Last Updated on April 3, 2024 by Real Men Sow
Using strawberry pots is a great way for beginners to grow strawberries. This is a great way to start growing strawberries and it’s almost foolproof. The rewards are indescribably delicious! You can water, fertilize, pluck, and then enjoy the incredible aroma of homegrown strawberries.
Ideal Strawberry Pots, Containers
One of the ideal container fruits is the strawberry due to its nature of being compact and quick-growing. These are the variety of containers where you can grow strawberries in: Hanging baskets, terracotta pots and special strawberry, willow window boxes, tubs, and reclaimed animal drinking tubes .
Growing strawberries in any type of tub has many advantages. The plants can be moved to follow the sun and enjoy more light and warmth than usual. To avoid the slugs’ attention and to prevent soil-borne diseases, they can be lifted from the ground. To get an extra crop, plants can be covered in winter. It is possible to get a longer harvest with different varieties of strawberries by having some plants outside and others undercover in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
How to Grow Strawberries in Strawberry Pots
Planting cold-stored bare-root runners in late spring or early summer is a good time to do so. They can be brought out of the cold and sold off very quickly to produce a few fruits in as little time as two months. You can also plant regular pot-sold strawberries that should bear fruit the same year.
Place plants in multipurpose compost 25-30cm (10-12in) apart. This is better than if they were planted directly in the ground, as it is easier to water them and feed them. Bare-root runners may look very serious due to their lack of top growth and sometimes less-than-plump root systems. This is normal. If they seem dry, give them a soak in some water.
Your tub should be filled with compost up to an inch from the rim. Proceed to plant the strawberries so that each crown is just above the surface. Water the compost to settle around the roots and firm the plants. Regularly sinking empty pots 7cm (3in) in the compost to create reservoirs that allow water to slowly flow from the root level rather than running straight off the surface of your compost.
How to look after Strawberry Plants
Keep compost moist by watering them when you observe that the soil is starting to dry out. To prevent fungal diseases from forming and spoiling fruits, keep the soil moist when watering. Carefully lift the leaves and apply water to the sunken pots. Regular feeding your plants with high-potash liquid feed will be a great idea. A brand that is specifically designed for tomato plants will work well.
To encourage young fruit to ripen, keep your strawberry tubs in a sunny area of the garden, patio, or terrace. To keep developing strawberries clean of compost, you can place straw or wood chips underneath the fruits. This will allow them to ripen clear. If birds begin to take your fruits, you can drape netting around the tubs.
The young and central leaves can be removed after fruiting has ended. Runners should be removed, unless you want to propagate new plants, to ensure plants bulk out again before winter. To encourage an earlier harvest next year, tubs can be moved to a greenhouse or polytunnel.
