Strawberries

Late winter is the time to plant bare root strawberries. They look delicate when you see them in the little bag, but planting when temperatures are cool will give much better success, and again you can find a much greater selection of varieties now. This year we have two varieties early on - Eversweet, which is an excellent choice for an ever bearing strawberry; and Sequoia, a June bearing variety that is excellent for warm inland areas of California.

Strawberries are much hardier than you think, so even if the soil remains cold, even if there was a dusting of snow, strawberries will survive. Planting bare root strawberries is much more cost efficient, and is actually very easy.

Select healthy looking stock, not mushy or with roots that are black or off smelling. Cut the roots so they are no longer than 4 to 6 inches.
Rehydrate the plants briefly in tap warm water, or add a very small amount of fish emulsion (just 1-2 tbsp per gallon of water) or liquid sea kelp (1/4 cup per gallon of water - our favorite to reduce transplant shock). The entire plant can be submerged for about 1/2 hour. Don’t leave for longer than 2 hours.
You can either plant directly in ground or in containers. For inground planting, mix in compost to increase porosity. Apply a granular slow release organic fertilizer to the area of planting.
Dig a hole deep enough for the roots to either grow straight down, or gently fan out the root system.
Be sure the 'crown', where the growing point of the plant is, remains just above the soil surface - too low and covered with soil will cause the crown to rot; too high and the root system will dry out.
Cover the roots gently with soil and tamp down. Water in with very dilute fish emulsion or other fertilizer.
If planting in rows, plants about 1 ft apart, in full sun.
If you can’t plant the bare root strawberries as soon as you purchase them, keep the plants very lightly misted, in a plastic bag with the top opened, in the refrigerator. Plant within a week, making sure to check and mist if the plants are beginning to dry out.

Strawberries are now for sale at the nursery, February 2026. 50 cents each or 12 for $5. You can plant just one variety, or plant both so you get a big burst of harvest in early to mid summer from the June bearing Sequoia variety, and then a longer harvest later into the season with the ever bearing Eversweet variety.