(VIDEO) Getting Started with Container Strawberries
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Strawberries are an easy and delicious food to grow anywhere. The grow bags I’m using in this video are about 5-gallons and could fit easily on apartment balcony or patio. Growing your own strawberries is totally worth it. The rich aroma and juicy-sweet flavor a freshly picked strawberry are far beyond comparison with anything you can buy at a grocery store. Other benefits of growing your own strawberries: saving money and reducing consumption of plastic packaging. Who doesn’t love a win-win situation!
Watch, “Getting Started with Container Strawberries” on YouTube >
How long do strawberries grow?
Strawberries are perennials. This means that you plant them once and they continue to produce fruit year-after-year. With annual plants such as tomatoes, they die over the winter so you have to start over again each year.
How long strawberries will produce depends upon how well you set them up in the beginning and how well cared-for they are over time. Eventually they will slow down production, but you can create more plants from the “runners” or tendrils that grow from your original strawberry plants. But I will save that topic for another post.
What’s the best way to buy strawberry plants?
Strawberries are most often grown from potted or bare root plants. It’s possible to grow them from seed but it’s a long and challenging process (or so we’ve heard).
Choosing between potted or bare root comes down to how much you want to spend and how long you are willing to wait for fruit. Buying potted plants will cost more, but you will probably get fruit this year. Buying bare root plants will cost less but you will likely have to wait until next year for fruit.
We went with bare root strawberries because a local homesteader was willing to coordinate a group-buy for our network. We were able to get 75 bare root strawberries for $21.
What is the best kind of strawberry to grow?
I don’t think you can go wrong with any type of strawberry! In general there are four types cultivated in home gardens. Within each category you can find many varieties adapted to your climate.
Early-season strawberry varieties often go by the name, “ever-bearing.” These typically ripen the earliest and depending upon your climate, might produce 1 - 2 more crops during the year.
Mid-season strawberry varieties often go by the name, “june-bearing.” These tend to be larger and ripen all at once, usually around June, making them a good choice for canning.
Late-season strawberry varieties often go by the name, “day-neutral.” These are less common, but a good choice to provide fruit through summer and even into early fall.
Alpine strawberries are the least commonly grown. They are tasty but tiny. Typically I’ve seen them grown more as a ground cover and wildlife-friendly plant than a human food crop.
Should strawberries be grown in the ground or a container?
One of the awesome things about strawberries is how adaptable they are to different growing circumstances. They can be grown in the ground, in raised beds, in baskets, and a wide assortment of containers.
If we had more fenced space, we would grow them in the ground. But since we don’t we are using grow bags. The pros of grow bags is they are easy to use and a bit more portable than other containers. They are also more breathable than many other solid containers, which promotes good root growth. The down-sides are that they aren’t as durable as some other containers and much more costly. For example, we got plastic containers at local horticultural supply store for $2 - $5 each, whereas the grow bags were $10 each.
How do you plant strawberries?
Planting potted strawberries is very straightforward, but the bare root varieties take a little extra prep. Here’s my tips on planting strawberries:
1. Soak the roots. This rehydrates them after their long journey.
2. Add gravel to the bottom of the pot. This step is optional, but one I like to provide a bit of drainage and stability.
3. Use a high quality soil mix. We used our growing medium recipe, but you could also buy the bagged kind.
4. Mix in a slow release fertilizer. We like Down to Earth and Good Earth, but choose whatever you like best!
5. Spread the roots. Once they have rehydrated, gently spread them out when planting.
6. Don’t bury the crowns. The crown is the portion of the plant between the roots and the leaves. It does look like a tiny crown in some plants!
How do you grow and maintain strawberry plants?
Strawberries are easy to grow and maintain, but here are a few extra tips:
Strawberries need full sun to grow big juicy berries. So pick your brightest spot. If you go with bags like we did, moving them around as you learn the sun patterns is a bit easier.
Keep strawberries well watered. For the bags we chose, that means every 1-2 days. You can add mulch to the top (such as straw, leaves, or bark) to help keep moisture in, but bags and pots need frequent watering.
Cut the runners, or vine-like growth, from strawberries in the first year. This will help keep the the plants’ energy focused on getting it established.
With bare root varieties, consider pinching the fruit in year one. This is probably the toughest tip because everyone wants their fruit plants to provide food right away. However, pinching the fruit in the first year will create strong plants which will provide delicious berries down the line.
So there you go! That’s what we have to share about getting started with container strawberries. Have you tried growing strawberries? Do you have any tried-and-true tips?
