How Many Strawberry Plants Per Square Foot?

Planting Strawberries

• Strawberries, which thrive in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 3 through 10, are best planted at a rate of about one plant per square foot. This gives the plant adequate room to send out its runners and make baby strawberry plants. When planning your patch, be sure to situate the plants in full sun and well-drained soil. Don't plant strawberries where tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), peppers (Capsicum), eggplants (Solanum melongena) or potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) have been grown — these plants can harbor verticillium wilt, a serious strawberry disease. Install the plants, roots downward, so that the upper crown (the part between the roots and the leaf stems) is slightly above or level with the ground.

Container Growing

• Strawberries can make productive and appealing container plantings, and you can increase the plants per square foot in this environment. Three to five plants per container is often a good number — the plants will produce generous numbers of runners, which will spill attractively over the sides of the container. Gardeners trying to keep the tasty fruits away from deer and other critters might put a half-barrel full of strawberry plants in a less-animal-friendly zone, such as on a porch. Since strawberries are shallow rooted, a large container doesn't have to be completely filled with soil. You might fill the bottom third of the container with empty plastic soda bottles, cans, or water jugs. Cover the fill material with landscape fabric and the fill the rest of the container with potting soil. This saves on potting soil and makes for a lighter, easier-to-move container.

Caring for Strawberries

• Keep soil moist but not soggy — about one inch of water per week, via drip irrigation, is recommended. Mulch is good for moisture retention but can also harbor damaging organisms, so keep an eye on your plants for signs of insects or disease. You may find that you need to cover your strawberry patch with tobacco cloth or strawberry netting to keep the birds from snacking.

Renovating Strawberries

• After your plants have fruited, you'll want to renovate your strawberry patch to maximize production for the next year. Clip out dead leaves, being careful not to damage the crown. Fertilize with one pound of a 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet. Thin out old and weak plants — usually the main plants from which the runners and younger plants have sprung. Leave only five or six plants per square foot of bed. You'll want to narrow the row beds to 8 inches to 10 inches wide.