From a practical point of view, it is advantageous to always have ripening strawberries on hand and you do not need to own a garden. Just plant the strawberries in a flower pot and enjoy the harvest on your balcony. In this article, you will learn about our own experiences with this method of growing everbearing strawberries. Traditional growing in a bed is not the only way to sufficiently self-supply yourself with your own strawberry crop. If you do not have a garden, or the soil in your garden is depleted, then try growing strawberries in pots. The method of growing strawberries in pots is actually a modification of professional soilless growing on large areas, under foil covers or in a greenhouse. This method most often uses varieties that are photoperiodically neutral, meaning that they produce flowers regardless of the length of the day. We refer to such varieties as everbearing or remontant. The biggest advantage of such varieties is the ability to bloom and bear fruit from June until the end of the growing season. The harvest is usually completed only by the first frosts. Even spaces such as a balcony, terrace or garden pergola on which you can hang flower pots can be successfully used to grow a sufficient amount of strawberries for your own consumption.

What are the advantages of growing strawberries in pots?

  • The fruits always remain clean because they hang freely from the pot. They dry quickly after rain, so they do not rot due to botrytis infection and are not damaged by snails.
  • In case of cold weather and prolonged rain, strawberry pots can be hidden. This will prevent the roots from getting wet, which hinders the overall growth and development of the plants.
  • Growing in pots can prevent root diseases that can destroy strawberry crops in the open field.
  • Care is much easier, the plants do not need to be hoed or weeded. Runners with daughter plants can be easily removed because they hang down from the pot. When grown in the open field, runners take root and unnecessarily thicken the space between the plants.
  • Based on our own experience, we can confirm that strawberries can be grown completely without spraying in this way. Of course, the choice of variety is also important in this case.
  • All fertilizers supplied to the pot are fully available to the plants being grown. There are no unnecessary leaks, the fertilizer is used 100%.
  • Picking large and clean fruits is fun, especially for children. Those who already suffer from back pain will appreciate the possibility of placing the pots at such a height that they do not have to bend over when harvesting.

Instructions for growing strawberries in self-watering pots

Choosing a reliable variety is an important condition for successful cultivation. Our variety trials were mainly focused on assessing the quality of current, new cultivars of everbearing strawberries. Among the various cultivars, the best performance in our pot growing conditions was recorded in the Dutch variety ELAN F1. We will prefer this variety as the main one for the next growing season.

What characteristics should a variety suitable for pot cultivation have?

  • Resistance to diseases that attack roots, leaves and fruits
  • High fertility
  • Tolerance to elevated temperatures in the summer
  • Production of first-class fruits in terms of taste and appearance
  • The advantage is an everbearing variety, with a harvest period spread from June to the first frosts

Planting date

Plan planting either for the beginning of the growing season, April-May, or for the period August-October. Everbearing varieties planted by mid-May will bring a full harvest in August. The type of pot also plays an important role. The Siesta plastic self-watering pots with a well-thought-out double bottom, which allows water to be sucked from the reservoir and simultaneously ventilates the lower part of the root system, seem to be reliable. For every 15 cm of the pot length, plant one strong and well-rooted plant. Another alternative is a self-watering polystyrene pot, which has all the advantages of the previous one and also protects the roots from overheating in the summer. Each pot can be hung using hooks on various structures, such as a railing, fence, pergola. The pots can also be placed in an iron stand made for this purpose.

What substrate for planting?

We recommend using a transplanting mixture with a predominant proportion of organic matter, for example coconut fiber, into which 15% of sand and clay are mixed. Coconut fiber has significant properties that make it the most important growing medium in professional strawberry production. As an alternative, you can use a peat substrate with a medium-coarse structure, with 15% of coarse sand and clay. The pH of the substrate should always be in the range of 5-5.5 and the addition of basic fertilizer should be in the amount of 1-2 kg/m3.

Fertilization

When growing strawberries in a pot, it is slightly different compared to growing in open ground. If you plant in a substrate that does not contain sufficient starting nutrients, add 10 g of crystalline water-soluble strawberry fertilizer per pot 60 cm long, 20 cm high and 20 cm wide before planting. We also recommend fertilizing strawberries during the growing season with granulated cow manure, in a total dose of 100 g, and calcium nitrate in a total amount of 30 g per 60 cm long balcony pot. Divide the total dose into three parts and dose gradually. Carefully monitor the signs of nutrient deficiency on the plants. If necessary, add missing nutrients in the form of water-soluble crystalline fertilizer, with microelements in chelate form.

Propagation

Strawberries in a pot have a lifespan of 2-3 growing seasons. However, it should be noted that the overall yield decreases in the third year. Use runners with daughter plants that are formed at the same time as the inflorescences. Place these runners on the surface of a pot filled with growing substrate so that the daughter plants touch the surface of the substrate with their lower part. In three weeks, the daughter plants are fully rooted, then you can cut the runners from the parent plant.

And finally

We recommend that anyone who decides to try growing strawberries in pots be careful when buying plants from various sellers who, in an overly flattering manner, offer various unknown and unverified varieties for sale through colorful advertisements in magazines (of course, with a money-back guarantee...) that are not even known to the strawberry breeders themselves. Avoid making a bad purchase by asking an acquaintance about his experience with buying through advertisements. It is best to find a reliable nursery in your area that offers high-quality, healthy plants of proven strawberry cultivars. The experience of a successful grower is simply priceless.