You can grow a fantastic strawberry crop when you understand how to cope with the Texas weather. While growing strawberries can be quite a long process, the outcome is definitely worth it!
To grow strawberries in Texas, you must choose a sunny spot and ensure that the plants are put in well-draining soil. As the weather in Texas is so hot, growing strawberries can be quite difficult.
This article will give you a complete rundown on how to grow strawberries in Texas. Read on to learn all about when to plant and how to grow strawberry plants in Texas! Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
How To Grow And When To Plant Strawberries In Texas?
The best time to plant strawberries in Texas is in February. This is because the spring climate creates the best environment for them to grow.
You can plant them between January and early March for great results. In the eastern and central parts of the state, you can also successfully grow strawberries that are planted in September.
In the South of the state, you can plant strawberries as late as November, as the weather will be warm enough through the winter to ensure they grow well.
How To Grow Strawberries In Texas?
Follow the steps below to successfully grow strawberries in Texas:
Pick The Type Of Strawberry
You will need to pick the right type of strawberry for the Texas climate to ensure you get a good fruit harvest. Three types of strawberries are available: June-bearers, day-neutrals, and ever-bearers.
If you plant spring-bearing strawberries in the hottest parts of Texas, they will ripen in February. This variety of strawberry plants will not flower in North Texas until June.
In Texas, everbearing and day-neutral strawberry plants should be avoided. These varieties thrive in much colder weather and will particularly struggle in Texas.
Choose Your Location
Choosing the right location to grow your strawberries is essential for the success of your strawberries. Strawberries flourish in full sunlight and in an area with good air circulation.
On top of this, you want to plant your strawberries in an area with low traffic that will not see the feet of many pets, children, or lawnmowers! This is because they need to remain untouched to grow a good crop.
It is also important that the soil they planted in gets good drainage. If the roots of your strawberry plants end up sitting in water, the roots will begin to rot, and the plants will be much less healthy.
Ensuring you have well-fertilized and optimal soil is also crucial for your strawberry’s health.
*For our detailed and tested organic fertilizer recommendations, please see the article Best Organic Fertilizers for Strawberries: Boost Your Crop Yield Naturally.
The soil must also be at least 6 inches deep to leave the roots enough room to spread and grow.
Choose The Time
Choosing the right time of year to plant your strawberries is essential wherever you are in the world. If you choose to plant everbearing varieties, you can plant these strawberries in the early spring or summer.
In most of Texas, you will have a longer growing season. In this case, you must ensure that your fruit will always get 6 hours of sunlight daily.
If your plant only gets 6 hours of sunlight, you should expect less of a harvest than if it had more sunlight.
Plant Them In Rows
Once you have chosen your plants and picked a time to plant them, it’s time to get your hands dirty! You will need to plant your strawberry plants very carefully. First, you should dig holes in the soil to place your plants in.
You need to ensure that there is room for all of the roots on your plants to fit inside. Next, you should place these plants in the soil and cover them with dirt.
When you have done this, you should water the plants until all of the soil surrounding the strawberry plants is moist. You should be careful when watering at this stage not to overwater, as you don’t want the roots to rot.
Each plant should be around 18 inches apart in a line. It is best to plant the strawberries from East-West so that no shade is cast on them.
Protect Your Strawberries From Pests
It is a very good idea to protect your strawberry plants from birds and insects. You can use floating row covers or bird nettings to do this.
A popular choice for homegrown strawberries is a mesh grow tent like the easy DIY solution, Outdoor Mesh Plant Enclosure for Bird and Pest Protection Guard.
However, you should not complete this step until after your strawberry plants have started to flower, as they will need to be pollinated for them to produce fruit. Once they have bloomed, you can place this protection on the plants.
If the animals do manage to access your plants, there is no need to worry! Just cut that section of the fruit off and move on!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do Strawberry Plants Need A Lot Of Sun?
Strawberry plants need a large amount of sun. Strawberries grown in a sunny spot will have a much better flavor than those not grown in the sun.
Is It Easy To Grow Strawberries In Texas?
It is fairly easy to grow strawberries in Texas, but you need to make sure that you follow all of the steps above to ensure that the plants are healthy.
Final Thoughts
So, there you have it! Texas is a great place to grow strawberries, but there are a few things that you need to know to produce fruit successfully from these plants.
This article has provided you with an ultimate guide to growing strawberries in Texas, so ensure that you follow the advice in this article to get the most from your plants.
Growing your fruit is very rewarding, and with the help of this article, you should be able to grow your strawberry crop in Texas!
Further Recommendations:
- Do Strawberries grow on trees?
- Golden Kiwi vs Green Kiwi – which is the best?
- The ultimate guide to growing Serrano Peppers in pots
- How to grow mushrooms in Georgia
- Can Dogs Eat Kiwi Fruit?
Leave a Reply