This should be done about three months before transplanting to insure the applied lime will react with the soil before strawberry plants are planted. A complete fertilizer should be broadcast with shallow incorporation prior to making beds. There is a wide range of fertilizer materials and rates of application that can produce a strawberry crop. However, nutrient pollution is a major concern in watersheds crossing the coastal plain and it is in everyone's interest to apply only those fertilizer nutrients required by the crop and to apply them at needed rates. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus entering rivers and sounds contribute significantly to the degradation of our surface water resources and fisheries.
Many growers continue to use sulfur-coated urea in addition to a complete fertilizer in the fall.
This is way in excess of that required to grow a successful crop of strawberries. Thus, there is no need to apply high rates of N in the fall as described above. In any case, a minimum of 30 lb P2O5 should be applied because we have routinely seen responses to P fertilizer even on a high P soil. We have not been able to measure any difference in strawberry response to various sources of N fertilizer. We have evaluated ammonium nitrate, calcium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and urea.