Growing Strawberry in Pot

[Pieman]

Hi All

I got one of those Strawberry growing pots for an Xmas pressie - have got 18 plants from Marshalls (the extend the season collection) - going to put together the Planter tonight and fill it with 75% MultiPurpose and 25% "Home grown" compost.......was then going to put my plants in the holes and retreat to a safe distance....

Few questions which by searching can't really fathom out -

1. Should I plant them now?
2. How should I treat them over the summer?
3. Will I get a crop this year?
4. Once the runners develop should I strike some of them to increase the number of plants (to plant into the spare holes in the planter)
5. Is my "mixture" ok - i read that manure should go in - is that OK for pots???
6. And how often should I "recycle" the compost?

Sorry for the questions - but I want to try and give em the best start (and please my little 3 year girl who loves her strawberries)....

[davefromthechipie]

Hi All

I got one of those Strawberry growing pots for an Xmas pressie - have got 18 plants from Marshalls (the extend the season collection) - going to put together the Planter tonight and fill it with 75% MultiPurpose and 25% "Home grown" compost.......was then going to put my plants in the holes and retreat to a safe distance....

Few questions which by searching can't really fathom out -

1. Should I plant them now?
   
   yes they well be fine Strawberry plants can take the badweather .
   
2. How should I treat them over the summer?
   
   slug traps / pellets if u like . netting too . i feed like toms . use high potassium feed evey one hand a half weeks .
   
3. Will I get a crop this year?
   
   You should do but maybe small
   
4. Once the runners develop should I strike some of them to increase the number of plants (to plant into the spare holes in the planter)
   
   If you want more plants for next year yes but take note the more runners the less energy its going to have into making the fruit . so try keep it to one
   
5. Is my "mixture" ok - i read that manure should go in - is that OK for pots???
   seems ok to me i dont really have a right % to tell you but i dig a far bit of manure . but then i grow on plot and not pots . you shouldnt need that much .
   
6. And how often should I "recycle" the compost?
   
   Be fine for that year just remember to feed if in pots

Sorry for the questions - but I want to try and give em the best start (and please my little 3 year girl who loves her strawberries)....

hope this helps and goodluck

Ps
remember to keep the fruits of the soil . Use a mat or good old cheap straw :P

[southlondongardener]

Where did you get the planter from ?

I planted last year and I think you should probably remove the flowers and runners from most of them to get a bigger crop the following year.

[veg4681]

Are those the type of planters with 6 or 9 holes around the pots? If they are, you need to put a perforated plastic pipe in the middle of the pot to ensure the plants gets watered properly.

For soil mixture, someone in earlier thread swears by the tomato growbag, this must have tomato pictures on them which will also say is suitable for growing strawberry. I bought one but found the compost a bit light so chucked in some of my good quality sieved garden soil to give them some weight, also threw in bits of Growmore although I'm not sure myself if I'm doing this right.

Feel free to check out this thread about soil mix I started earlier. Has interesting discussions here:

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ers_11705.html

Strawberry are relatively frost hardy but you could always leave them in an unheated greenhouse as they're not exactly matured plants.

[Percy T]

Thanks for the questions pieman, have been interested in the answers.

Got one of those planters last year, although we did have some fruit not loads but hoping for better this year fingers crossed.

Can I add some questions

Didnt know manure should have gone into the mix should I dress around the top of the pot now?

Dont really want to use slug pellets I have heard that coffee grounds do the trick will this be ok for strawberry's?

can anyone recomend a good organic liqiud feed I can buy?

[Pieman]

Thanks all for the advice so far......the Pot I got came from garden4less - it does have a perforated pipe to sit in the middle......

[davefromthechipie]

Thanks for the questions pieman, have been interested in the answers.

Got one of those planters last year, although we did have some fruit not loads but hoping for better this year fingers crossed.

Can I add some questions

Didnt know manure should have gone into the mix should I dress around the top of the pot now?

You should fork it in if you can. Cant see it working just sitting ontop of the plant 'well Saying that u dont have to add it you can still get fruit with the right mix ( im not sure what your used when planted).

Dont really want to use slug pellets I have heard that coffee grounds do the trick will this be ok for strawberry's?

Never used coffee tbh .I can see it working ;intill it rains that is ,copper strips around the plants works . Egg shells dont seem too (I still used use um old habbit ) The cheap slug traps u can buy from ebay etc . fill with yeast &water or use beer 'gets them .Next up is organic garlic grains ( work for a fuw rains + cheaper the coffee)
can anyone recomend a good organic liqiud feed I can buy?

A free one if comfery . I think you can buy this as a bottled feed from most centres . or grow your own if you can

[veg4681]

Got one of those planters last year, although we did have some fruit not loads but hoping for better this year fingers crossed.

Didnt know manure should have gone into the mix should I dress around the top of the pot now?

Dont really want to use slug pellets I have heard that coffee grounds do the trick will this be ok for strawberry's?

can anyone recomend a good organic liqiud feed I can buy?

To get more fruits, you should cut off the runners as your plants will be in their 2nd year.

You might be better off adding in some form of fertilisers to your soil. You could add them in liquid form as top dressing.

To avoid slugs feasting your harvest, you could place your planters high up somewhere like on garden table etc, think the coffee table height is no good, not high enough. Or place the planter on a very flat/shallow pot filled with grit/sand and crushed egg shells.