How to Protect Strawberry Plants From Frost

A perennial plant, strawberries can provide juicy berries to the home garden for several years. They survive winter freezing but become susceptible to frost damage in spring. Frequent freeze and thaw cycles cause the strawberry plants to break dormancy, but then the tender new growth is damaged by the onset of the next freeze. Providing protection to the plants during these freeze cycles protects the new leaves and young flower buds, ensuring your plants survive to be productive another year.

Things You'll Need

Straw mulch

Cloth row cover

Instructions

- 1
  Remove winter mulch gradually in spring as the temperatures begin to warm. Place the straw to the side of the bed but don't leave it stacked in between the rows. Leaving the straw between the rows prevents the soil from warming up sufficiently.
- 2
  Replace the straw over the plants if temperatures below 32 F are predicted. Strawberries can suffer damage at temperatures below 30 F. Cover the plants with 3 inches of straw.
- 3
  Throw a cloth row cover over the straw if temperatures are predicted to fall beneath 28 F or if wind is accompanying the freezing temperatures. Remove the cloth as soon as temperatures raise above freezing again, otherwise the plants can overheat.

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