Locating a Good Garden Site – Light : The garden needs at least 8 hours of sunlight each day. Avoid sites with tall trees or buildings to their south due to the low angle of the sun in the winter. Soil : The garden must have well-drained soil. If the site has poor soil quality, adding compost will improve soil structure and nutrient availability. 
Raised beds can keep the soil dry and easy to access Space : A single bed measuring 3 feet by 15 feet can contain 30 plants. Be sure to include room for pathways to walk and work around the beds. If a school has limited space, strawberries grow well in many different types of containers.
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What are the best strawberries to grow in NC?
Great time to plant strawberries | Sampson Independent I have always enjoyed spending time in the spring at a you-pick strawberry farm. I love picking, tasting, and filling my bucket with these spring time delightful fruits. If you enjoy picking, or more importantly eating strawberries, then why not plant some in your own garden, or grow them in containers on your property? They are easy to grow and October is a great time to purchase plants and get them started in your landscape.
- Strawberries are a perennial plant, meaning an individual strawberry plant will survive the winter and last for many years.
- They should be planted in a spot in the garden that has good soil that is well drained.
- Find a spot that received full sun and mark this as your strawberry bed.
- When buying strawberry plants from a store, they will usually be in either small pots or flats, or they will be sold as bare root plants.
Bare root literally means that you will buy a bundle of plants, usually 25, that are nothing but roots, stems, and leaves. There will be no soil packed around the roots, but they will likely be packed in moist straw or newspaper. Many varieties of strawberry plants are available: the ones that are best for homeowners in North Carolina are Allstar, Chandler, Earliglow and Sweet Charlie.
- Avoid purchasing other varieties of berries that are not suited for our hardiness zone.
- Plant the strawberry plants in a straight row, with each plant spaced one foot apart from the next.
- Therefore, if you have 25 plants, you will need 25 feet of row space.
- If you plant the strawberry plants in a small square or patch, the plants in the center will not get enough sun to produce good fruit.
After the strawberry plants have been planted, they will begin to develop runners. Runners are stems that grow sideways rather than upright, and as they spread, new plantlets, or daughter plants, will form from each main plant, or mother plant. Over the course of the summer, your row of plants will fill in and become a thick row of strawberry leaves.
Try to keep the rows less than 18 inches wide, by placing the runners within that area as they grow. During the first year after planting, you want to encourage as much vegetative growth as possible, therefore pick off any flowers that form. This will mean that you will not have fruit during the first year, but will have a much greater number of berries in following years.
For homeowners, it is usually sufficient to control weeds by pulling, hoeing, or lightly mulching with straw. Herbicides should not be necessary, but some method of weed control is necessary to establish strong healthy plants. Test your soil before planting, and follow fertilizer recommendations.
If no soil test was taken, apply one pound of 10-10-10 per 25 feet of row before planting or one teaspoon per plant. In early spring, it may be necessary to protect the flowers and young fruit from frost and temperatures below 31 degrees Fahrenheit. This can be accomplished by covering the rows with a row cover that weighs one to one and a half ounce per yard.
If you decide to use plastic, make sure the plastic does not touch the strawberry plants and burn the foliage. For more information on growing strawberries in the home garden, contact the Extension Volunteer Master Gardener Clinic at 910-592-7161. : Great time to plant strawberries | Sampson Independent
Where are strawberries grown in NC?
The majority of the strawberries produced in North Carolina are grown in an annual hill plasticulture system (called ‘plasticulture’) with less than 100 acres of the matted row system in the foothills and mountains of North Carolina.
What is the strawberry capital of NC?
Chadbourn, NC is located at the intersection of US Highway 74/76 and Highway 410. It is approximately 54 miles west of Wilmington, NC. Only 10 miles from the SC state line, Chadbourn is about a 50-minute drive to World Famous Myrtle Beach. In the early 1900s, Chadbourn was nicknamed “The Sunny South Colony “. 
The Strawberry Festival has been the largest agricultural festival in the state for many years now. Chadbourn’s current population is approximately 2000, with half living in the city limits and half living outside the city limits. Each year, The NC Strawberry Festival draws about 6,000 participants from all over the country
Can you eat wild strawberries in North Carolina?
Can you eat the tiny wild strawberries? – Yes, you can eat the tiny wild strawberries! They may be smaller than regular cultivated berries, but they are just as flavorful and nutritious. Additionally, their small size makes them ideal for snacking on or adding a sweet flavor to salads or other dishes.
What kind of fruit grows in North Carolina?
Western North Carolina – The elevation in the NC foothills and mountains ranges from 1,000 to 6,684 feet. The soils consist of eroded, rocky materials, with rocks on the surface. Like the subsoil in the NC piedmont, much of the subsoil in the NC foothills and mountains has high clay content.