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Keeping strawberries off the ground

moggy7875VSZvVQTmoggy7875VSZvVQT Posts: 3
in Fruit & veg
Hi, I'm new here so bear with me if my question seems stupid as I'm also new to growing fruit & veg. I'm moving my strawberries into a large pot next year so they can overhang the sides but will need to put a couple in the centre, can I use a coir hanging basket liner to keep the inside ones off the soil? Thanks

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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited August 2023
    Hello @moggy7875VSZvVQT and welcome to the forum 😊 
    Not stupid at all … how else do you find out 😉 

    When I grew strawberries, in the summer I surrounded the plants with some straw to keep the fruit off the earth … you can get a bag quite cheaply from a pet shop if you don’t know a friendly farmer. 
    You can buy little mats to put around strawberry plants, but I prefer the straw … it’s cheaper and can you into the compost bin afterwards. 👍 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    When you say a large pot - what exactly do you mean @moggy7875VSZvVQT ?
    It would need to be very big indeed if you have plants round the edge and room for 2 more in the middle. If they get congested, they won't do as well as they might   :)

    You can use almost anything, but something breathable - like the straw mentioned, is best, as anything solid can just be a home for slugs. Wood shavings are also fine, and you can get small bags of that in all sorts of places as it's used for bedding for various animals.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    I put fir cones around all of mine once the fruit has set and before it ripens.
    The cones open in the sun and keep the strawberries dry and off the soil.

    We own a bit of land adjoining the garden which has several large pine trees, so no shortage of cones (they make good firelighters too!)

    Bee x
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • moggy7875VSZvVQTmoggy7875VSZvVQT Posts: 3
    Thank you all for your comments but no one has answered my question yet regarding the coir matting.
  • diggersjodiggersjo Posts: 172
    As @Fairygirl said you can use almost anything, better if it is breathable. Coir matting would be fine.
    Yorkshire, ex Italy and North East coast. Growing too old for it!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The size of the container is a major factor though, which is why I asked what size it was.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    moggy7875VSZvVQT said:
    Thank you all for your comments but no one has answered my question yet regarding the coir matting.
    If you only have a coir basket liner to use then you can cut into pieces which can then be placed on the soil surface where  needed.
  • moggy7875VSZvVQTmoggy7875VSZvVQT Posts: 3
    Thank you all for your help. To Fairygirl, the pot is very large and I don't have many plants so I'll be able to space them around the edge but the small runners I took this year will sit nicely in the centre.
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