It is much easier to grow them in the ground (and more efficient as well). They even taste much better, when grow in the ground. I have some successful experience growing them in pots on a window sill, but this required more effort (watering, pollinating, and feeding constantly).
After some experiments, I switched to wild strawberries (small ones). I've already been growing them in containers on my balcony for the second year. They are much easier to grow, very hardy, and very sweet despite the lack of sunlight (while the taste of big strawberries depends very much on sunlight they get).
from reading i believe you put down when fruit is starting to help keep off the ground and stop soil splash etc
mine are all in raised bed with weed sheet down and holes cut for the strawberries. but thinking maybe i should add some straw next month. flowers are starting now
Straw is not ideal as slugs love it and it gives them somewhere to hide. Better to use 'strawberry mats' which you can buy, or (better) make from a foot-square piece of cardboard with a hole in the middle and a slot. This keeps the fruit off the ground and prevents splash damage (as Marc says) and it's easy to check for slugs underneath. Put them down when the fruits start to form.
The name 'strawberry' has nothing to do with straw - it's from their habit of strewing themselves around in late summer to reproduce asexually. Even if you take the fruit in the first year (OK if you planted last autumn, less so for new plants going in now) you should remove all but one runner per plant and allow only one new plant on this, otherwise the plant will put all its energy into the runners and not into storing food for next year's fruit. You will still double the number of your plants.
Incidentally, and to add to the debate, I had a good look at the strawberry farm near my OH's here in Flanders last night.
Apart from being in massive greenhouses or under some serious netting,, they have the plants in containers - about 2 litre pots I'd say - in single rows of racks at working height with a watering system. I could go back and take some photos if anyone's interested.
I suspect the containers are for convenience of handling, and enable the plants to be at a good height for (probably mechanical) picking and away from mud and slugs. And they're bigger than we tend to use in the garden/greenhouse. And they probably get liquid fed, so can do without the large doses of compost that help garden-grown fruit do well.
Yes, weed-suppressant membrane will do fine Marc, but you need to be able to get under to kill the slugs, and take them away in the autumn to cultivate and add compost, so not a continuous sheet covering the whole plot.
Raising the plants on mounds is good as they don't so well if they get too soggy, and they will benefit from a lot of garden compost, especially if the soil is clay.
The runners will grow up from the crown and arch over to touch the ground a foot or so away. Like this
Allow each plant to produce only one runner and only one daughter on that.
the weed sheet covers the whole plot and is weighed down, nice and neat and ideally like to keep but yes this may change as and when runners or slugs appear
ive just added soil/fertilizer soil
hoping slugs wont be a major issue but i will keep an eye out
Would you normally snip off the runner and daughter to plant them separately in pots? I have a strawberry plant in the ground from last year which has survived winter. It's got a runner and daughter which have had 3 or 4 leaves for the last couple of months but don't seem to be growing at all.
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It is much easier to grow them in the ground (and more efficient as well). They even taste much better, when grow in the ground. I have some successful experience growing them in pots on a window sill, but this required more effort (watering, pollinating, and feeding constantly).
After some experiments, I switched to wild strawberries (small ones). I've already been growing them in containers on my balcony for the second year. They are much easier to grow, very hardy, and very sweet despite the lack of sunlight (while the taste of big strawberries depends very much on sunlight they get).
I've put Strawbs. in both pots & on the ground on my new plot..Will let you know the results.
I had strawberry plants in ground last year (runners from the previous year) and literally got no fruit at all.....any tips were I went wrong!
also at what point do you put the straw down?
seems debatable for straw down
from reading i believe you put down when fruit is starting to help keep off the ground and stop soil splash etc
mine are all in raised bed with weed sheet down and holes cut for the strawberries. but thinking maybe i should add some straw next month. flowers are starting now
?
Straw is not ideal as slugs love it and it gives them somewhere to hide. Better to use 'strawberry mats' which you can buy, or (better) make from a foot-square piece of cardboard with a hole in the middle and a slot. This keeps the fruit off the ground and prevents splash damage (as Marc says) and it's easy to check for slugs underneath. Put them down when the fruits start to form.
The name 'strawberry' has nothing to do with straw - it's from their habit of strewing themselves around in late summer to reproduce asexually. Even if you take the fruit in the first year (OK if you planted last autumn, less so for new plants going in now) you should remove all but one runner per plant and allow only one new plant on this, otherwise the plant will put all its energy into the runners and not into storing food for next year's fruit. You will still double the number of your plants.
Incidentally, and to add to the debate, I had a good look at the strawberry farm near my OH's here in Flanders last night.
Apart from being in massive greenhouses or under some serious netting,, they have the plants in containers - about 2 litre pots I'd say - in single rows of racks at working height with a watering system. I could go back and take some photos if anyone's interested.
I suspect the containers are for convenience of handling, and enable the plants to be at a good height for (probably mechanical) picking and away from mud and slugs. And they're bigger than we tend to use in the garden/greenhouse. And they probably get liquid fed, so can do without the large doses of compost that help garden-grown fruit do well.
so would weed sheet be good enough to stop splash etc and the plants are all slightly raised on mini mounds?
soil is quite clay also
the runners would likely go under the weed sheet so i would have to keep an eye on to allow one to come up?
Yes, weed-suppressant membrane will do fine Marc, but you need to be able to get under to kill the slugs, and take them away in the autumn to cultivate and add compost, so not a continuous sheet covering the whole plot.
Raising the plants on mounds is good as they don't so well if they get too soggy, and they will benefit from a lot of garden compost, especially if the soil is clay.
The runners will grow up from the crown and arch over to touch the ground a foot or so away. Like this
Allow each plant to produce only one runner and only one daughter on that.
ill try and post again, silly new site
the weed sheet covers the whole plot and is weighed down, nice and neat and ideally like to keep but yes this may change as and when runners or slugs appear
ive just added soil/fertilizer soil
hoping slugs wont be a major issue but i will keep an eye out