and that's the first ripening fruit!

Without a soil test we can't be sure, but it looks like what they need is more nitrogen not K. I'd stop the super phosphate and maybe try a balanced 10-10-10. If you have any nitrogen based foliar spray, you could try that to get a quick answer. Mix according to directions.

Well I usually don't feed them until after harvest of June bearing. Then I fertilize both everbearing and summer. They may need some nitrogen if yellow, or too much or too little water. I have never seen mine yellow. Peppers and tomatoes, yes, strawberries no. So not sure really? I listed the obvious problems that can cause this, but it could be something else. Possible disease process etc,
Since they have fruit, I would add some nitrogen, see what happens.

Thank you both, I don't have a feed, but i do have Bonemeal and the blood powders.

The Soil, is a sandy clay when dry it cracks like clay but when wet it crumbles like a loam soil but at the part close to house is heavy always wet clay.

where the strawberries are, i have never planted anything there before in the 6 years i have lived here never fed the lawn either.

Use the blood, mulch with leaves or even better grass clippings for nitrogen.

will do that tomorrow, when back at mums. why grass? or does it decay faster.

I'm going to be trimming the hedge in the front - I think it's a type of box, it has large plain green leaves and grows tall - would those work too? or should I remove it from the twigs? and mix with the grass give both?

also how do I know when to pick fruit any telling signs like the top green part drying put or something?

Well I was looking for a source of nitrogen that is free. Grass clippings have lot's of nitrogen. You can use leaves too, but they should be shredded to prevent them forming a mat. Air and water need to get through. Regular fertilizer would work too!
Strawberries are fire engine red when ripe. Try one, if too tart, let them stay on longer. Eventually you will figure it out.

How much sun do strawberries require?

Full sun, 6 plus hours, the more the better. At least in your zone (z5).

I have mine planted in full sun even in winter.

Stop the phosphate and give them nitrogen. They look like they could be showing some iron deficiency, but that could be from excessive P interfering with iron uptake. If you could get urea, 46-0-0, give them that. Otherwise use one with the largest first number and smallest second number you can find.

hello!

I have stopped phosphate!

so I put the blood on soil and watered in.

the only fertilisers I have are the the original BabyBio and the citrus one. I also have a cactus one but that's for encouraging flowering so I can muse that!

the original ; 10.6-4.4-1.7
the citrus; 5.6-4.7-8.6 (1.1 nitric nitrogen - 4.5 ureic nitrogen)

I have seen a basic one before but that has trace elements magnesium and so on... but still has the K and P in.

Baby Bio is a house plant food. I don't really think strawberries planted in ground that has grown nothing but grass for at least 6 years need anything extra at all. The bed seems strangely small and could do with enlarging. Adding a mulch of compost wouldn't hurt but in our climate slugs will devour strawberry fruit if they are mulched with compost, grass cuttings or anything damp, so you might want to leave the compost till after the fruit has been picked.

Your main problems will be birds and slugs. I'd net them asap.

I don't really think strawberries planted in ground that has grown nothing but grass for at least 6 years need anything extra at all. That depends on how the grass was cared for, which according to the photo looks to be minimal. Plus nitrogen is rather mobile, and needs renewal of some manner. The grass itself likely would be growing much more, and greener, were there sufficient nitrogen present.

mushibu10, some urea or other nitrogen source as suggested above should be obtained and applied. If purchasing a proper fertilizer is not an option, once could resort to urine. Just be sure to wash the berries before offering some to the neighbors. :-)

hmm. well I have put it under a Sq. Cm netting, one strawberry was eaten, I have managed to reduce slugs. don't know how though,

the grass wasn't cared for just cut.

I haven't mulched.

so I will be going to garden centre on Monday, will see if they have a nitrogen based one. need it for another plant.

yes the bed is small I didn't realise how large the plants got, but when it's finished fruiting I plan on re doing the bed.

thank you both.

charina - I was commenting from the perspective of a gardener in the same climate and growing conditions as mushibu10. Lawns don't need or get much care here in general, although there are some lawn fanatics just as elsewhere. Uncultivated ground is usually pretty fertile in almost any area, especially if it hasn't been cropped for a while. Soil testing is rare in home gardens as our soils are seldom extreme in any direction. It doesn't usually goes beyond finding out the pH and even that is not bothered with by the average gardener. The kinds of analyses people on these forums discuss are barely known outside commercial agriculture - they're just not needed. Conditions are very forgiving and the approach to gardening can be fairly relaxed.

I would not recommend more nitrogen. N grows leaves and the OP wants fruit. Standard advice is to give Potash. But that is a counsel of perfection and many people don't feed their strawberries at all.

mushibu10 comes across as a fairly new gardener and I am just trying to get across that gardening here is just not that complicated.

Here is a link that might be useful: RHS strawberry advice

I grew up in the northwest of the US, very similar climate. Geology is somewhat different, but in speaking on climate as you are, I'm intimately familiar with the conditions. Soil may be different, but nitrogen in its various natural forms is identical globally, and it is quickly consumed or leaches out (esp in high rainfall areas like the UK!) and needs replenishment for plant productivity.

Saying that nitrogen is to grow leaves omits critical information from the issue at hand. It is one of the fundamental building components of chlorophyll, and lower levels results in less photosynthesis by plants, and thereby lower production. When modern cultivars are grown where nitrogen levels are low, the plants languish, just as is evidenced by the leaf color of the grass, weeds, and strawberries in the photo. They survive, but far below their potential.

Did you notice that the RHS site suggest application of growmore general fertilizer? Looking at the growmore website, their general purpose fertilizers are generally very high in nitrogen content. The RHS appears to agree that annual nitrogen application is of value to strawberries, despite what local practices might be.

I am a new gardener. I'm only 21, I have kept a coconut palm (seedling stage) alive over winter as well as pineapple tops mangos and 50 cacti and 12 epiphyllums

here the soil is mostly clay but a bit loam too, crumbles nicely when moist but clay like when soaked. no chalk in soil so it's not (I think it's) alkaline

the only very high nitrogen fert ' I found is lawn feed with 21N and 2-5KP with trace elements. I have also found that Rhs only advertise growmore but I rather advice of the average gardener that know from personal trial and error.

oh I picked and tried a strawberry earlier. it was store ripe, so bitter but sweet, perfect for pie and jam but not cream! lol!

could I have over phosphorous and it's almost like it's cancelibg out the others?

thank you both.

so maybe a quarter dose in the whole area including lawn? or just leave it and go to tomato feed?

and Floral_UK you've give so much helpful and very useful/insightful advice tips on other posts.

Floral, us here in the USA hear what you're saying. I too do not give nitrogen until late summer to help growth of plant for next year's crop. But the plants speaks for themselves.
The question was "my leaves are yellowing how to I slow it down?", The answer is nitrogen.
Mine are not super green either, but not yellow. This is one of 5 beds. In late July I will feed them very heavy.

This post was edited by Drew51 on Wed, Jun 11, 14 at 17:33

yours are greener than mine. do yours fruit at the same time then?

The foreground is June bearing, and yes they fruit pretty much now for a few weeks, then they are done. The back row is everbearing and fruit now till November. So once the June bearing are done, i fertilize all of them.
Here's another bed, all everbearing. It has a blueberry plant in the middle. Behind it is a raspberry bed.

oh fantastic! I have a blackcurrant bush a foot away from mine

I've layered one of the runners into an 8cm pot and left it attached and awaiting rooting.

Yes, the runners are unreal. That big bed is all runners from last year. I have red, pink, and white currants. I was going to add some blacks, but I'm running out of time and money, next year...

oh that's like the alpine strawberries in the garden (shared house) they over ran everything extremely quickly! like the wild primroses lol

pink berries? thought it was on black blue and red and white currents!

have either of you tried the pineberries? I have been debating weather to get some or not..