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When the worst of the frosts are over in your area, it’s time to get your strawberry plants in the ground. Strawberry plants need the cool winter chill to set them off to flower, but they need the warmth of the sunshine to produce sweet, juicy fruit. Strawberries like an acidic soil of pH5.5 to 6.5. Regions with high rainfall are going to have soils that are more acidic than drier regions. Clay soils are also more acidic than sandy, free-draining soils. You can add acidity to your soil with: - coffee grounds, which also add carbon - peat moss, which helps with moisture retention as well - elemental Sulphur - pine needles, which are a good mulch and deter slugs and snails Dig a trench where you’re going to plant your strawberries, place animal manure (chicken poo, sheep pellets, horse or cow poo) into the trench and then mound the soil over the manure in the trench. It’s not until the plant is several weeks old and the roots of the plant reach down to the animal manure, that they get a nitrogen burst, exactly when leaf growth needs a boost. You’ll need 5 plants for every person in your household. Plant about 25 cms apart to ensure good air movement in your bed which reduces the likelihood of fungal diseases developing. Make sure you plant the crown above the soil level. If it gets covered in soil, the flowers will rot. After planting, apply volcanic rock dust around each plant. This is a fertiliser high in phosphorus which helps with root growth. When the plants start to flower, apply more volcanic rock dust which has a high potassium content as well. Volcanic rock dust is not high in nitrogen, but by the time the plants need nitrogen, their roots will be down to the animal manure.