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Are you looking to grow strawberries in pots or baskets? Do you want to enjoy the sweet, soft and juicy strawberries in your drawing room or backyard seating area? Look no further, as we bring you some incredibly useful tips that will help you to grow the most beautiful-looking and tasty strawberries in pots. Strawberries are a rich source of vitamin C and are filled with microelements like Potassium and Manganese. They are also known to have ample antioxidants responsible for maintaining a healthy heart and blood sugar. However, strawberries available in the market/stores are infamous for their contaminated nature.
They are among the plants that are heavily treated with pesticides. Even after washing the store-bought strawberries several times, they still have residual pesticides that will harm you in the long run.
So, why not grow your strawberries and have fresh and juicy strawberries just when you want?
Useful Tips for Growing Strawberries in Pots
1. Find the Perfect Pot for Your Plant
Strawberry plants are easy to grow and can thrive well in all kinds of containers or pots as long as they are deep enough for their roots. They have shallow roots, but the pot must hold the plant upright. It’s best to choose a pot that is about 6-8 inches deep. An ideal pot size would be about 10-12 inches deep to hold the roots tightly while giving the plant enough space to grow.
A deep root ensures that the plant can maintain itself when there is a lack of nutrients or water. A deeper root can fetch nutrients and water from the soil and retain itself during extreme conditions. So finding the perfect pot is as important as choosing the right crown.
2. Avoid Runners
The most significant thing to note while growing strawberries in a pot are that the commonly used varieties of strawberry plants (Fragaria x ananassa) usually produce runners, which means they tend to propagate themselves. The strawberry plants tend to produce horizontal stems that produce new clone plants.
While it is not all bad to plant them in a garden, it must be avoided if you want to grow them in pots. Runners will hinder the growth of the strawberry fruits. So, if you’re going to grow a healthy strawberry plant, avoid or snip the runners as soon as you spot them.
3. Say No to Overcrowding
Although strawberry plants have a shallow root system, overcrowding them or planting them too close to each other may result in less fruit production. Since strawberry plants are small, people tend to use too many roots to plant than the area can support. They may look green and prolific and cover the pot to give you a nice green look, but your ultimate goal of producing a nice amount of strawberries will not be fulfilled.
Like other plants, strawberry plants also need space and proper sunlight. The ideal way to do it is to plant just about 3 or 4 plants per square foot. Make sure they are equidistant from each other and facing outwards.
4. Insulating Layers/ Winter Protection
Growing strawberries in pots in the UK will require your attention due to the extreme cold weather in the UK. They need to be protected from the cold. Otherwise, their roots will die. An optimum temperature of about 20 degrees does not harm the plant, and can easily grow at this temperature. However, as the temperature drops below 20 degrees, these plants may not survive.
You need to provide insulation to these plants so that they can tackle the cold temperature. There are several ways to provide insulation to your plant, such as wrapping them with thermal blankets or plastic and adding a bed of straws. Apart from these, if there is a forecast of extremely cold weather, you should keep them in your garage.
You need to be careful while using insulation for your plant and constantly check if the fluctuation in temperature occurs frequently.
5. Maintain Appropriate Temperature
The best way to grow strawberries is to maintain a moderate temperature where they are grown. They don’t thrive well in extreme cold or hot conditions. Also, without proper heat maintenance, there is a good chance that they will develop some sort of fungi or pests.
While growing strawberries in pots, remember that the plant’s roots will be exposed to a higher temperature than if you are planting them in the ground. If it is not managed properly, it will yield fewer strawberries, or it may come to a point where the plant may die.
The best way to maintain a proper temperature for the strawberry plant in a pot is by providing shade. You can use aluminium foil, too, to ensure heat dissipation occurs properly.
A gentle water spray from time to time helps in providing it with a proper environment to grow.
6. Water Frequently
When it comes to growing strawberries, you want to keep the soil damp all the time. Keeping the soil dry or too mushy will do more harm than help. When the temperature rises, you must water the plants more often, several times a day, with less water.
If the soil lacks the due moisture, the roots of the plant will dry, and if it is left too soggy, there is a good chance of developing deadly microbes that will harm the plant. Usually, soil in a pot dries more quickly than the land, so you may need to water it more often. For example, a hot summer day may require watering your strawberry plant twice a day.
7. Adding the Right Fertilisers at The Right Time
Since strawberry plants have shallow roots, it’s important to give them regular fertilisers. You can use homemade compost or organic fertilisers for your plant. Homemade compost works for all kinds of plants, and strawberries are no exception. Adding liquid fertilisers is recommended for potted strawberry plants. Make sure that the fertiliser that you have chosen is high in potassium.
In the growing season, you should add liquid fertiliser once weekly or every two weeks to keep them healthy and strong.
8. Ensuring the pH of The Soil
Slightly acidic soil is ideal for growing strawberries. A pH between 5.5 and 7 is perfect for growing strawberries. You can buy an acid-loving plant mix for your pot and add coffee grounds or sawdust to your potting mix. Since you are growing your plant in a pot, you must ensure they find all the nutrients it would otherwise get if planted on the ground.
Strawberries thrive well in a mix that is rich in nutrients that can retain moisture while also being able to drain quickly.
9. Sunlight
Sunlight is quite essential for potted strawberry plants. Direct sunlight of a minimum of 8 hours per day is necessary for them to grow. The ideal way to ensure this is to put your plants in your backyard, or if you are keeping them in your room, they should be kept in a place where they can get proper sunlight.
Keeping strawberry plants in a good sunlight area is always a good idea since the chances of pollination by wind and by insects increase in such a case, which ultimately increases the strawberry yield.
10. Regular Harvesting
We are always in a hurry to see the fruits of our labour, aren’t we? Well, it works in this case! You should start harvesting your strawberries as soon as you see them. Picking them as soon as they ripen promotes flower production, ensuring more fruit for your plant.
So, just pluck them carefully by using your hands or snip them right below the fruit, and your strawberries are ready to eat.
Steps for Growing Strawberries in Pots
Once you have chosen the variety of plants you want to grow, you can proceed with the steps to grow them in pots or small containers.
1. Preparing the Pot
You can grow strawberries from either transplants or bare root crowns. The difference is that while transplants will start producing leaves in no time, bare root crowns require time to produce leaves. You can look for the varieties that work best in your climate. You can take the help of your local gardener to choose the best varieties.
First, you can add a newspaper in the bottom, absorbing the water leaking from the pot. Then fill the pot with a quality organic mix till it is up to 75% of the pot. Now add an appropriate amount of water to keep it nice and wet.
2. Planting
In that pot filled with 75% organic mix, you can plant the crowns in the outward direction. This will also ensure that the fruits remain outside of the pot. For a 5-gallon pot, you can use three crowns. You can keep a gap of 4 inches between each crown for optimal growth. Although strawberries do not require much space to grow, they should be planted so that their sunlight requirement is not hindered. Always remember not to make the space overcrowded.
After planting the crowns, you can again fill the remaining space with the organic mix. While planting the strawberry plants, it is important to note that the crowns remain above the soil. If the crowns are not above the soil, they will rot and not produce the required result. Remember to carefully compress the soil around the plants by lightly pressing it with your hands.
3. Mulching and Watering
Mulching adds small leaves, wood chips or other organic materials to the soil. You can use any of these things for mulching your strawberry plant. Mulching avoids moisture loss and helps maintain soil temperature on hotter days. It helps retain moisture long while draining away the excess water. After mulching, you can water the plant. About 1.5 litres of water will be suitable for a medium size pot. You will need to water the plant again only after two weeks.
Okay! Now that you know about growing strawberry plants in a pot, let’s look at the tips that will be helpful for the successful growth and maintenance of the strawberry plant. These tips will ensure a healthy and nice-looking strawberry plant for your home.
Conclusion
Growing strawberries in pots is easy as long as you are careful. However, there are a few things to remember while growing them. The first is to ensure you have the right seed or a healthy crown. Also, be careful with the watering system; damp soil works perfectly for strawberries, do not fill your pot with water, as an excess amount of water leads to the rotting of roots in strawberry plants. With proper watering, fertiliser treatment, ample sunlight and winter protection, your plant will begin to bear healthy, tasty and beautiful-looking strawberries in no time.
Strawberries are the best plant to start your gardening journey. If you follow the simple steps given above, there is no way you can’t enjoy the luscious strawberry plants in your home just when you want. So, go on plant your very own strawberry plant in a pot and thank me later!
Frequently Asked Question
What Is the Best Variety of Strawberries to Grow in a Pot at Home?
When choosing the right variety for your plant, you should look for day-neutral or ever-bearing plant types. These varieties tend to bear fruits during the first year itself, so you don’t have to wait much to see the fruits of your labour.
Can Strawberries Grow in a Pot from Seeds?
Definitely! Strawberries can very well grow from seeds. You must find the seed and sprinkle them on the organic mix in a shallow pot. Don’t push them in the soil too much; just make sure they remain under the soil while still being able to get sunlight to germinate. Keep the soil wet but not too soggy.
