Strawberries are at the height of their season now. Blueberry season will be in full swing soon. Other berries, including mulberries, blackberries, and raspberries are seasonal favorites.
Seeking out that perfectly ripe berry can be fun and fruitful. I have a border of strawberries in front of daylilies and iris. These almost wild berries are small but very sweet, having been planted several decades ago.
These everbearing vines creep over a rock border and hide under the lilies. For a few special weeks, strawberry picking adds some sweetness to a morning. Commercial growers provide sweet baskets of the red berries for the consumer’s enjoyment every year.
Two production systems are used by growers: the matted row system and the annual hill system. In the Upstate, growers set out plants one spring to be harvested the following spring, creating matted rows of berries. In the Sandhills and Coastal Plain, plants are set out in the fall and harvested the following spring.
Since disease often takes over after one year in our area, if you want to plant a row or two this fall, look for anthracnose resistant varieties like Sweet Charlie to plant preferably in October. Strawberries are shallow-rooted. Place new strawberry plants so that the crown of the plant rides slightly above the soil line, with the roots 1⁄4-inch below the soil surface.
Some advocate growing strawberries in rain gutters. There are benefits, but also drawbacks to this method. Having berries lifted off of the gro.
