CREATING A STRAWBERRY PLANTER
On a scone, in a victoria sponge or plain with sugar. Nothing beats a perfectly ripe Strawberry on a hot summers day. If like me you love yours straight off the plant, here's our guide to growing the nation's favourite fruit!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
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A Strawberry/Herb Planter
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Grit for Drainage
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Peat-Free Multipurpose Compost
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Enough Strawberry plants to fill and the holes in your planter plus one for the top
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A Sunny Spot
We're using a Strawberry planter to grow our strawberries in as it holds the fruit off the compost as its developing, this stops all the little critters feasting on your ripe fruit. Our planter has multiple large drainage holes in the bottom. We have also added lots of grit to the bottom of our planter as good drainage is essential for strawberries. On top of the grit we have added the compost up until the first set of plant holes.
Strawberries prefer....compost. Then add your first layer of strawberry plants, one per hole. It is easier to push the foliage out of the hole from inside the pot rather than trying to squeeze the root ball through the hole into the pot.
Once your first layer of plants are in add more compost until you reach the next set of holes. Add more strawberry plants as you did before and cover with more compost.
Lastly top the pot with your final strawberry plant. Fill any gaps with more compost and water in well. Strawberry plants like to be moist but not waterlogged so drainage is key. Lastly place the planter in a sunny position feed once a week when fruit is actively setting and water regularly.
Remove any runners so the strawberry plant can focus its energy on growing delicious fruit. They normally last about 3-4 years before running out of steam and need replacing but until then you can enjoy your own taste of summer!