Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa)
Almost everyone recognizes and loves this attractive, highly nutritious and tasty berry. Strawberries are tied with haskaps in first place for the earliest fruit of the season. They are the easiest fruiting ground cover to grow, providing you have a sunny, well drained spot. Containers and raised beds are good alternatives, but most are planted 45-60 cm (18-24") apart in a row. By the following year the spaces will be filled in with baby plants from the above ground runners that the originals have sent out. Strawberries come in two main types.
JUNE-BEARING varieties. After being planted in the spring they will send out lots of runners. The following year they should produce a large crop of berries over several weeks time. You can keep your patch productive for a number of years if you renovate it after harvest is done. This means removing the old plants and clipping off the others.
DAY-NEUTRAL varieties. These will start producing in the year you plant them. You will get a moderate but continuous supply of berries during the summer and on into the fall. Day-neutral plants form fewer runners. Day-neutrals are usually replaced after two years.