Valentine’s Day has come and gone and temperatures have been warmer than I have ever seen.  Most strawberry patches I have been in have at least green berries and many are harvesting.  Although this may seem early for some it is probably a good idea to start fertilizing plasticulture berries with around 3.5 pounds of nitrogen per acre per week.

With a crop load beginning early a lack of fertilizer now could have a serious impact on the overall production for the season.  Your soil type will dictate how you fertilize, but on sandier soils it is beneficial to fertilize every time you irrigate.  Spoon feeding the crop will help reduce leaching nutrients out of the effective root zone under the plastic.

I would say that some cold weather and frosts are in our future, but as long as you can protect your crop I feel that you need to also prepare the plants for an early harvest season.

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