Berry Donation Tracker

Quick Links: How & Where to Grow | Temperature | How to Care For | Harvest Signs | Harvesting | Renovation | Pests | Companions | Varieties | Preservation | Recipes | Michigan Tips | Overwintering | Fun Facts

🌱 How & Where to Grow Strawberries:

• Plant bare-root crowns in early spring as soon as soil can be worked.
• Set crown at soil level – too deep rots, too high dries out.
• Space plants 12-18 inches apart in rows 3-4 feet apart.
• Remove flowers year 1 – let plants establish strong roots!
• Sunlight: Full sun (6-8 hours) for sweetest berries.
• Soil Type: Well-drained, slightly acidic soil with pH 5.5-6.8.
• Soil Amendment: Rich in organic matter – strawberries are heavy feeders.

Choose between June-bearing (one large crop), everbearing (2-3 crops), or day-neutral (continuous) types!

🌡️ Temperature Guidance:

Plant when soil 60°F. Flowers damaged at 30°F. Need winter chill.

• Planting: Wait for 60°F soil for best establishment.
• Growing: Optimal production at 60-80°F.
• Frost protection: Cover blooming plants when frost threatens.
• Winter chill: Need dormancy period for spring fruiting.
• Established plants hardy to -10°F with mulch protection.

Michigan’s spring frosts are the biggest threat – have row covers ready!

💧 How to Care for:

• Consistent Moisture: 1-2 inches weekly – critical during fruiting.
• Watering: Use drip irrigation to keep berries dry and disease-free.
• Mulch: Straw mulch keeps berries clean and soil moist.
• Fertilizer: Feed after renovation and again in late summer.
• Runner management: Control runners for larger berries or let spread for more plants.

📏 Harvest Signs:

Fully red with no white. Seeds turn brown. Aromatic. Pick when dry.

• Color: Completely red including tip – no white or green.
• Seeds: Change from white/green to brown when ripe.
• Firmness: Slight give but not soft or mushy.
• Aroma: Sweet strawberry scent intensifies when ready.
• Berries don’t ripen after picking – wait for full color!

Morning harvest after dew dries provides best quality and storage!

🧺 Harvesting:

Pick with green cap attached. Handle gently. Harvest every 2 days in peak season.

• Pinch stem 1/4 inch above berry – don’t pull fruit.
• Keep caps on until ready to use for better storage.
• Use shallow containers to prevent crushing.
• Sort while picking – remove any damaged berries.
• Cool immediately – field heat reduces storage life.

✂️ Renovation (June-bearing):

After harvest: Mow, narrow rows, thin plants, fertilize, water.

• Mow leaves 1-2 inches above crowns within a week of harvest end.
• Narrow rows to 12-18 inches wide by tilling edges.
• Thin remaining plants to 4-6 inches apart.
• Fertilize with 10-10-10 after renovation.
• Water well to encourage new growth.
• Skip renovation for everbearing and day-neutral types.

🪲 Michigan Pests:

Birds, slugs, tarnished plant bug, gray mold, leaf spot.

• Birds: #1 pest – use netting when berries start turning.
• Slugs: Hide under mulch – use beer traps or iron phosphate.
• Tarnished plant bug: Causes misshapen berries – row covers help.
• Gray mold: Worst in wet weather – space plants well.
• Spotted wing drosophila: New pest – harvest promptly.

🫱🏽‍🫲🏼 Companions:

Good with lettuce, spinach, beans, borage. Avoid brassicas, nightshades.

• Lettuce and spinach: Grow well between rows early season.
• Bush beans: Fix nitrogen for hungry strawberries.
• Borage: Said to improve strawberry flavor and deter pests.
• Avoid brassicas: Compete for nutrients.
• Keep away from: Tomatoes, peppers – share verticillium wilt.

🍓 Varieties:

June-bearing: ‘Jewel’, ‘Honeoye’. Everbearing: ‘Ozark Beauty’. Day-neutral: ‘Seascape’, ‘Albion’.

• ‘Jewel’: June-bearing, late season, large berries, excellent flavor.
• ‘Honeoye’: June-bearing, early, very productive, good for freezing.
• ‘Allstar’: June-bearing, mid-season, disease resistant.
• ‘Ozark Beauty’: Everbearing, good for Michigan.
• ‘Seascape’: Day-neutral, produces all season, heat tolerant.

🫙 Preservation:

Freeze whole or sliced. Make jam. Dehydrate. Fresh only 3-5 days.

• Freezing: Hull berries, freeze on trays, then bag when solid.
• Fresh storage: Refrigerate unwashed in covered container 3-5 days.
• Jam/preserves: Classic way to preserve June’s bounty.
• Dehydrating: Makes sweet strawberry “chips.”
• Freeze in sugar: Traditional method for pie filling.

🧑🏽‍🍳 Recipes:

Strawberry shortcake, jam, pie, fresh with cream, strawberry-rhubarb crisp.

• Classic strawberry shortcake with homemade biscuits.
• Strawberry-spinach salad with poppyseed dressing.
• Strawberry rhubarb pie – Michigan favorite!
• Fresh strawberry ice cream.
• Strawberry lemonade for summer picnics.

✋🏼 Michigan Tips:

• Plant early April for best establishment before heat.
• Use floating row covers for frost protection during bloom.
• Michigan’s June-bearing varieties produce during perfect weather.
• Raised beds improve drainage in heavy clay soils.
• Replace beds every 3-4 years for best production.
• U-pick farms abundant – support local growers!

❄️ Overwintering:

Winter mulch essential in Michigan! Apply after ground freezes.

• When: Apply 4-6 inches straw after several hard freezes.
• Material: Clean wheat straw is best – avoid hay with weed seeds.
• Spring removal: Gradually remove as growth begins.
• Leave some: Keep mulch between rows for berry protection.
• Row covers: Additional protection in extreme cold.

🧠 Fun Facts:

• Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside!
• Average strawberry has 200 seeds.
• Not actually berries – they’re “aggregate accessory fruits.”
• Ancient Romans used strawberries for medicinal purposes.
• California produces 75% of U.S. strawberries.
• Strawberries are members of the rose family.
• Native Americans mixed strawberries with cornmeal to make strawberry bread.
• The largest strawberry on record weighed 10.19 ounces!