband just added to our garden 24 new plants to our existing beds, a few weeks ago.
Did you know that strawberries are one of the simplest fruit plants to grow in a “home” garden? I don’t think people realize how easy they are to grow!
For 7 years now, we’ve enjoyed our strawberry beds, reaping a phenonemal amount of fruit for such a small area. The everbearing variety that we planted this year is called Seascape, and it produces one big sweet crop of tasty fruit. :)
Which, by the way, for entertaining purposes, homegrown strawberries make the best desserts!
Seascape Strawberries:
-The Strawberry Seascape, a spring planted herbacious root, is an ever bearing strawberry that produces one crop in spring and another in fall.
-Seascape produces high quality, very sweet berries, that are round and evenly shaped.
-Seascape fruit is large, with an attractive glossy finish. They fruit well in spring and it is one of the most reliable producers in the fall.
-They grow and fruit well in hot dry climates.
Strawberries like a rich, loamy soil with good drainage. If the soil is too sandy, adding mulch to hold moisture during the dryer summer months really helps. The plants also do not like soggy soil, so avoid planting in clay soils. If you keep the plants well picked and do not allow old or moldy fruit to stay on the plant for any length of time, they will bear more fruit.
More strawberry facts:
-Strawberries are a perennial plant.
-Plant your bare root or seedlings between 8 – 12 inches apart.
-If you are an urban gardener, strawberry plants do well in large containers or three to five gallon pots.
-Full sun is critical to getting lots of berries, so make sure you have a good, sunny location before investing time and energy into container gardening.
Planting tips:
-If you’re tight on space, tuck plants into the sides of strawberry pots, where they’ll bear fruit for months.
-Apply complete fertilizer after new growth begins, then again after the first harvest.
-Spread organic mulch around plants to help keep the soil moist between waterings.
-Pinch off the first flush of flowers so plants can direct energy into establishing a strong root system. You’ll still get fruit the first year – just later.
We’ve learned to replace the plants every year or two, to keep a healthy crop going.
Oh, and one more secret. Teach your kids how to pick the berries and stay on top of the crop, usually picking every other day.
And they’ll be more willing to pitch in and help make strawberry jam, too!
What are your favorite berries and how do you like to use them?
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I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
i planed seascape strawberries in the middle of march and it just growing leaves no berries how long does it take thank you :)
i planted seascapes strawberries in middle of march and its just growing leafs and no berries how long does it take to get berries thank you
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How do you get to the back of your strawberry bed to pick them? It looks like you would have to walk on them to get to the ones in the back. Mine are in an 8×5 raised bed so I can reach in and pick them. I also have them planted 4 per square foot as recommended in the Square Food Gardening book. I thought it might be too close together, but they have done great! The best part is they are so close together that there is no room for weeds to grow. I have Diamante and Albion. I definitely prefer one over the other. Problem is I don’t know which is which. My darling children moved all the labels around. Sigh.
I’m building another raised bed of the same size for more strawberries. I think I did 25 of each variety originally. I’ve read lots of good things about seascape, so I’m ordering 50 of the seascape to put in the new bed, plus all the runners of the variety I like but is no longer identifiable by name. The runners of the other kind I’ll give away. We eat them all straight out of the garden and don’t have enough to do anything with. A quart of strawberries is gone in about 5 minutes. So I need more! I’ve decided they are most definitely my favorite berry. Maybe I should order 75 plants…Hoping Seascape does well in Utah.
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Sandy do you ever have problems with birds eating the berries?
This sounds so wonderful. Seascape is a winner. I am ready to add them to my garden. How do you make them last from the garden bed to the house, to land on a dessert plate??!! thank you.
I just spent the day out in my strawberry garden! I wonder if those seascape would grow here in Seattle, two crops a year would be such a nice bonus! I might have to check that out.
You had me at “grow and fruit well in hot dry climates”. There may be some desert-grown strawberries in my future after all.
I like strawberries and raspberries. My favorite way to eat them is plan…although, I do have a weakness for a nice strawberry dessert with angelfood cake and real whipped cream :) Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)
I miss Oregon strawberries. They are so good. I spent many of my summers growing up making money working in the strawberry fields. Oregon has some of the best strawberries I have tasted. And they are best fresh from the vine. I love it when my vacations to visit family in Oregon hit berry season and I can enjoy them.
My favorite berries are raspberries – planted up a few stalks in our new garden in anticipation of gathering some for my morning cereal – think that’s my favorite way of using them, right of the plant and into my mouth!
Love this! I need to see if I can find space in the yard for some strawberry plants. The black raspberry bush sort of takes over, though!
If I planted a bunch of strawberries in a container, would they produce fruit for the whole summer? I love strawberries, but don’t have a good spot of land to plant them. :)