If you want to grow your own fruit at home, but you don’t have a lot of space, strawberries could be a good option.
While apple and pear trees get quite large and raspberry canes spread like wildfire, strawberries are compact plants that thrive in small gardens and containers too.
Some growers keep strawberries in dedicated garden beds, while others use low-growing strawberries as living mulches for weed suppression. But if you live in the city or you just want to save garden space, keeping strawberries in containers is an excellent solution that can limit pests and make harvesting easier.
Strawberries are typically divided into three categories: June-bearing, everbearing and day-neutral.
Caleb Goossen of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association recommended that home growers focus on everbearing strawberries for container growing and suggests treating them as annual plants, instead of attempting to overwinter the more traditional June-bearing strawberries.
Goossen explained that this reduces the chances of winter injury, but it also lets gardeners enjoy strawberries throughout the season, instead of just in June or July.
Aside from strawberry varieties, you’ll also want to choose the right planter. Growing containers should have drainage holes and be relatively wide.
Remember, strawberries have shallow roots and spread horizontally, so go for planters that are at least 12 inches wide by 8 inches deep to accommodate two or three strawberry plants.
Strawberry jars or grow towers with multiple holes are popular, but trailing strawberries look pretty in hanging baskets as well. You can also grow strawberries in old terracotta pots or an indoor hydroponic countertop setup.
Most often, strawberries are planted in March or April, but if you’re a bit behind in your gardening, you can plant strawberries later. Both bare root and potted strawberry plants will work, but bare root plants take longer to fruit.
To plant strawberries in pots, fill up your growing containers most of the way with a rich and well-draining potting mix. Then locate the crown on your strawberry plants — this is the place where the strawberry roots and stems meet.
Position your strawberries in their pots so that the plant crowns are even with the soil line. Firm the soil around the strawberry roots, but don’t cover up those crowns.
After planting, add a thin layer of straw mulch to limit weeds, water well and then move your potted strawberries to a spot that receives at least 6 hours of direct light daily. Indoor strawberries can be positioned in front of bright, south-facing windows or under grow lights kept on for 12-16 hours a day.
Give strawberries about an inch of water per week and add a monthly dose of organic liquid fertilizer to boost harvest yields. While pests are less problematic in container gardens, you may want to shelter strawberries with row covers or cloches to keep chipmunks and birds at bay.
Once established, outdoor strawberries flower and entice bees and butterflies to visit their blooms. Indoor plants should be hand-pollinated with a Q-Tip.
From 6 to 8 weeks after flowering, strawberries will begin to produce red, ripe fruit. Harvest every day or two to encourage plants to produce more strawberries for fresh eating, freezing, canning and jam-making.
