How to Grow Strawberries in a Raised Bed – UK Guide

There is no comparison between a sun-warmed strawberry picked straight from the garden and a refrigerated supermarket punnet. The flavour difference is so dramatic that growing your own strawberries is one of the most convincing arguments for a kitchen garden – and unlike many crops, strawberries are genuinely simple to grow, produce fruit from an early stage of plant development and work as well in containers and hanging baskets as they do in raised beds or open ground.

The key to consistent strawberry harvests in a UK garden is variety selection and plant renewal. Each plant peaks in its second or third year and then declines. A rolling programme of replacing older plants with new runners keeps the bed producing at its best year after year.

Best strawberry varieties for UK gardens

Planting correctly

Strawberries can be planted in late summer (August-September) for harvesting the following year, or in early spring (March-April) for a smaller first-year crop. Late summer planting gives plants time to establish before winter and generally produces better first-year results. Plant in well-drained, fertile soil in full sun – strawberries need at least 6 hours of direct sun daily to produce sweet fruit.

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   Prepare the bed with generous compostDig in well-rotted compost or manure before planting. Strawberries are heavy feeders and performance in poor soil is disappointing. Raised beds are ideal – the improved drainage and warmer soil conditions suit strawberries well.
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   Plant with the crown at soil levelThe crown – the point where leaves emerge – must sit exactly at soil level. Too deep and the crown rots. Too shallow and roots dry out. Plant at 30-40cm spacing with rows 75cm apart for open-ground beds.
3. 3
   Water in well and mulchWater thoroughly after planting and apply a straw mulch around the plants. The mulch keeps fruit clean and dry, retains moisture and helps prevent slug damage on developing fruit.

Care and feeding

• Feed in early spring with a high-potash fertiliser – apply a high-potash feed (tomato fertiliser works well) in March as growth resumes. This promotes flower and fruit development rather than excessive leaf growth.
• Water consistently through fruiting period – inconsistent watering during fruiting causes small, misshapen or flavourless fruit. Maintain consistent moisture from flower to harvest.
• Straw around developing fruit – tuck straw around plants as fruit begins to swell to keep it off the soil and reduce grey mould (botrytis) risk.
• Net against birds – birds, particularly blackbirds, will strip a strawberry bed in a morning. Fine netting supported on hoops is essential once fruit begins to colour.
• Cut back foliage after fruiting – once fruiting is complete, cut the foliage back to 10cm above the crown with shears or scissors. This removes old leaves that harbour disease and allows fresh growth to develop before winter.

Managing runners

Strawberry plants produce long horizontal stems called runners throughout summer, each with a small plantlet at the tip. These runners use the parent plant’s energy and should be removed promptly if you want maximum fruit production from existing plants. However they are also the free and easy way to propagate new plants for the following season.

In July and August, select the strongest runners from your best-performing plants and peg the plantlet end into a small pot of compost sunk into the ground beside the parent. Roots develop within 3-4 weeks. Once rooted, sever from the parent and grow on in the pot until autumn planting. This produces free replacement plants from the best individuals in your bed – always propagate from your most productive plants, never from weak ones.

Harvesting and storage

Pick strawberries when fully red all over – the flavour develops dramatically in the final days of ripening. Pick with the stalk attached by snapping rather than pulling. Ripe strawberries deteriorate rapidly at room temperature – refrigerate immediately and eat within 1-2 days for best flavour. Strawberries freeze well: lay on a tray to freeze individually then bag – they lose texture when thawed but retain flavour for smoothies and jam.

Common problems

Strawberries are one of the most satisfying crops a UK gardener can grow – the combination of reliability, productivity, ease of container growing and incomparable flavour makes them a fixture in any kitchen garden. Plant in late summer, feed in spring and net against birds and you will have fruit from June right through to October with the right variety mix. For more on growing fruit in UK gardens read our guide on how to grow raspberries UK and how to grow gooseberries UK.