Strawberry in containers

[paulch]

Hi i got some Cambridge Strawberry plants today (10 ) , in the past i have always growen them in open ground on a allotment years ago.i want to put them into containers so any tips would be great, i understand that you should crowd them in containers ?

[JustGrowVeg]

I grow straberries in stacking pots! Not to dissimilar from the picture! I got mine from poundland last year and I would imagine that have them again this year

Just make sure that they're watered regularly, as they're not that deep and on a hot day can become quite dry. But i had loads of strawberries off mine! And I grow the same variety that you have bought too. I planted them exactly how they are in the picture

[realfood]

The plants are easier to protect from slugs, snails, mice and birds, if grown raised up some 60 cm above the ground in old fish boxes or similar boxes, or even 60 litre grow bags. Grow 8 plants to a box or growbag and arrange the fruiting shoots to hang over the edge of the box. This technique is particularly worthwhile when growing “perpetual fruiting” varieties, as it is easier to provide protection against birds and rain and extend the fruiting period as much as possible. In Glasgow, I still get a few fruits into November, but they do tend to be smaller and not so sweet as the earlier crops. Commercially, this is the system that is being used for much of the crop grown in poly tunnels.

Providing you have deep boxes, say 30 cm, they do not seem to dry out too fast. Try filling the box with old grow bag compost (not from tomato plants), for the bottom half to provide a moisture reservoir, and then fill up to the brim with sieved compost or soil. You will need to keep an eye out to prevent the boxes drying out, and water accordingly. Feeding with tomato fertilizer every month after growth starts gives good results, as it has a high Potash content.

For photos of the above system, see strawberry

[paulch]

Thanks for replies have planted them out as suggested , and they seem to like it sprouting already, i think i get somemore some alpine types maybe.

[piskie]

Isnt it a bit early to plant strawberry plants out?

[JustGrowVeg]

Originally Posted by piskie

Isnt it a bit early to plant strawberry plants out?

The best time to plant is August to October time! But as it nearly March it shouldn't be a problem

[GMB27]

Ive got mine out now too, hopefully the frost has def past but as im down in the southwest im pretty sure any cold snaps have passed by. This is the second year ive tried strawberries but last year i think i allowed them to dry out too much and the harvest wasnt too great. Im going to try pots like the picture above this time around and fingers crossed theyll do well. Is there anything special i should be doing to them if theyre to grow in pots?

[Dave65]

I also think that it is early to grow strawbery plants. I usually grow them in my garden at the end of July and make sure that they have a lot of water. Maybe I should begin to grow them indoor, but again I am not sure how much it will cost me.

[colin1957]

I have had mine out side all year round in stacking pots for the last three years and they still friut well in the summer. I do add some new compost around may with a little BF&B.

[paulch]

Well i have left my cambridge outside and they seem ok and growing although i did cover them with fleece at night,also got some galore and roman type as well so will see how these do, i will also get a strawberry planter too

[tomterm8]

We keep our strawberry plants outside all year, in the ground. I guess it should be fairly easy to grow strawberries in pots, but the biggest thing is to make sure you feed them and water them. If you're going to keep them outside, if there is still risk of frost, insulating the pots might help.

[GMB27]

Originally Posted by tomterm8

We keep our strawberry plants outside all year, in the ground. I guess it should be fairly easy to grow strawberries in pots, but the biggest thing is to make sure you feed them and water them. If you're going to keep them outside, if there is still risk of frost, insulating the pots might help.

Does the frost not kill them off in the ground over the november-march period?

[tomterm8]

It never has, no. We do live in the south east of England, so it's warmer than some parts, but we had a lot of hard frosts this year and at one point 2 foot of snow. And yet, they came up just like normal.

[Nicola_D]

My MIL gave me some alpine strawberry seedlings last year and I put them in a hanging basket, they took well and produced loads of little strawberries, I left them there over winter and didn't expect them to survive as I thought strawberries grew from one year to next by throwing out runners and didn't see how they would do this in a hanging basket. Then we had the snow in Nov/Dec and there was 2 ft if snow sat on top of the basket for about 2 weeks. In Feb I noticed that among all the dead leaves there was new growth and I cut away all the dead leaves and they are now really growing strong again