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Everbearing or day-neutral strawberries should be fertilized monthly for continued fruit production. They also must be given plenty of water. When day-neutrals produce few or undersized fruit, lack of fertilizer and/or water may be at fault.
One further point on June-bearing strawberries: if your patch is on sandy soil, it's extremely important that it too be consistently watered right up to the rainy season. Because clay soils hold more water they should be irrigated less often. Watering is just as important during the late summer formation of next year's flower buds as are good fertilizing practices.
Raspberries and blackberries have a peculiar habit of producing canes one year, then flowering and fruiting on them the second year, after which they die. All canes on brambles, with the exception of those on fall-bearing raspberries, should be removed as soon as they have finished bearing their crop of fruit. The fall bearing or everbearing raspberries produce fruit in late summer/fall on the first year canes. These canes, unlike the other varieties which die after fruiting, are able to winter over, producing a second crop lower on the stems in late June or early July; therefore, on these types, the canes should be allowed to produce their double crops before being pruned away. You may prune off the tops after they finish fruiting in the fall.
For further information contact your local WSU Extension Office.
