Last Updated on September 13, 2026
How Many Strawberry Plants per Square Foot?
1 strawberry plant per square foot is how I plant them in a raised bed; the chart allows up to four for a dense matted patch. Strawberries spread by runners, so keep them to their own bed and remove the extra plants.
The spacing pattern
| Square foot method | 1 per square in a raised bed (the chart allows 1 to 4); keep them to one bed |
|---|---|
| 4 x 4 bed (16 squares) | 16 strawberry plants |
| 4 x 8 bed (32 squares) | 32 strawberry plants |
A strawberry plant sends out runners all summer and will fill every gap you give it. One per square leaves room for a few runners to root, keeps air moving so the fruit does not rot, and makes picking easy. Four per square fills in fast but crowds by year two.
Planting the square
- Plant in early spring, crown at soil level, one per square in its own bed.
- Pinch the first flowers on new June-bearing plants so they build roots; everbearers can fruit the first year.
- Remove excess runners through the season and net the bed before the fruit colors.
Tim’s growing notes
Pots or raised bed, varieties, planting and netting against birds and squirrels are all in How to Grow Strawberries, and freezing the harvest is in the same method I use for blueberries.
When to plant strawberries
These are the windows the Plan My Garden planner uses, counted from your average last spring frost. Enter your frost date on the seed starting calendar to turn them into dates. Bare-root or potted plants go in from early spring; the first real crop is the second year.
| Direct sow | 5 weeks before to 3 weeks after your last frost |
|---|---|
| Days to maturity | about 365 days |
How I grow them, in brief
Pick the type first: June-bearing for one big crop, day-neutral (everbearing) for berries all summer, alpine for tiny intense ones from seed. I plant bare roots or live plants in early spring, crown level with the soil, one per square in a bed of their own with plenty of sun. The books say to pinch all the first-year flowers; I did not, got a few berries the first year and full crops the second and third. As soon as fruit sets the birds and chipmunks arrive, so the bed gets netted. At season end I remove the runners and mulch with straw or shredded leaves, pull the mulch back in spring, and thin the patch early each spring so the plants left have room. Full seven steps in How to Grow Strawberries.
Where I get seed
Wood Prairie ships organic strawberry plants in spring: Albion and Cabrillo everbearers and Chandler. Code PMG5 takes 5 percent off.
Quick questions
How many strawberry plants for a family?
A 4 x 4 bed of 16 plants gives a good picking every couple of days in June and, with everbearers, through summer.
Do strawberries come back every year?
Yes. Plants produce well for three or four years; let a few runners root each year to replace the old ones.
Let the planner place them
Plan My Garden is free to start: draw your beds, pick strawberries and everything else you want to grow, and it places each plant at the right spacing and gives you a planting schedule for your zip code.
Related: Square Foot Gardening Chart · How to Grow Strawberries · How to Freeze Blueberries
