How to Get Your Strawberry Plants Bursting with Berries This Season

Nothing beats the taste of a sun-warmed strawberry straight from the garden. If you’ve just picked up your strawberry plants (2 for $7.50 at Kererū Gardens, wink wink), now’s the time to give them the best start so you’re harvesting bowls of sweet, juicy fruit this season.

And here’s the secret sauce: it all starts with your soil.

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Know Your Soil, Love Your Strawberries 

The Bay of Plenty is a gardening paradise, but wow — we’ve got a wild mix of soil types. The soil under your feet will tell you how to care for your strawberry plant babies:

• Mount Maunganui & parts of Papamoa – Sandy soils
  Sandy soil drains super fast (sometimes too fast!). Your strawberries will need plenty of organic matter like compost or pea straw to help retain moisture and nutrients. Mulching is your best friend here!

• Welcome Bay & Bureta – Rich, fertile soils
  Lucky you! These soils are naturally kind to strawberries. Still, don’t skip on adding compost — it keeps the nutrients topped up for a long and fruitful season.

• Newer subdivisions – Clay-heavy soils
  Clay can be tricky. It holds onto water and can cause soggy roots (which strawberries hate). The fix? Plant into raised beds or large pots with free-draining mix, and add gypsum to help break down that clay over time.

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Planting Tips for Strawberries in the Bay

• Choose a sunny, sheltered spot – strawberries love the warmth.

• Space plants about 30cm apart to let them breathe and spread.

• Mulch around plants to keep fruit clean, conserve moisture, and stop pesky weeds.

• Water regularly, especially as flowers and fruit set — but keep the crown of the plant dry to avoid rot.

• Feed with a potassium-rich fertiliser to boost flowering and fruiting (tomato food works great!).

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When to Expect the Fruit

Plant now and your strawberries will reward you with delicious berries from November right through summer. With good care, you’ll have enough for smoothies, desserts, and those “one for me, one for the bowl” snack sessions in the garden.

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Ready, Set, Strawberry!

No matter your soil type, you can enjoy a bumper crop of strawberries this season with the right prep. Start with healthy plants, understand your soil, and give them the love they deserve. Then sit back, relax, and get ready for strawberry season in the Bay!

 

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