Strawberries in the home garden

Department of Horticultural Science Horticulture Information Leaflet 8205 Revised 12/96 — Author Reviewed 12/96 STRAWBERRIES IN THE HOME GARDEN E. B. Poling, Extension Horticultural Specialist Introduction Strawberries can be grown anywhere in North Carolina. They are the first fruit to ripen in the spring, and no other small fruit produces berries as soon after planting as strawberries. In proportion to the size of the plant, strawberries are very productive. If 25 plants are set in the garden, these original plants and the resulting runner plants would produce a total of 25 quarts. Nutritionists rate strawberries as an excellent source of Vitamin C; ten large berries provide 60 milligrams of Vitamin C or 133% of the Recommended Daily Allowance. A single cupful of berries has only 55 calories, comparable to a thin slice of bread or half a cup of whole milk. Strawberries are low in sodium and contain measurable quantities of ellagic acid, which has inhibiting effects on chemically induced cancer in laboratory studies. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating. Origin The modem garden strawberry, Fragaria cinanassa (Fra-gah-ree-a an-a-nas-a), is derived from 2 native American strawberries, the Virginia “scarlet” strawberry, (F. virginiana ), and the Chilean strawberry, (F. chiloensis), which is found on the Pacific Coast from Alaska to Chile. Early explorers to the New World collected both of these wild strawberries, and chance crosses between the two species in gardens in England and Europe in the middle eighteenth century resulted in a hybrid strawberry, F. cinanassa, first called the “Pineapple” strawberry by Dutch horticulturists. The new hybrids combined the size and firmness of the Chilean strawberry and the high productivity, flavor and disease resistance of the Virginian strawberry that is native also to North Carolina. Wild strawberry species are more diminutive than the modern garden strawberry, and they are not cultivated in the United States, but in countries such as France it is not unusual to see “fraises des bois”, or wild strawberries, in open air markets, bakeries and restaurants. The Alpine strawberry, F. vescasempervirens, a sub-species of F. vesca that originated in the mountains of Italy, is cultivated in Europe and America for its “gourmet” fruits. The Alpines make attractive edging plants, having masses of small white flowers that bear fruits continuously or in flushes, depending on growing region. Growth Cycle Growth in our common garden strawberries is affected greatly by temperature and length of the daylight period. In new plantings, runner production occurs during the long days and warm temperatures of summer (Figure 1 ). Then, in the short, cool days of fall, runnering stops and flower buds form North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE & LIFE SCIENCES