There are as many ways of growing strawberries as there are to eating them!
Grow strawberries in a bed, hydroponically, as a ground cover, as an ornamental patio plant, or in a hanging basket.
The best time to purchase strawberry plants is definitely the autumn. You will always be able to find end of season plants at dirt-cheap prices or be able to place an order for new plants ready for delivery in the spring.
In addition, your local nursery may offer wholesale strawberry plants ready packed into bundles containing as few as 25 plants. Nurseries will have limited space and very often they will take orders for wholesale plants on a first-come, first-served basis. Frequently, their stock is depleted long before spring.
Always plant your strawberries in the sunniest spot you can find. Although you can get a harvestable crop with as little as six hours of direct sunlight per day, the largest harvests and best quality berries come from those plants that get the advantage of full sun.
The shallow rooted strawberry plant is poor competition for weeds, shrubs, trees, or other plants. Till a garden bed in the fall to eliminate as many weeds as possible as they will cause problems during the growing season.
Choose a spot away from large trees, which may send roots into your strawberry bed. Also, be sure to locate your strawberry bed away from any spot where you have grown peppers, tomatoes, eggplant or potatoes in th past 2 seasons. These plants can harbor verticillium wilt, which is devastating to strawberries.
Try to use nutrient rich soil and keep it moist but do not overwater or your plants may rot, good drainage is essential.