Spring Feed For Established Strawberry Plants

[Artisan]

Please can anyone tell me what fertiliser I should use now to spring feed my established strawberry plants.

Thanks.

[nickdub]

Are the plants in the ground or containers, and how old are they ?

[Artisan]

Are the plants in the ground or containers, and how old are they ?

Hello nickdub. They are in the ground. They were planted mid summer 2016 and had their first fruit last June and July.

[nickdub]

Hello nickdub. They are in the ground. They were planted mid summer 2016 and had their first fruit last June and July.

Well rotted stable manure would be the best, if you can get it - failing that compost or any other humus rich rotted material, reinforced if necessary with blood, fish and bone.

You can almost bury the plants if you have enough material at this time of year - strawberries coming from the woods originally have developed to cope with being part buried in leaves.

(Be wary of spent mushroom compost BTW - its usually rather too alkaline to go well on fruit.)

[muck lover]

I agree. Something general once they are ready to spring back into growth. And maybe a seaweed/Potash rich feed or two once they start to flower. I think you get away with a lot if they are in the soil. Mine are mostly in baskets or containers and I need to use more liquid fertilisers.

[muck lover]

I planted a container with nice little rooted runners in a mix containing a good bit of Marshall’s veg fertiliser. It’s meant not to burn roots but it killed the plants stone dead. And a furry mould grew over the top of other containers which I had mulched with the same stuff. I think it’s too strong. Maybe as a thin layer on the soil but just be careful if you are using manure that it’s old and v well rotted.

[Artisan]

Well rotted stable manure would be the best, if you can get it - failing that compost or any other humus rich rotted material, reinforced if necessary with blood, fish and bone.

You can almost bury the plants if you have enough material at this time of year - strawberries coming from the woods originally have developed to cope with being part buried in leaves.

(Be wary of spent mushroom compost BTW - its usually rather too alkaline to go well on fruit.)

nickdub, thank you for the information. I have the horse manure and the BFB so I will give that a go. Should I use plenty or will that burn the roots?

[nickdub]

You're very welcome.

Depends with the manure ( I'm v. envious BTW) - if there's plenty of straw or shavings mixed in with it and if it has been stacked over the winter or longer you can use it straight with no issues. If its only recently come out out of the stables, then it would be best to be a bit more cautious - either add a bit at a time, say around a double handful per plant spread out, or put some thing else down first like dried leaves or old straw round the plants, then pile the manure on on top of that.

BTW of you like pumpkins or courgettes then you can grow some massive plants on top of a small heap of manure, if you can pile some up now. Then in 6 weeks or so's time when the plants are ready, make a hole on the top of the heaps, put in some fresh soil and plant in that.

[Artisan]

You're very welcome.

Depends with the manure ( I'm v. envious BTW) - if there's plenty of straw or shavings mixed in with it and if it has been stacked over the winter or longer you can use it straight with no issues. If its only recently come out out of the stables, then it would be best to be a bit more cautious - either add a bit at a time, say around a double handful per plant spread out, or put some thing else down first like dried leaves or old straw round the plants, then pile the manure on on top of that.

BTW of you like pumpkins or courgettes then you can grow some massive plants on top of a small heap of manure, if you can pile some up now. Then in 6 weeks or so's time when the plants are ready, make a hole on the top of the heaps, put in some fresh soil and plant in that.

Valuable information and tips. Thank you. For your info the manure I have is covered, well rotted and easy to handle.

Thanks again.

[nickdub]

Sounds like prime stuff - as you probably know, but for others reading this, covering a manure heap to keep the rain off is important, as a lot of the plant nutrients are soluble, so will be leached away in wet weather, if open to the rain and snow.