How to Thin a Strawberry Bed
Garden strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) produce sweet, red berries during the summer months. Strawberries come in different varieties adapted to fit different growing conditions from U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 to 11. The plants spread through runners that take root as new plants. While the runners can increase your strawberry plant population, they also weaken the mother plant. Thinning your strawberry bed strategically increases the health and vitality of the plants, allowing them to produce a large and bountiful berry harvest.
Pinch off the runners that grow from the mother plants during the growing season. This allows the plant to use its energy to develop into a larger plant with large berries. Removing runners also helps thin the strawberry plant population so the bed doesn't become too crowded. Allow one or two runners to grow from a strawberry plant only if you want to grow new plants.
Till down the spaces between your rows of strawberry plants after you finish the harvest for the year. Make the space between 1 and 2 feet wide. The tiller removes some of the plants that grow near the edges, which helps thin your strawberry patch.
Remove older strawberry plants with slowed growth or production after the final harvest. Discard these plants. This makes more room for younger plants to grow vigorously.
Pull other younger plants that appear weak or that fail to grow well. Thin the plants so you leave about 4 to 6 inches between the remaining strawberry plants. If the spacing is fine and none of the younger plants look weak, you don't need to thin the strawberry bed any further.
- If you decide to leave some runners to grow new plants, watch the spacing in the bed. When too many runners grow from the mother plants, it throws off the spacing of the plants.
Based in the Midwest, Shelley Frost has been writing parenting and education articles since 2007. Her experience comes from teaching, tutoring and managing educational after school programs. Frost worked in insurance and software testing before becoming a writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education with a reading endorsement.