How to fertilise strawberries for a bigger harvest

When do strawberries actually need feeding?

A strawberry plant has two jobs and does them in order. First it builds: crown, leaves, roots and runners. Then it produces: flowers, then fruit. Most disappointing strawberry patches come from feeding one phase and forgetting the other, usually a leafy feed poured on all season, which gives plenty of green and not much red.

In most of Australia the building phase runs through late winter and early spring, with first flowers from roughly September onward depending on how warm your patch is. From there the plant keeps cycling: flower, fruit, rest a fortnight, flower again. That is why feeding does not stop at the first harvest.

Grow or bloom: which feed, and when?

What the plant is doing	Feed	Rate	How often
Newly planted runners or crowns	Grow, half strength	1.25 mL per litre	Weekly for the first 3 to 4 weeks
Leafy growth, no flowers yet	Grow	2.5 mL per litre	Every 1 to 2 weeks
First flowers open	Switch to bloom	2.5 mL per litre	Every 1 to 2 weeks
Fruiting and picking	Bloom	2.5 mL per litre	Every 1 to 2 weeks
After a flush, plant resting	Bloom, keep going	2.5 mL per litre	Every 2 weeks

Medigrow handles the building phase, nitrogen-led and aimed at leaves, roots and structure. Medibud takes over at first flower, phosphorus and potassium-led, which is what flowers and fruit run on. That switch is the single biggest lever you have over the harvest, and the timing is covered in our guide on when to switch from grow to bloom.

How do you apply it to strawberries?

One mix, two methods. Spray it on the leaves or water it in at the roots, 2.5 mL per litre either way. For strawberries a mix of both works well: water in at the roots for the main feed, with the occasional early morning foliar spray when the plants look tired.

Avoid soaking ripening fruit when you spray, and let the foliage dry before anyone reaches in for a taste test. A full 9 L can at about 22 mL will do a decent bed or a row of ten to twelve pots. On a 5 L bottle that is roughly 45c a feed, or about 38c on the 5 L bundle at $169, a $29 saving.

Why are my strawberries small, or not sweet?

Size and flavour come from several things working together, and feeding is only one of them.

• Sun. Six hours minimum. A shaded patch gives small, pale, sour fruit no matter how well you feed it.
• Even water. Swinging between bone dry and sodden gives misshapen, undersized berries. Steady moisture under mulch is the goal.
• The right feed at the right time. Too much nitrogen once flowering starts pushes leaf at the expense of fruit. The most common cause, and the easiest to fix.
• Plant age. Plants slow after two or three seasons. Keep the strongest runners as replacements and retire the tired parents.

Pollination matters too, since each berry is the result of many individual flowers being visited. If fruit is consistently lopsided, plant something flowering nearby to bring the bees in. If you suspect pests or a leaf problem rather than a nutrition one, your local nursery is the right call.

Strawberries in pots and hanging baskets

Potted strawberries run out faster than ones in the ground, because every watering flushes a little out the bottom. Treat the fortnightly feed as a minimum, and through summer lean toward weekly at the same 2.5 mL per litre rather than mixing it stronger. Strength burns, frequency feeds.

Hanging baskets are the hungriest of the lot, and the one place a quick foliar spray between root feeds really earns its keep.

Common questions

Should I keep feeding after the first harvest?

Yes. A strawberry plant fruits in waves, and the second and third flushes come from the energy it is taking in now. Stay on the bloom feed every 1 to 2 weeks until the plant genuinely stops flowering.

Can I use the same feed on the rest of the veggie patch?

You can, at the same rate, which is rather the point of them. The spring garden feeding checklist maps out which beds want which feed, and the tomato feeding guide covers the other classic grow-to-bloom plant.

Is it safe with kids picking berries?

The formulas are mineral-based, with no blood and bone, fish meal or manure, so there is no food smell to attract pets to the patch. Safe around kids and pets when used as directed. Let the foliage dry after spraying, and give picked fruit a rinse as you would anyway.

Both bottles are made and shipped in Australia, from formulas trusted by Australian farmers for 25 years and refined for home gardens. Free shipping over $149, free express over $249, and a 30-Day Growers Guarantee: no results, reply to your order email for a refund.