should you cut the tops off of strawberries

Also, don’t wash your strawberries or take off their green stems. Use the knife to cut a small "v" into the top of the two halves like you are coring the strawberry halves. The 2 outermost slices will look the most like hearts because of their rounded surfaces. Put those tops into vinegar for about an hour and you've got yourself a fresh strawberry-infused salad topper. Christine Rukavena Updated: Apr. You can use runners to propagate new strawberry plants, but it sounds like you have plenty of strawberry plants you can dig up and pot up anyhow. 0:27. Is cutting, slicing, washing, and storing in the fridge 2 days before the party too soon? For a quick snack, pie, tart, or smoothie, cut your strawberries in half vertically. Yes. Turn the knife in a circle around the top of the strawberry, following the edge of the red flesh to cut out and discard all of the white flesh, which is the strawberry's core inside. Before refilling our drinks, we dumped the strawberry seeds out of our glasses, over the deck and onto the lawn. The strawberries will continue to grow in the spring and they will remain productive. When to Mow Strawberries. Also remove the straw mulch, fibre mat, or black polythene, to prevent a build-up of pests and diseases. Working right to left this time, I pick a strawberry out of the colander that is still in the sink. This article has been viewed 118,592 times. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. If you still see a lot of white in the hole after you cut out the center, you might need to trim a little deeper. Hooray for strawberry season! You don't have to hull strawberries, it just makes them even more juicy and delicious. Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Cut the Ends off Strawberries. You could also use these slices at breakfast on top of cereal or oatmeal. Rake up the cut foliage when done. To learn how to cut your strawberries into unique designs, keep reading! We may earn commission from the links on this page. Cut the berries into different sizes for different serving purposes or even cut them into unique shapes for fancier presentations. To prepare fresh strawberries, first clean them by placing them in a colander and gently rinsing under cold water before you remove the stems.  Or you can just wipe them off with a wet paper towel.

2. Once you cut the top off of strawberries (not recommended) they will bleed if they are fairly ripe, plus you need the stem if available to hold on too for dipping, and they look much prettier … Also removing the runners will help the plant devote its full energy to becoming a strong, well-established plant. * Starting from the bottom, slowly push the straw up through the middle of the berry. To make two hearts, cut the green stem off straight across the top. You miss the best part of the berry if you're doing this. Make sure to wait until after you wash the strawberries and are ready to slice them to remove the tops. If the strawberry is particularly large, you might be able to fit a third row of petals on it. Answer to: Should I Cut Off Runner Plants from My Strawberries? You can also hold the knife in place and spin the strawberry around to make the cut. wikiHow's. Cut the strawberry plants down to 1 inch above the soil level when the growing season ends. This is silly. The best way to store cut strawberries is to wash them and then keep them, covered, in the fridge. Attention strawberry lovers: You've been eating your favorite fruit all wrong. Just throw the whole strawberry in the smoothie and you've got some extra vitamins. This is enough to get any dust off of them. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Learn more... Strawberries are delicious at every occasion, but there are many different ways to slice them depending on what you want to use them for. But if you aren't ready to eat it whole just yet, saves those tops! All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Tested. To make the petals look more realistic, stagger the second row of slits between the petals of the first row. Here is an inexpensive, quick and easy way to conserve your berry and still remove all the leaves. If you cut that off, you are basically decapitating the plant, and it probably will not survive. So, if you want two cups, use a pint. If it's rained recently and t… Strawberries have a different growing habit than trees do. - In this live stream I talk about why do we waste time and money cutting the tops off of strawberries. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. By using our site, you agree to our. Next, slice the strawberry in half the long way down the middle from the center of the de-stemmed top through the pointed end. This is an easy way to make strawberries look fancy if you want to serve them at a dinner party or event of some kind. In addition, you should only remove flowers up to the middle of June. If you cut them down, they don't waste energy doing that and are able to concentrate on recovering as … When, and again, only when, you're ready to eat or otherwise make use of the strawberries, put the berries in a colander and quickly rinse them with cool water. In the next growing season, pull off any new runners that form anywhere on the strawberry vines. No matter how you're eating strawberries, you want to start with fresh, ripe berries. Then, remove the green stems and hull them if you want only the juicy ripe parts of the berries. Take off any netting so birds can feed on any pests. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Photo by Laura Murray Slide in the tip of your paring knife at a slight angle (about 45° if you're into math) toward the center. These are best cut off, as you are doing, so that the plant concentrates its energy into growing strong roots and bulking out. However, due to the instability of your typical weed whacker, they aren’t recommended. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. WHY DO WE CUT STRAWBERRY TOPS OFF? Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 118,592 times. You can also cut your berries into vertical slices if you want thinner pieces for a topping on a dessert or oatmeal. – TeresaMcgH Jun 10 '14 at 22:09 If you are unable to use a mower on your strawberry plants, due to it being in a raised bed or potted, you can use shears or scissors. Warning: Strawberries have a very sponge-like texture, so don’t ever soak them in water to clean them. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. Make alcohol even better by putting these little blasts of berry flavor into a cup of your favorite clear liquor (vodka, gin, rum) and letting them sit for two days. References Don’t slice off the tops because it just wastes some of the tasty red fruit near the top. * The berry is fairly hallow through the middle so you don’t lose much meat. You now have fresh strawberries to last for days and days. To remove the stems, hold the berry between your thumb and forefinger. Put the tip of a paring knife into the top of the berry just outside the white center part and slide the knife around to cut out the hull, which is the most bitter part of the strawberry. After cropping has finished, cut off old leaves from summer-fruiting strawberries to allow fresh leaves to develop. I accidentally cut off the tops of the strawberries before cleaning them. % of people told us that this article helped them. This suppresses weeds, conserves water and stops soil splashing on the fruit Stephanie, If you plant in the spring, it is generally best to remove the blossoms for the entire growing season. Eating the green tops out of hand isn’t appealing to most people (me included), but that doesn’t mean you should be so quick to toss them in the compost or trash. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. The foliage will die back over winter - you can just cut this off. Cut out any weeds, such as dandelions, that you find in the patch. The concoction will come out pink and strawberry flavored. Up until now we've always been taught to think that every fruit has a part that you shouldn't eat: watermelon seeds, apple cores, orange peels, banana skins, grape stems, strawberry leaves — the list goes on and on. Strawberries are no exception to that rule. 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Now, mind you, these seeds were in a frozen drink, with alcohol … You can prune these strawberry plant runners off within 1 inch of the plant's crown, otherwise they will set roots and form new plants that crowd the bed. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/e\/ed\/Cut-Strawberries-for-Every-Occasion-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Cut-Strawberries-for-Every-Occasion-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/e\/ed\/Cut-Strawberries-for-Every-Occasion-Step-1.jpg\/aid812629-v4-728px-Cut-Strawberries-for-Every-Occasion-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":259,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"410","licensing":"