Next Year....Strawberries

Next year we will have strawberries for sale at the farm. Lots of folks asking for them this year.
Above photo is from my farm operation by Rochester. We had 2 acres in these beauties. Originally it was intended to be a PYO. And, found most people wanted MTPFT (me to pick for them!) There were a few that did pick their own...one in the pail, one in the mouth, one in the pail, one in the mouth. You get the picture. That was really hard to tolerate for me, and hard to resist for them! I will be doing pre-picked only, as I only will have about 6oo ft. of them. Everything at Earthworks Gardens is in feet! One hundred of this 250 of that. Growing June Strawberries is not complicated, but does require task through out the season.
Let me lay it out for you!
1. planting year, is your established year. All flowers/berries should be removed the first year to allow the mother plant to develop.
2. Should see runner development, scoot them into your row, & plant them leaving attached
3. After planting your patch, place straw around the base of the plants.
4. Can fertilize some, but stop by early Aug.
5. Cover plants completely with straw in Nov., about 6-12 "
6. In early April, start to remove straw. I usually did it in 2-3 stages, each time removing some, gradually introducing the plants back to the sun. If you have new growth developing, and remove all at once, a sunny day could easily scorch all the new tissue.
7. When removing straw, leave it piled around the plants, walk paths. In case of late frost, try to cover them up with the straw you left handy. Frost can result in black spots on the flowers, and misshapen fruits.
8. Year 2. let all the flowers go and develop fruits. May need to use bird netting to keep those pesky robins out. Be advised they can get tangeld in it. If the netting lays directly on the plants, they just sit on it and feast. Use stakes or something to hold it above the plants.
9. Pick only berries that are fully ripe, they will not ripen after picking.
10. Fertilize after done picking.
11. By mid Aug. mow down your plants with a lawn mower at the highest setting, do not mow off the 'crown' but the foliage. This rejuvenates the plants. No later than mid-August, as the plants then set set the buds for next year. So mowing in Sept, you mow off the buds which are next years berries.
Very basic stuff here, more specific ques email me ddenise58@msn.com