>>2657435depending where you live you may need to take other precautions at certain times of the year. zone >7 you may want to utilize shade cloth over the plants in the peak of summer to prevent heat stress. zone <7 in the winter you'll want to cover the plants with a thick layer of mulch again to protect them. pic related is the result of minimal everything from using cruddy topsoil and only a little bit of fertilizer. still got adequate results. and with good care and optimal conditions your results will be better.
after four-five years the original plants will die off and best practices dictate starting another patch in a different location that hasn't grown strawberries in several seasons to prevent disease. best to start the second patch in year three of the first patch so you can have an uninterrupted crop each year. you can fill solo cups with drainage holes in the bottoms with peat moss and with a U-shaped piece of wire to hold a runner down onto the peat moss. the runner will develop over a couple months until it can be separated from the mother plant and transplanted into the new patch.
anyone with other tips feel free to pick my advice apart if you see anything wrong but this has been my experience with growing strawberries.
