Anthony T. Hicks once said, ‘Strawberries are full of love and happiness.' No wonder they are easily the most loved fruits, and you wouldn't miss them in your local store or grocery. Nevertheless, the most delicious and fresh strawberries come straight from the gardens.
So, what if you don’t have a large garden or outdoor space for planting strawberries? You don’t have to own acres of space to harvest sweet strawberries. You can still enjoy your favorite fruit, fresh from your small space at home.
To start us off, here are some creative DIY strawberry planter ideas for you.
1. Hanging Strawberry Planters
If lack of space to grow strawberries gives you sleepless nights, hanging baskets are what you need. They rank among excellent strawberry growing ideas, guaranteed to provide you with a bumper strawberry harvest.
You can buy hanging bags from Amazon or make your own for this vertical strawberry planter idea. Make holes 3-4 inches in diameter, 12 inches apart, in the sides of the grow bag.
Next, fill the bags with potting mix and plant your strawberry transplants, covering the roots with the crown jutting slightly.
Finally, hang your bags where they'll receive full sun, and remember to water them regularly.
2. Barrel Planters
You don’t have to purchase dedicated planters like strawberry pots for your strawberries. You can settle for reclaimed items such as plastic or wooden barrels. These are easily transformed into vertical strawberry planters.
You have to drill holes in the sides for planting and the bottom to drain water.
3. Pallet Strawberry Planters
Embracing vertical pallet planters is another popular and clever strawberry planting idea that saves on space. Strawberries spread through runners, and in this case, pallets come in handy in making a raised bed-like design for maximum productivity.
All you require is an unused pallet cut into three equal portions. What’s more, pallets are inexpensive and sturdy.
4. Strawberry Tower
If you don’t have a home garden, strawberry container ideas like strawberry towers are your best bet. Here, you stack plastic containers on top of each other, akin to a tower. You can place your tower on the deck or patio or hang it from a sturdy tree limb or porch roof.
Start with the biggest one at the bottom and the smallest container at the top. The best part is that this vertical garden technique features an inbuilt reservoir for effortless watering. The watering system directs water evenly to all planter parts after watering the top container.
5. Vertical Strawberry Tube Planter
A small space shouldn’t discourage you from growing tons of your favorite strawberry plants. One practical vertical strawberry planter idea is growing strawberries in vertical PVC pipes.
This DIY technique will need regular watering and is perfect for keeping pests from your plants.
6. Rain Gutter Planters
Another outstanding and super-easy strawberry planting idea is using rain gutters as planters. Although the plants will grow horizontally along each gutter, mounting a few planters results in a beautiful vertical garden system. To get the best out of this method, mount the planters on the sunny part of your house.
Allow 2-3 feet of spacing above every rain gutter for the lower plants to get enough sun. In addition, drill drainage holes (1/4-inch) after every foot at the base of the rain gutters to avoid water standing in the gutter.
3 Reasons Planters are Great for Planting Strawberries
Below are reasons why most people prefer container gardening instead of an in-ground strawberry garden.
1. Space: Even if you have limited space in your garden, you can still successfully grow strawberries by embracing assorted DIY ideas.
2. Convenience: When you grow strawberries in containers, grow bags, rain gutters, among other planters, it aids in pest control. It also reduces bacterial and fungi attacks since it is higher above the ground than in-ground plants, which are more prone to pest attacks.
3. Pest Control: You have the liberty of relocating your plants anytime you feel like it. When you want to tweak your landscaping a bit, all it'll take is moving your plants.
4 Factors to Consider When Growing Strawberries
After selecting how to grow your strawberries, you should keep several container planting hacks in mind.
1. Location: Regardless of where you place your strawberry planters, ensure they get enough sun, preferably 6-8 hours daily. If the sun comes from a single direction, it pays to rotate the plants every few days.
Also, growing strawberries in planters don't give them immunity from pests and insects, so protect the plants accordingly.
2. Plants: You can go with bare-root crowns or strawberry seedlings. However, note that planting seedlings in small containers is recommended compared to bare-root crowns.
3. Planting: The crowns of your strawberry plants should be above the surface of the soil. Make a small mound in the potting soil and spread the root systems over it. Next, delicately cover the roots up to the crown and water appropriately.
When the initial soil in the container settles, you can add extra potting mix.
4. Spacing: Typically, strawberry plants spread out about 2 feet all-round. In this regard, small containers should have 2-3 plants. For more elaborate planting, use 8-9 liter containers.
