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I understand that you are desperate for your strawberries to grow faster. Or, you want to know about the tips and ideas about growing strawberries.
Here is everything you need to know about growing strawberries.
In this article, we will be discussing how long does it take for strawberries to grow. We will also give some gardening tips on how to speed up your strawberry growth.
Table of Contents
Strawberry meaning
Did you know that strawberries are not barriers but accessory fruits?
Strawberries are considered a member of the rose family which gives a sweet berry fragrance. They are the only fruit that contains their seeds on the outside.
Strawberries can be seen ripening first every spring. They contain high levels of antioxidants and vitamins which lower your blood pressure, improve your cholesterol level, and also guard against cancer.
They are typically three types – June-bearing, overbearing, and day-neutral.
China produces about 3 million strawberries every year. They are mostly used for the production of jams, jellies, and desserts.
How long does it take for strawberries to grow?
Throughout the internet, there are different answers about the time for strawberries to grow. On average, strawberry plants of any species takes about 104.6 days to produce flowers. Then, an additional of about 51.79 days to produce strawberry fruit. So, in total strawberry takes about 156.39 days to grow after seeding.
This data about the growth of strawberries is just an approximate value and can depend on various factors like environment, soil, seed, plant’s health, and others.
Also, this research was conducted by Amit Kumar in South Kashmir. So, there may be a slight difference in the strawberries you grow depending on the region you live in.
(Click here to view the full report of the research)
Another commonly asked question regarding the growth of strawberries is “How long does it take for strawberries to grow indoor?”
Yes, you heard it correctly. Strawberries can also be grown indoors. You need to make sure that the strawberry plant gets 6 hours of minimum direct sunlight and you can expect the plant to yield strawberries by 5-6 weeks.
So, if you planning to grow strawberries, you need to have patience. You need to wait for about 156.39 days to observe the fruit grow from seeding.
How can I speed up my strawberry growth?
Is your strawberry plant growing slowly? Here are some of the tips you can use to speed up strawberry growth:
- Instead of growing strawberries from seed, try growing from snipped runners or simply, baby strawberry plants.
- Avoid too little or too much watering and fertilization. Both can drastically affect the growth of strawberries.
- Try mixing black mulch film with the soil before plantation. This will keep away unwanted weeds to grow.
“How far apart do strawberries need to be planted?”
Well to answer that, you need to space your strawberries by at least 8 inches. Else, this might also cause the strawberry to grow slower.
How to extend the strawberry growing season?
Are strawberries hard to grow?
Yes, they are. But once you grow them, they are perennial, meaning they can grow every year.
Many strawberry farmers are forced to face the challenges of harsh climate conditions, growing competition in strawberry productions, decreased soil quality, less land availability, and other environmental factors.
To overcome these challenges, farmers need to maximize their production. This can be done by extending the harvesting period of strawberries.
The following tips can be followed to extend the strawberry growing season:
- Try the day-neutral variety instead of June-bearing as they are very important for extending the harvest period.
- Use proper planting materials like Frigo plants, tray plants, fresh plants, and some waiting beds for increased production of strawberries.
- Update to modern technologies like artificial lights, forcing culture, and light-proof coverings for controlling the effect of climate change.
- Implement protection systems of high tunnels or low tunnels to control the disease in the strawberries and continue harvesting continuously.
So, implementing modern technologies, protection systems, forcing culture, and proper planting material can extend your harvesting period.
Strawberry plant stages
Just like humans have different age periods in their life, strawberries also have different stages for growing.
Let’s see what are the strawberry plant stages:
Stage 1: Seed Germination
Did you know a strawberry contains about 200 seeds?
There are different ways of germinating strawberries. You can start from the seed itself, or bare-root strawberries, or runners.
For seed, you need to provide about 10-30 degrees of temperature with enough light for germination.
As strawberries require a cool place to grow, you can sow the seeds between December and early February.
Stage 2: Vegetative Growth
At this stage, the strawberry plant absorbs energy for the next stage of its life. It is very necessary to provide a good amount of fertilizers, water, and others from which the plant can gain energy.
A strawberry plant produces flowers after 104.6 days of sowing, depending on the seed quality and type. You can observe small daughter plants or runners in the plant which grows before the weather became too cold.
Like said earlier, there should be about 6-8 inches of space between the strawberry plants. This will help the plant at this stage get enough nutrients.
Also, make sure that there are no older, woody stems near the plant. You need to make room for the new plant to grow.
Stage 3: Flowering and pollination
In this stage of strawberry, the flower starts to grow for pollination. The better the pollination occurs, the better the fruit develops. So, you should provide good conditions for the plant to pollinate.
Once the plant bear flower, we can observe the fruit within 4 weeks. During this stage, note that you should make the environment cool for the plant.
Stage 4: Fruiting
This is the final stage of the strawberry plant life cycle. Strawberry fruits become ready to harvest at the beginning of spring.
About 4 weeks are needed for the plant to develop fruit from flower and another 3 weeks are needed for the fruit to ripe. So, on average strawberry fruits fully grows after 51.79 days of vegetative growth.
Once the strawberries are fully grown, pick the strawberry and store them in a cold place.
Can you get strawberries in the first year?
Strawberries are perennial plants. It means that the fruit grows every year.
But, if you are expecting fruits to grow in the first year of seeding, your expectation is totally wrong. It depends on the type of seeds or the way you have grown the plant.
What you need to know about growing strawberries is that the production of the fruit fluctuates after 2-3 years. So, for consistent production, you need to consider moving the strawberry beds.
How long does the strawberry plant last?
The plant can leave for more than 5 years if proper farming is done. They will continue to give the fruits every year but the harvesting decreases after 2-3 years.
Strawberry plants are prone to fungi, bacteria, mold, and viruses. They are easily affected by diseases leaf scorch, crown rot, root rot, leaf blight, and verticillium wilt.
These problems are especially seen during the rainy and cloudy seasons which can even result in the destruction of the entire plant. So, you should be extra careful while growing a strawberry plant if you want to maximize the production for the long run.
Conclusion
Strawberries are the first seen fruits in spring and can be added to a variety of foods like jam, dessert, or jellies.
“How long does it take for strawberries to grow?” is a common question by any strawberry cultivator.
You need to understand that the growth of any plant depends on various factors. On average, a strawberry plant needs 104.6 days to fully grow. For the fruit to ripe from the flower, it takes about 51.79 days on average.
If you are planning to grow strawberries indoors, you may consider growing some other plants in your kitchen garden. You can check our content on How many inches does a plant grow in a week? to understand the growth of some other plants.
After this article, I hope you are ready to grow some delicious strawberries. Best of luck with that.
Image Credit: Unsplash.com
