With the chill of February behind us, it is time to think about removing the straw cover from strawberries. It can be tempting to hope that leaving the straw on will delay growth and avoid having to frost protect against a late freeze, but being starved of light will hurt your plants’ longevity and potential yield. While we will certainly have plenty of frosty night through March and April, research has shown that leaving the straw on too long can be as bad for the plants as never applying it in the first place. Without sunlight for photosynthesis, the plant is forced to depend on carbohydrate reserves in the roots and crown. Depending on how healthy the plants were going into dormancy, they may not have enough energy to support a full crop, or they may become more susceptible to disease, and end up collapsing later in the season.

Our region has tremendous variation in microclimates, so it is impossible to put a calendar date on when the plants are ready to grow, but certainly by late March to early April. The best approach is to check your fields, consult your notes on when you removed straw in previous years, and pay attention to your local weather forecasts. Check your plants by pulling the straw from a few plants, and if there is any sign of new leaves pushing out of the crown, it is time to rake it off.

If you want to protect AND advance your crop, research has shown that putting floating row cover over the plants after removing the straw will advance the crop by about 7 days, and increase yields. These covers will also protect against mild frosts. Note that hard freezes will damage flowers under fleece and overhead frost protection (sprinklers) will be required for particularly cold nights.