Strawberries are among the easiest fruits to cultivate in your home garden, offering the delightful experience of picking sun-ripened berries from plants you’ve nurtured. Notably, strawberries require minimal care, especially when the soil is prepped before planting, ensuring it is slightly acidic. This preference for low pH is one reason why blueberry and strawberry plants make excellent garden companions. With these conditions set, strawberries will flourish, provided you adhere to this essential watering tip. However, they do need fertilizer, and you may wonder if fertilizers designed for fruiting plants are suitable. Some online sources suggest that tomato fertilizer might be appropriate for strawberries.
On the surface, this makes sense. Both strawberries and tomatoes are fruiting plants needing nitrogen for growth and adequate amounts of phosphorus and potassium to promote flowering and fruiting. During the fruiting stage, it’s important to use a fertilizer higher in phosphorus and potassium than nitrogen. Despite their similar nutrient needs, strawberries and tomatoes aren’t identical, so tomato fertilizer may not be the ideal choice for helping strawberries thrive.
What nutrients do strawberries need?
It’s advisable to conduct a soil test before adding any nutrients to understand exactly what the soil requires. When initially planting strawberries, a fertilizer with an N-P-K ratio of 5-10-10 is recommended, equating to 5% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus, and 10% potassium. These ratios indicate that strawberries need twice as much phosphorus and potassium as nitrogen. However, if you’re growing day-neutral varieties, using a balanced feed with a ratio of 10-10-10 is suitable, as these plants require a consistent supply of primary nutrients for optimal growth.
For those growing strawberries as perennials, avoid applying heavy nitrogen in spring before the first harvest to prevent excessive leaf growth and soft berries. After rejuvenating the plants by trimming leaves and removing runners, a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) is suitable. Ensure thorough watering after feeding to prevent salt build-up. Additionally, strawberries need calcium and magnesium for tissue growth and fruit development, along with an adequate amount of boron. Compost or organic material in the soil usually prevents boron deficiencies, but a soil test will confirm this. If boron is needed, add it cautiously to avoid plant damage.
Analyzing some common tomato fertilizers
Now that we understand the basic nutrients strawberries require, let’s look at the nutrient content of some common tomato fertilizers. A popular choice is the Epsoma Organic Tomato-tone, a granular fertilizer with 3% nitrogen, 4% phosphorus, and 6% potassium, listed as 3-4-6. This NPK breakdown is favored for providing tomato plants with essential nutrients for optimal fruit production. Additionally, Tomato-tone contains 8% calcium to prevent blossom end rot and 0.9% magnesium. Another popular tomato fertilizer, Jobe’s Organics Granular Garden Fertilizer, has a similar formulation with an NPK ratio of 2-5-3, plus calcium and magnesium.
These formulations don’t precisely match the nutritional needs of strawberries, with Tomato-tone lacking in phosphorus and Jobe’s fertilizer insufficient in potassium. For day-neutral varieties, a more balanced fertilizer with equal nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is preferable. Ultimately, if you’re new to growing strawberries and want optimal results, using a strawberry-specific fertilizer is recommended. You may also be curious whether it’s better to plant strawberries in the ground or containers for the best outcomes.
