overwinter strawberries in pots in garage

Question

I can overwinter my potted strawberries in an unheated garage or heated (to 40 degrees) garage. Which is best? Do I need to add straw? Do I water at all or let them go completely dormant? Live in Minnesota, so cold winters. Thanks.

Answer 1

Temperatures below 16-20 degrees F can kill strawberry plants if they're not protected, so if your unheated garage gets below this temperature during the winter, I'd recommend using the garage heated to 40 degrees. The other option is to add protection in the unheated garage by placing straw over and around the containers, then wrap with burlap to keep the straw in. Or if available, the containers can be placed in larger containers filled with straw.

https://extension.psu.edu/plants/vegetable-fruit/news/2013/winter-injury-in-strawberry

Strawberries do benefit from cool temperatures to induce a dormant period in the winter, but I think 40 degrees in your heated garage is low enough to induce dormancy. In that case no straw is needed.

Keep your strawberries in the dark and water them only sparingly (enough to keep the soil from completely drying out) through the winter.