Sanitation comes first. Before plants come to life in the spring, you must sanitize the strawberry garden to remove all diseased material, like dropped fruit and fallen leaves from last year. Don't just pick up debris, but start with a steel rake to remove bulky items from the garden. Then, change to a bamboo rake to remove as much fallen leaves and debris as possible. Along the way, remove any and all mulch around and under the tree. You can scatter the mulch far, far away from fruit trees. Having removed sources of disease, you're home free!

Next, shop at a neighborhood nursery for the products that will protect your strawberry plants.

*** Captan (powder) for disease control;
*** Kelthane (liquid) to control spider mites;
*** Malathion (liquid); will control tarnished plant bugs;
*** Sevin (powdered); controls the strawberry bud weevil.

Always check your local forecast before spraying. If rain is possible, delay spraying.

Here is your spray schedule:

NEW GROWTH SPRAY (before buds start to show): spray Kelthane and Malathion in the evening for disease control.

PRE-BLOOM SPRAY (when the first flowers open): spray Captan to open flowers in the evening;

FIRST COVER SPRAY (5 to 7 days after pre-bloom): spray Captan and Malathion to developing fruit in the evening;

SECOND COVER SPRAY (1 week after first cover): spray Captan and Sevin to fruit in the evening;

THIRD AND LATER COVER SPRAYS (spray every week to when fruits are picked): spray Captan to fruit in evening.