here is some info that I compiled on strawberries, easy to do a simple google search, you'll come up with LOTS of info, also good info on the sites selling berries.

NOTE THE LAST PARAGRAPH, THIS WAS NEW INFO TO ME AND VERY IMPORTANT.

PLANTING STRAWBERRIES, GROWING STRAWBERRIES AND HARVESTING STRAWBERRIES

Soil Preparation Strawberries require a loose, loamy, slightly acidic soil (pH 6.0-6.5) (Test your soil for pH, and then amend it if needed to raise its acidity level) and full sun to achieve peak berry quality, but they will tolerate a variety of soil conditions as long as they have adequate drainage Soil that is high in organic matter is absolutely necessary. Prepare your strawberry beds by turning under 1/2"-1" high quality, animal manure or plant residue-based compost. Compost composed of cedar or redwood is not an acceptable substitute for high quality compost. Also it is a great idea to lay mulching film on the soil as it greatly reduces the need for weeding.
Planting Strawberries If you are not ready to plant your strawberries when they arrive or when you pick them up, you can store them in a refrigerator for a few days, keeping them damp (but not soggy!). When you are ready to plant, put the transplants in a bucket of water for a few minutes to rehydrate them and to keep them from drying out in the wind and sun.

Dig each hole deep enough so that the transplant roots will not be bent or "j-rooted" when covered with soil. Next, prepare a soil cone at the bottom of the hole for the roots to rest upon when buried, keeping the roots as straight as possible. Finally, fill the hole with loose soil, keeping the upper crown bud at or slightly above the soil line, as plants will die if the crowns are completely covered. Once planted, strawberries will spread by producing "runners" where leaf cluster tips touch the ground. (not all varieties will spread out as vigorously and many varieties can be "groomed" to minimize their spreading by removing the runners from the mother plant) If Runners are removed, they can be planted to start a new plant.

Growing Strawberries

Strawberries need a minimum of six hours of sun per day.
Give all strawberry varieties 1" of water per week, preferably using drip-type irrigation to minimize berry spoilage and keep the beds thoroughly weeded! After the first frost, mulch beds with straw or agricultural fabrics. Where snow remains on the ground throughout the Winter, no mulching is required. When the ground warms in Spring, remove any organic mulches, but leave agricultural fabrics on until the first flowers appear; fabrics will speed growth but prevent pollination if left on during blossoming.

All strawberry varieties are prone to diseases caused by overly moist soil conditions and overcrowding, so plan ahead and give them enough room. Soil must be kept loose and well drained, plants must be properly spaced and ripe or moldy fruit picked daily. Snails and slugs can be a significant problem, but are contrulled using traps and copper strip-barriers. Netting, scare ballons and flash tape work very well against birds.

Harvesting Strawberries

Plants generally grow 6"-8" tall and 12" across. Yield under the best of conditions is about a basket per plant per season. Bird netting is recommended if you do not want to lose too many berries to our winged friends.
It is important to practice proper "picking hygiene" when harvesting berries as disease can be easily spread if good fruit is handled after bad fruit. Always wash hands after removing moldy, deformed or over-ripe fruit and then harvest your good berries. Pick ripe strawberries by pinching through the stem above the fruit. Never pull on the berry itself. All strawberries will last several days under refrigeration.

Drainage
Strawberries hate sitting in water. They need consistent moisture, but will rot if the site drains poorly. If your site has poor drainage, consider building a raised bed.

Selecting a Strawberry Type
When you go to order or purchase your strawberry plants, you'll discover that they are classified into three types: June-bearing, ever-bearing, and day- neutral. Each type has its strengths and weaknesses, and will produce at different times during the season.

June-bearing: As the name suggests, June-bearing varieties bear all of their fruit in June. You can purchase early, mid, or late season varieties, but all that means is that they will produce sometime in early, mid, or late June. These plants grow quite large and develop long runners, so they work well in a dedicated strawberry patch, where their runners can grow into new plants. These produce a large crop all at one time. June-bearing varieties won't produce fruit until their second season of growth.

Ever-Bearing: Ever-bearing strawberries produce fruit from late spring until early fall. They will regularly develop fruit, but never very much at any one time. The plants stay fairly small, and don't produce vigorous runners. With ever-bearing varieties, you'll be able to harvest berries in your first season.
Day-Neutral: Day-neutral varieties regularly produce fairly decent crops of berries from spring until fall, with a fairly large crop in the fall. The plants stay small, but produce vigorously. The only drawback to day-neutral varieties is that they don't do well in areas with very hot summers. As with ever-bearing varieties, day-neutrals will produce berries in their first season of growth.

Strawberry Patch Maintenance
Water Strawberries don't like to sit in water, but they also need fairly consistent water available to them. This is why well-drained soil is so important. Strawberries require one inch of watter per week to produce fruit. They are shallow-rooted, and if the soil dries out too much, fruit production will halt. Mulching, as mentioned above, also helps keep the soil moisture level more consistent.
Fertilizing Strawberries need constant nutrition to maintain fruit yields. Feed your strawberry plants once per month from June to September with blood meal and bone meal. In addition to the watering and fertilizing, it is important to keep your strawberry patch weed free, especially since weeds will steal moisture and nutrients from your shallow-rooted strawberries very quickly. Keep your berries harvested, and remove any rotting fruit immediately.

Pest and Disease Control
Happily, strawberries have very few pest problems, but the ones they do have can be a real pain. The biggest pest for any berry grower is that of the feathered variety. Birds like nothing better than to devour fresh berries. They always seem to get to mine right before they're ripe enough to pick. To keep birds off of your berries, simply cover the plant or your entire patch with netting. You can purchase bird netting in any home and garden center.
The other main pests of strawberries are slugs and snails. They find strawberry foliage absolutely delectable. To keep them away, the best thing to do is install copper edging around the perimeter of your bed. Slugs and snails won't cross copper because it creates an electric reaction when it comes into contact with their slime.
As far as diseases go, the most prevalent one among strawberry plants is verticillium wilt. .This fungal disease will not only prevent fruit production, but it will also kill the plant. There is no way to control it once your plants show signs of infection. The only remedy is to pull the plants out and start over in a new area. The best way to avoid having to deal with it is to choose varieties that are certified as being resistant to verticillium wilt.
Once you have your strawberry plants planted and growing happily, you'll be enjoying the fruits of your labor for years on end, with very little maintenance on your part

Strawberries are one of the best plants to grow in containers and even do well indoors. All they need is a sunny spot where they can get at least six to eight hours of sunlight a day. If you don't have a sunny enough window for them, they can be supplemented with artificial sunlight. To get the best results, you will need to choose the right type of strawberry and plant it correctly.

You should also trim off any older leaves from the plant and remove all flowers and runners. Roots should be trimmed so they are about 4 to 5 inches in length and any damaged areas removed. Then, place the roots in water for an hour immediately before planting. The plant should be placed in the soil so the crown of the plant is even with the soil's surface and the roots fan out.

For the first six weeks after planting, remove all blossoms on everbearing and day-neutral plants by either pinching or cutting them. This will give them time to be established before expending energy towards growing fruit. Water your plants every day until the growing season, and then reduce your watering to when the top inch of soil has become dry.

Strawberries should be fertilized at least once a month. However, once it is has begun flowering, fertilize it about every 10 days until harvest season is over. They prefer a fertilizer that is high in potassium like tomato feed.

No matter where you plant them, they will need at least six hours of sunlight a day to produce a harvestable crop, although full sun is better. Make sure hanging baskets are rotated to ensure that all plants get adequate light.

Strawberries are prone to both aphids and red spider mites. For either case, an appropriate insecticide will need to be used. Strawberries can also develop powdery mildew. If your strawberry plant has purple spots on the top surface of its leaves and white fungus on the bottom side, it has developed powdery fungus and needs to be treated with a fungicide.

A final note on planting: don't plant strawberries in or near an area that is currently growing tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplants, or raspberries. These plants can harbor verticillium wilt, which can infect strawberry plants

rjinga, thanks so much for the great info, I've been surfing the internet for as much as I can find on strawberries but I still can't make up my mind if I want to try them ...

~Iris

Thanks so much for posting this...exactly the info I was looking for!!

They may or may not bear the first year, but you live in an area where strawberries do quite well. I lived in the D.C. area many years ago and they had strawberry farms near there pick-our-own, etc. I don't know any reason why you shouldn't plant and in a few year you should run out of room and have to give some of your plants away. I have grown Strawberries or know someone who did in Maryland, Michigan, West Virginia, Colorado and now Texas and there is a variety for every area and they do taste so much better than any you will buy in the stores.

I would add that I have planted strawberry plants amongst my flower beds and they have produced just fine and I did NOT do anything special to them. They were treated like any other flower in the bed. They are healthy and thriving and are literally NO MAINTENANCE. After they send out their runners, those plants can be separated from the mother plant and moved to where ever else I have space for them. In the beds they are in now there are mostly roses planted, primarily and when they spread they look great. I do the same thing with herbs, I love putting them in my flower beds.

Yeah, rjinga I've got the same thing in our flower beds. They don't produce as much as I'd like them to, but we recently dug a bunch up and transplanted them to pots, and they didn't survive the winter. I'm thinking that I want to get some everbearing varieties and plant them in a raised bed, because weeds can really be a hassle with strawberries.

Great info, thanks!

My Junebearing strawberries are being completely eaten by slugs and ants as soon as they have the slightest tinge of red. I've got them in a flower bed, too (and by a couple wild raspberry canes too, oops...) and they've produced quite well. I just don't get to eat them myself.

It's probably too late for copper this year, but I'll lay some down next year for sure. And in the meantime, I'll buy some new day-neutral ones, put them in pots and treat them as annuals.

Thanks again for the info!