As you know, a Strawberry is a bright red color juicy fruit having a unique aroma and sweetness. This is a resilient fruit plant having the ability to grow in various seasonal conditions.
Keeping your strawberries plants with proper nutrients will ensure a healthy and huge amount of fruiting at harvest. But the important thing is the knowledge of fertilizers (which, how, and to apply)to get the reddest and sweetest fruit.
If you are seeking a good and complete fertilizer for your strawberry plants then you are in the right place. In this article, I will give you enough knowledge to decide the right fertilizer for berries and their application.
If you just want my recommended fertilizer list then skip this next section, but if you improve your fertilizer knowledge then read on…
Contents
How To Select a Fertilizer for Strawberries
The selection of proper fertilizer for your plants is a quite worthy step because the right fertilizer ensures a good yield. Choosing fertilizer’s kind depends on two factors i.e age of plants and time of year.
The soil should be treated with some kind of organic material having an equal proportion of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium before the plantation. The soil treatment should be done at least in the upper 6 inches of soil to ensure the nutrient’s availability.
During the first year, you have to do some extra job to keep an eye on your plants to note that if berries are not ripening then add a little nitrogen to get better results.
Add a little amount of ammonium nitrate fertilizer at the end of summer to the plants to keep them safe from cooler months.
Add another round of fertilizer to your plants during the following year to support their growth throughout the growing season.
You should do the testing of the soil of your garden to know the current nutrient status. If the nitrogen contents are high then there are chances that you will get busy berries plants.
The kind of fertilizer you are using is also a great concern here because the granular and liquid fertilizer has its own pros and cons.
- Granular fertilizer is easy to apply and more precise than liquid fertilizers. You just need to broadcast them to the soil near the plant’s roots. After the application, water the soil quickly and properly to get effective results.
- Liquid fertilizers are sprayed directly on the plants. Some liquid fertilizers are available in concentrated form so you have to dilute them for application. But you don’t need to water the plants after application.
If you are using liquid fertilizer then you should dilute the solution properly otherwise the concentrated solution will burn the plant leaves.
Strawberry Fertilizer Reviews
All of the reviews are from users based on who have already applied these fertilizers for their berries plants. We assure you that I try my best to recommend the best fertilizer.
1. Greenway Biotech Water Soluble Strawberry Fertilizer
This product comes to the market with the formation of N.P.K as 8-12-32 which is a higher one among other fertilizers. It is the best product manufactured by greenway biotech.
It is the best solution to reclaim the soils having the problem of low potassium. It also contains traces of micronutrients which increases the value of this fertilizer.
The product is registered by the California Department of Food and agriculture. So, it is a highly valuable product without any traces of heavy metals.
This product is the best one for hydroponics farming and also for soil use. It is a professionally formulated product with high-quality ingredients.
The presence of boron, copper, and iron shows the growth-enhancing ability of this product.
It is a water-soluble product that can easily be applied as a foliar application by mixing in water. The foliar application should be done 6-8 inches away from plant leaves in the morning time.
If you want to do side dressing then just apply the fertilizer to the soil and mix it well and then water the soil properly.
2. EcoScraps for Organic Gardening Berry Plant Food
It is a totally organic product produced by the ecoscarps, especially for the berries plants. This fertilizer has a completely organic feed for your plants as it is being produced from the organic wastes of food companies.
You can say that it is the complete food for strawberry and raspberry.
It is formulated in such a good way that each particle of the fertilizer has an equal amount of nutrients and supports the growth of the plants.
It is produced after guaranteed analysis which will ensure enhance the growth of your strawberry.
From user experience, it is known that it is the best for soil low in organic matter.
The application of the product is very simple as you just need to mix the granular fertilizer into the soil completely. Because the well-mixed fertilizer will easily transfer the nutrients to the roots of plants.
The main thing here is the watering to the plants on time. You just have to apply water just after the application of these organics to the soil.
3. Winchester Gardens-Organics Berry Granular Fertilizer
If you are going to start growing the berries whether blueberries strawberries it is the best fertilizer for soil preparation because it has fully organic material in it.
Winchester gardens produced this meal for the berries family from the bone meal, feather meal, and potassium chloride. It also has some amount of magnesium and sulfur which is the basic requirement of the berries plants.
From user experience, it was seen that it is the best product to enhance soil fertility because it increases soil microbial activity which is the main requirement of the soil’s good health. The more fertile the soil the better the growth of the plants will be in it.
It is the best for both indoor and outdoor plants just the amount of fertilizer is different for both.
The application is very simple and easy as you just need to add the granules with the help of a spoon given with the product and mix them to the soil completely otherwise you will not get the desired results.
The watering just immediately after the application is the basic requirement because organic food always needs water to decompose.
4. Espoma Fruit & Berry Food
If you are searching for fertilizer or any organic feed which may enhance the taste and juice of the berry fruits, then this is your product formulated by espoma company to ensure the quality of berry fruits and acid-loving plants.
The main benefit of this fertilizer is the presence of the microbes in it which will enhance the concentration of the available nutrients near the roots of plants. As you well know, microbes decompose organic food and produce a simple form of nutrients.
The presence of microbes shows that you will get betterment in your soil quality for long periods than simple fertilizer.
From your experience, it was noted that this food converted its drying strawberry plants to healthy ones. So, it is best to increase the quality of fruits.
The application is very simple and easy, like to other granular fertilizers, just mix to soil and water immediately after application.
5. Indian River Organics OMRI Listed Organic Fertilizer
If you are searching for an organic product that could be an all-rounder to use in your lawns, fruit, and flowering plants. Then you are in the right place as this Indian river organic hydrolyzed is formulated to cover all types of green plants.
This product is in the form of hydrolyzed liquid form and approved according to the USDA rules which means it is suitable for use and has a high-quality formulation.
It supports not only the green parts of the plants and lawn grass but also enhances the taste, color, and flesh quality of the fruits produced from these plants. You may say it is a miracle organic food for all garden plants.
The application is very easy to just dilute the liquid fertilizer with water in a sprayer tank and apply it to the plants or lawns. The main thing here is the equal distribution of solutions to each area.
It is free of all types of contaminants and heavy metals. It does not produce any type of smell so it is safe for indoor plants and pets.
The best thing about this product is the guarantee of the company of the quality product. They remain in touch after on if you need any queries.
6. Espoma UL30 Organic Soil Acidifier Fertilizer
If you are worried about the high pH problems of your garden soil which is badly affecting the growth of every kind of plant growing in it. Then it’s your good luck that you have found this product which is specially produced to correct these problems.
The advantage of this food is that it lowers the pH and as well increases soil fertility because it is also a fertilizer.
It is formulated totally for organic use. If you are organic gardening lower then you should not miss this product because it has all basic foods in one pack.
From the previous user’s review, it is seen that it is best for berries family and hydrangeas. It improves the plant’s growth which will surely improve the fruiting quantity and quality. A healthy plant will have healthy fruits.
It is safer than aluminum sulfate because aluminum deposition causes many problems.
So, we personally recommend you to try this for your strawberries plants. Because strawberry plants are acid-loving plants.
7. Jobe’s Organics 09727 Berry Granular Plant Food
It is the best product formulated by Jobe’s organics containing the microbe Biozome with archae along with organic plant food which will enhance the fertility level of the soil.
These microbes increase the breakdown of nutrients that are already present in the soil but are not available to plants due to less decomposition rate.
If your plants are dying of nutrients then you should apply this food because it is the best one to provide immediate food nutrients to plants.
It has no traces of chemical material in it so it will never harm your plants when applied directly.
It has a good proportion of N.P.K (4-4-3) that matches with the berries’ required nutrient amounts.
The application of this food is simple and can be applied at 4-6 weeks intervals. Due to the organic in nature, it will remain a good source of nutrients for a long-lasting time.
8. Espoma HT18 Holly Tone
It is a fast-acting fertilizer containing both the basic needs of organic gardening. It has organic food along with microbes to make sure that your plants are available with all the basic needs to live.
It is also a product of Espoma and a great choice for acid-loving plants like strawberries in the packing of 18 lbs.
The main advantage of this fertilizer is that your plants get the food nutrients continuously for months due to microbial actions triggered by microbes.
The application of this fertilizer is very easy and less often due to its organic nature. You just need to fertilize your plants with this feed sparingly. One time in early spring when plants make new leaves then after the 1 months interval.
It is a strong fertilizer so, during the application of this fertilizer some care needs to be taken as the fertilizer should not apply or touch the stem and leaves of plants. Watering should be done thoroughly all on the soil where it is applied.
9. Down To Earth 6-Pound Acid Mix
This product is totally an organic feed formulated by using natural ingredients like fish bone meal, cottonseed meal, langbeinite, and kelp meal.
It is purely organic and acidic in nature and supports acid-loving plants i.e strawberries.
According to the previous user’s reviews, the product works so nicely that they love to use this food again and again for strawberries.
The application is also simple and the amount per pack will also be enough for your garden per season. The recommended dose by the manufacturer is 5 lbs per 100 square foot area.
But for the newly established plants, a little more dose is required. The application is done by just mixing it into the soil in early spring to promote vegetative growth and then the fertilization is done at flower formation.
Care needs to be taken according to the instructions on the packing.
This is a complete food for plants so you should apply any other plant food along with this otherwise it will disturb the growth.
Related: Best Fertilizer for hibiscus
Things to do prior to Fertilizing Strawberry Plants
Here, you need to get some information about the growth pattern of berries to improve your plant’s health.
Firstly, you should plant your plants at a place where they could easily avail of 6 hours of sunlight. These plants grow best in organic matter rich in nutrients.
The watering of berries plants is quite worthy of things to keep them alive because they don’t like wet soil all the time. So, you need to water them regularly according to soil moisture status.
You need to make sure that there are no weeds growing along with strawberries. Also, keep an eye open to note that if there are any pest or pathogen attacks that happen.
The soil-borne pathogen attack can be minimized by covering the soil with straw mulch which will retard the entering of any pathogen host. If any sign is found just remove the mulch material.
The important thing before deciding the place in the garden is to ensure that the place should not be used previously for growing potatoes and raspberries.
Because the soil can be a carrier of those crop’s pathogens.
How Many Strawberry Plants Do You Need?
It is generally believed that 6-7 plants can produce enough strawberries for an individual if you manage their plantation, care, and care accordingly. If a family has a 5-6 person then you need to procure at least 30 to 35 plants. That will produce enough fresh fruits for a single family.
If you want to preserve the strawberry for jam or other purposes then you can increase plant number.
How to Fertilize Strawberry Plants?
Nitrogen is needed for strawberry plants in a huge amount at two times in its growing period i.e in early spring and then in late fall. Because they start to produce berries in these months.
If you prepare the soil well with manure and organic then your plants will need less amount of fertilizer in the future.
The basic amount of nutrients needed by strawberries is 10-10-10 proportion and if growing organically then this number may vary.
If you are doing 10-10-10 fertilizer then you should apply 1 pound of fertilizer per 20 strawberries just after one month of the plantation.
If the berries are more than one year old then fertilize them once a year after fruit harvest.
Try not to add the fertilizer to June bearers in early spring, it will soften your fruits and increase the risk of an attack of diseases.
In either case, try to mix the fertilizer in the soil thoroughly and properly irrigate it.
And if you are doing organic farming then add the aged manure as a nutrient source. Because fresh manure can be a source of termites.
Other organic foods for strawberries are fish meal, alfalfa meal soy meal, and blood meal. All of these meals increase the soil nitrogen level.
Granules
Fertilizers of granular from being applied to the soil by the broadcast method and then mix them completely into the soil.
The mixing should be finely done so that the plant’s roots easily get access to the nutrients.
Watering is the main thing to do when fertilizer is applied in granular form.
Liquid
If the fertilizer is in the form of liquid then you should make the solution according to the directions given on packing.
The solution concentration should be according to the directions otherwise it will burn the leaves of the plant. The main benefit of liquid fertilizer is time-saving because you can apply the fertilizer with the help of garden electric sprayers easily in a little time.
When to Fertilize Strawberry Plants?
If you want to get a good yield from your plants then you should keep nutrients available to the plant roots always. To attain this you have to fertilize the soil at different times in a year.
Strawberry plants love to grow in loamy soil. If the soil type of your garden is clayey then add some sand into it, because the right soil will keep the nutrients available to plant roots all the time otherwise the nutrients will leach down.
Fertilization should be done before the plantation so that the plant gets readily available nutrients the second it is transplanted to the soil.
The fertilization time varies from type to type, as each type has its own vegetative and reproductive stage which is briefly discussed in the types of strawberry plants section.
Types of strawberry plants according to fruiting time
Before plantation, you should decide the type of strawberry because every type has its own fruiting time and fruit quality. These are the types:
June-bearing
This is the most popular variety as commercially grown by big farmers. They produce a huge amount of fruits in the two to three weeks duration.
It produces one fruit per year in the month of June. It is the same variety which you mostly buy from the stores.
The fertilization of these plants is done after the last harvest to prepare for next year.
Ever-bearers
These types produce the fruitings two times per year, at the beginning of the year and then in early fall. The fruit size is smaller than June bearers.
Fertilization of these types of plants is done after the harvesting. Here the care is needed to be taken to not over-fertilize the plants to get the larger size berries. Because this will harm your plants.
Day-neutral
It is typically a variety of indoor growing plants. It produces very much less yield than June bearers and of small size.
The only benefit of this variety is that you can get a handful of fruit daily or two days intervals.
The fertilization is done in the months of June, July, and August.
Conclusion
Choosing the best fertilizer for the strawberries has not always been easy work. The right fertilizer will enhance the plant’s health and help to produce delicious fruits.
You should know the present soil status where strawberries are growing while deciding the fertilizer because every fertilizer has its own merits.
Some are easier to apply but some work great. Some need mixing to soil but some are sprayed.
The right fertilizer at the right time will obviously support the growth of plants and produce a huge load of berry fruits. So when you are deciding the best fertilizer for strawberries keep these things in mind.
