Hi Tracy: Use to work on a strawberry farm so heres some info. you will want to grow june bearing plants for your best harvest to plant ratios. Early season plants include Veestar(very sweet,earliest,good eating and canning, high sugar content) Annapolis(larger,less sweet,) Mid season cultivars I'm familiar with include Cavendish,Glooscap and Cabot. All of the above are winter hardy and are not subject to extra charges for propagation rights. My fav is Veestar because I'm a northern girl. Plant spacing could be whatever you want but for my table figures from Strawberry Tyme farms inc (have website) 36"tween the rows and 16"in the rows 1/8 th of an acre would hold 1250 plants. You can break it down from there.Hope this helps

Here is a link that might be useful: Strawberry tyme farms inc

Tracy you will get the BEST berries! Oh, my. The berries we got in Ontario are so fantastic, my Mom freezes some for me when she goes picking so I can get that taste.
I grew berries here, although I wasn't that thrilled with hardy types. I have a net I placed over the bed. It's made out of bird netting, and PVC. It was simple and cheap.
If you want berries in pots or hanging containers consider the little alpine strawberries. I planted these along my thyme path on the edges. Some are red berrying, some gold leafed, some berry yellow. Boo Boo Kitty loves a little taste as she strolls down the path.

GGG

Hmmm from your posts it seems like you both have dedicated space for the berries. I was thinking of using them as more of a semi-border in my front bed. That bed is the sunniest.

Will these need more room to sprawl? I was kind of envisioning them among the flowers and what-not. Do you think that will work?

Tracy

I have berries as underplanting to my roses. I get enough for about a bowl every other day. They get no special attention at all. I have everbearers, though.

Here's a picture.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1151264}}

I have strawberrys as borders too. They are lovely most of the year and you will get a few berries anyway, you'll have to beat the critters and other family members to them though!!

Tracy,
They are so easy to grow. I have a strawberry border, and I have more in another spot under my jostaberry. I don't have much of animal problem with them unlike my grapes. I have lots of plants. You can have some at the exchange if you like. The variety I grow is Honeoye.
Remy

Hi Tracy. I have everbearing type strawberries as a border with stepping stones amongst them. They bear during the warmer months (almost year round here). Love them! Attractive for the leaves, flowers and fruit (even if the slugs munch on them before I can get to them). Sluggo is the best for snail/slug probs. I don't have any other critters bothering mine. Full sun and plenty of water in the warmer months.

Also, I have a few Alpine strawberry plants, and they have been bearing non-stop for 3 years! My alpines are in a sheltered shady location. No pests on these---the slugs don't seem to bother them.

Becky

I was just going to say you should try some alpine strawberries, they are easy to start from seed and some will bear the same year. I wish I could remember which ones I got last year, but I wintersowed them and they are so cute! My daughter loved to go pick the little strawberries! Good luck!
~jenn

Oh thank you all for the replies!

Wolfe & Remy- I'm glad to hear that you both use them as a border of sorts. That's what I was thinking of doing. So happy that it works for you. Can't wait to try it this year.

Becky & Jenn- I'll have to look into the alpines. I've heard others mention them before, so I'll have to see if I can track down some seeds.

Thanks again all. I really appreciate it!

Tracy

Here's another good source, with a list of other varieties. I've grown and like TriStar.

Here is a link that might be useful: Indiana Berry Farm