How to Build a Wooden Strawberry Bed
Strawberries require a raised growing area to help control soil moisture and nutrient content. Building a wooden strawberry bed helps with soil and plant maintenance and creates easy access to the growing area. The soil in raised beds warms faster in the spring, so you can plant strawberries earlier. Build the raised strawberry bed in the fall season to allow time for the soil to rest. This also gives time for the amendments to incorporate into the soil. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Wooden stakes
- Twine
- Landscape timbers
- Nails
- Hammer
- Metal stakes
- Top soil
- Organic compost
- Soil pH test
- Ground rock sulfur
- Limestone
Instructions
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1
Choose a flat area that receives full sunlight to build the strawberry bed.
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2
Prepare the area by removing the top surface of soil, along with any grass, weeds or debris. Mark an 8 feet by 4 feet strawberry bed outline with stakes and twine.
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3
Dig 4 inches of soil from the marked bed dimension and level the surface. Pour a 2-inch layer of pea gravel into the dug area for a base. Place a weed-prevention cloth over top of the gravel.
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4
Install the landscape timbers around the bed dimension. Secure the timbers at the corners with four nails. Add two more layers of timbers on top of the base layer to create the strawberry bed. Secure the layers and corners with nails.
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5
Pound six to eight metal stakes around the outside perimeter of the bed for support. Place the stakes flush with the bed timbers.
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Fill the strawberry bed with a soil mixture made from three parts high quality topsoil and one-part organic compost.
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Test the soil pH several weeks after completion of the strawberry bed to verify the level is 6.0 to 6.8. Mix in ground rock sulfur to lower the pH or limestone to raise the pH. Follow the package instructions on the amendment for the application rate based on the current pH.
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References
- Photo Credit Michael Blann/Digital Vision/Getty Images
