How to Grow Everbearing Fruit

Everbearing Strawberries

• 1

  Amend the soil with compost or manure and 1 lb. of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet of soil. Select an everbearing strawberry variety well-suited to your area. Ft. Laramie is a common choice in cold areas. Try Ozark Beauty in milder regions. Set the plants out in spring, after the last frost, for fastest growth.

• 2

  Plant everbearing strawberry plants in rows spaced 2 feet apart. Space each plant 12 inches apart. Remove runners as they appear to increase crowns and fruit. Remove all blossoms until July to give the plant time to develop strong roots. You'll sacrifice the June crop, but subsequent harvests will be greater.

• 3

  Weed the strawberry patch frequently and mulch the soil with untreated grass clippings or straw. Water at least weekly during dry weather to keep the soil evenly moist. Harvest berries in late summer. Fertilize the plants annually in early spring with 1 lb. of 10-10-10 fertilizer. Continue to remove the runners. Harvest the strawberries when they are red, but still slightly firm, by pinching or snipping the stem.

• 4

  Cover the strawberries with a straw mulch after the first frost. This mulch will protect them from cold, drying winter winds and prevent frost injury in the spring. Remove the mulch as growth emerges in the spring, but keep it nearby in case cold weather returns.

Everbearing Raspberries

• 5

  Contact a county extension office for everbearing raspberries suitable for your area. Heritage is a common variety, but bears fruit late in the fall; it may not mature before fall frosts in cold regions. Caroline is a new variety with excellent cold-hardiness and fruit quality. Fall Gold produces sweet, yellow berries.

• 6

  Amend the soil with compost or manure. Plant raspberries in early spring, as soon as the soil is soft enough to work. Plant them in rows 10 feet apart, with 2 to 3 feet between each plant. Fertilize them with 1 lb. of 10-10-10 fertilizer 2 weeks after planting and again 1 month later. In subsequent years, fertilize everbearing raspberries with 1 lb. of 10-10-10 fertilizer in early spring and again in late spring.

• 7

  Prune everbearing raspberries in 1 of 2 ways. For a June crop, prune out old wood each year in the fall, after harvest. The 1-year-old canes will produce a crop the following June, and new canes will produce a fall crop. In areas with harsh winters, though, the June-bearing canes are easily winter-damaged. Many gardeners prefer to mow the entire patch down in the fall. This process eliminates a June crop, but ensures a large, healthy fall crop.