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Strawberries are the jewel of the early garden.  In our area they are the first fruits ready to harvest in the garden season.  I prefer to buy bear root stock from a local nursery.  This minimizes shock to the plants and is often the cheapest way to purchase strawberry plants.

Select a growing area that receives full sun and has good drainage.  Then till the area adding composted manure.  Before planting bear root stock you will need to soak them in warm water for 24 hours.  This helps to wake up the plant and will give them a much better start.

Dig a hole 18″ apart and just deep enough to bury the roots.  Spread the roots out in the hole and cover with soil, making sure the crown of the plant is just above soil level and water well.  In the video below I was planting in a raised bed, because of this I planted the berries 12 inches apart. The strawberries send off runners that you can reposition between the mother plants.  These will fill in the spaces around the original planting and produce a nice carpet of strawberries.

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