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 Nitrogen deficiency in strawberry plants can cause rather significant problems for the longevity and vitality of strawberry patch. If your soil is low in nitrogen, you can expect consequences. This post will cover the basics of what to look for to determine whether or not your strawberries lack sufficient nitrogen-containing soil for optimal health and vigor.
What Indicates Nitrogen Deficiency in Strawberries?
In order to confirm nitrogen deficiency in strawberry plants, one ultimately must take a few tissue samples from affected leaflets that are “middle aged.” The leaflets that must be sampled cannot be the old ones toward the bottom of the plant or the new, bright green ones emerging from the crown.
Once samples are collected, they must be tested for average composition. The baseline measurement for nitrogen sufficiency is 2.6% to 2.8%. Should the measured percent composition of nitrogen be below 2.6% for the tested sample, it is very likely that the soil is nitrogen deficient, resulting in less-than-acceptable levels of nitrogen in the foliage tissue of the strawberry plants.
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 New research is being done that could merge forever the delightful and humble strawberry with the diets of individuals beset by diabetes. Studies are being done on mice at the Salk Institute which are examining the effects of fisetin, a naturally-occuring flavonoid in strawberries, on diabetes and other conditions. Investigators at the Salk Institute’s Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory (CNL) are discovering that this compound can protect the organs most commonly damaged by diabetes. Additionally, early data show that neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s might also be positively affected by fisetin.
For the entire story, see this article. To learn more about the amazing strawberry plant, simply search this site for the specific area that interests you (here’s how). There are quite a few Medicinal Uses of the Strawberry Plant, many useful Compounds in Strawberry Plants, and promising evidence that strawberries may help prevent cancer. It is no wonder that the strawberry compound fisetin could help diabetics!
Continue reading Strawberry Compound Fisetin Could Help Diabetics
 Strawberry plants have now joined an elite group of plants that include grapes, rice, and soy. What do these plants have in common? They have all had their genome completely mapped. The strawberry species that has been sequenced is Fragaria vesca, the woodland strawberry (also known as the Alpine Strawberry, one of the “wild” strawberry varieties). The strawberry plant genome is what determines the life cycle of the strawberry plant, how many strawberries it will produce, and everything else about it. It is the life code that is passed from generation to generation of strawberries through either the strawberry runners or the strawberry seeds.
With the Strawberry Plant Genome Sequenced…
With the strawberry plant genome sequenced in a collaborative effort involving 75 researchers from 38 research institutes, new research is expected to yield breakthroughs in multiple areas. Through more detailed study of strawberry genetics, it is hoped that the metabolic pathways of ripening will now be better understood. Also, enzymatic activity in the production of aromatic compounds in strawberries and other related species will be better understood.
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 People love strawberries. Gardeners who are new to growing strawberries often start out with dreams of bushels of berries and end up with virtually no harvest at all. One of the common causes of this undesirable phenomenon is overzealous fertilization by well-intentioned budding horticulturalists!
Don’t Over-Fertilize Healthy Strawberry Plants
When strawberry plants have access to seemingly unlimited resources, they tend to get fat and happy. Just like a 500 pound behemoth of a sloth who has millions of calories within reach of his armchair won’t go out of his way to be productive, strawberry plants who sit in an environment saturated with high concentrations nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus think good times are here to stay. So, they don’t produce much of harvest. They will devote their production to vegetative output. While it is true that strawberry plants have many medicinal uses and useful compounds, most people would prefer the simple delight of the strawberries themselves.
Continue reading Healthy Strawberry Plants, No Strawberries
 Most people who raise strawberries do not start them from seed. They buy strawberry plants from a local nursery or a mail-order nursery. They then receive, most often, dormant strawberry crowns that they quickly plant in their prepared beds, water them, and watch as the dormant strawberries spring forth into new life.
However, there are brave souls out there that want to begin the life cycle of their strawberries by germinating strawberry seeds and then coaxing the tiny seedlings to grow until they are ready to transplant. With all the TLC given to the tiny plants, it would be a shame to make a mortal mistake for them when they are finally sturdy enough to make the transition to the outside.
This post will help you successfully transplant strawberry plants that you have germinated. It is best to know what TO do and what NOT to do before risking potential damage or death to your fledgling shoots!
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 With the number of chemicals, pesticides, and other unnatural residues found on and in our food these days, many people are turning to growing their own edibles. Since there are often significant quality improvements gained from home-growing food, this is often a great thing for both sustainability and the health of the growers (see this link for 10 Reasons You Should Grow Your Own Strawberries). With the trend being toward more gardening, even those with less space are beginning to venture into the realm of produce production.
One of the challenges of growing food for the freshly-minted green thumb is deciding on space. Most rural or semi-rural folks simply dig a hole, put seeds or strawberry plants into the hole, and let the plants do their thing. Even city slickers often will have a usable section of their yard or space to build a raised-bed garden. Urban dwellers can often find an area for a community garden. But, particularly for those living in urban areas, space-utilizing tools are often employed to grow food in areas of contained soil. Usually, pots on a window sill or porch are used.
However, there is a new kid in town: the Topsy Turvy. There is also the Topsy Turvy Strawberry Planter, which is slightly better suited for strawberries. This post is a discussion of the pros and cons of growing topsy turvy strawberries.
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 Thrips and strawberry plants simply don’t go well together. Thrips are one of the devastating strawberry pests that afflict strawberry plantings and enrage gardeners. If you are having difficulties with “something” damaging your strawberries, it just might be this common pest.
To most clearly communicate the nature of strawberry thrips and information regarding these insects, a question and answer format will be used. For additional information on both strawberry pests and strawberry diseases, use the search function at the top right of Strawberry Plants .org.
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 Strawberries are jam-packed (no pun intended) with wholesome nutrients. A serving of whole strawberries is generally considered to be one cup (see here for strawberry conversions). A cup of fresh strawberries will vary by weight depending on the size and specific variety of strawberry that is consumed. Also, strawberry nutrition can be affected by the quality of the soil and care given to the plants as they produced. In general, however, the following table will provide an accurate representation of the vitamins, minerals, and other components within a serving of strawberries. These strawberry nutrition facts will help you realize just how beneficial strawberries are in one’s diet!
Strawberry Nutrition Facts
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It’s STRAWBERRY ORDERING TIME! People all over are in full strawberry-buying mode. Strawberries are the first crop to come in after a long, cold winter. They are planted as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring, and the following year they burst forth and produce a blessed harvest, often while [...]
 Millions of people have allergies. The range of allergic reactions to different allergens varies depending on the magnitude of the sensitivity and the type of reaction elicited. Unfortunately, many people are allergic to strawberries. I know what you are thinking: having strawberry allergies might just be a fate worse than death. Of course, that is an exaggeration, but just think of a life devoid of the wonders of strawberries.
This post discusses the main aspects of strawberry allergies. These include what causes the strawberry allergy, the different types of common reactions, and a possible method of getting around a strawberry allergy so that the delicious morsels can be enjoyed!
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 If you have ventured over to the Strawberry Varieties page and seen the extensive list of strawberry cultivars presented there, you may have thought to yourself, “Just how many strawberry species are there out there?” Good question. When it comes to identifying strawberries, strawberry plant taxonomy comes into play (for introductory information, view the Strawberry Plant page). And, to identify strawberry plant species diversity these days, genetics plays a big role.
One important consideration to keep in mind is that there is a fairly big difference between species and cultivars. Species have a degree of genetic variation that sets them apart from their counterparts while cultivars are identifiable plants expressing genetic diversity within a species (or hybridization). So, how many strawberry species are there?
Continue reading How Many Strawberry Species Are There?
 Strawberry plants have a very unique diversity when it comes to their genetic makeup. The genetics of most things are relatively complex, but the genetics of strawberry plants throw an additional twist into the mix. Strawberry plant species have varying numbers of chromosomes (see the Strawberry Plant page for introductory information).
Most species are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, one set of chromosomes is normally inherited from each parent. Polyploidy, a condition more common in plants, occurs when multiple pairs of chromosomes are present in the genetic component of an organism. Strawberry species and hybrids can be diploid, tetraploid, pentaploid, hexaploid, heptaploid, octoploid, or decaploid (having 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10 sets of the seven strawberry chromosomes, respectively).
Use the sortable table below to see a list of the polyploid genetics of strawberry plants. The various major species of strawberries are listed, along with their genetic makeup and informational notes. For more information, see the Strawberry Varieties page.
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 0021 : Strawberry Plants Library
This is an entry in the Strawberry Plants Library here at Strawberry Plants .org. Continue reading for summarized information. The entire resource may be accessed or downloaded by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.
Continue reading Species of Strawberry Plants
 Strawberry plants are a wonderful forb. Their life cycle is much more complicated than the simple appearance of the humble strawberry plant implies. The growth cycle of strawberry plants spans the entire year and repeats annually. The life cycle of strawberry plants begins either from seed or from runner plants, and continues until senescence. This post is an overview of the life of a strawberry plant from germination until withered, brown leaves signify the passage from life unto death.
The Growth Cycle of Strawberry Plants
As with any cyclical scenario, it is difficult to choose a starting point (which came first, the chicken or the egg?). For the purposes of describing the life cycle of strawberry plants, a dual starting point will be considered as a sprouted strawberry seedling and a new strawberry runner. While both of these starting points require the existence prior life, a discussion of the origins of life is outside the purview of this article.
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 0019 : Strawberry Plants Library
This is an entry in the Strawberry Plants Library here at Strawberry Plants .org. Continue reading for summarized information. The entire resource may be accessed or downloaded by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.
Continue reading Strawberry Plant Diseases
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