Planting Strawberries In Pots – Grow Strawberries For Beginners
Intro:
Today, we are going to learn about how to start planting strawberries in pots, so let’s begin…
Planting Strawberries In Pots
People usually think that strawberries are too difficult to grow. Well, if you read this entire article which includes everything you need to know about growing strawberries and follow these simple steps then you can also grow your own organic strawberries.
Strawberries which we grow by ourselves are organic and tastes unbelievably far better and sweeter than market bought. Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin A, C, E, and B complex. Strawberries are rich and diverse source of antioxidants, however, what’s less well known is that the leaves connected with strawberry and stock called calyx contain antioxidants and it’s edible too. Strawberries love sunny spots and need at least six to eight hours of full sunlight to thrive.
Step 01: Planter Selection
You can grow strawberry plants in plastic as well as earthen pots but make sure it has a soil depth of at least 8 to 12 inches to give the plants root system space to grow. Its root spreads horizontally and doesn’t go very deep, so if you are planting more than one plant in a container then maintain around 10 to 12 inches of distance.
You can also grow strawberries in small hanging baskets if you have space problems but as I learned from my previous experiences to get more yield and big size strawberries, I suggest using at least 13 inch earthen pot or rectangular 24 inch wide planted to grow two plants in each, also in big pots strawberry plants continue to be productive for at least two to three years.
Step 02: Plant Selection
Strawberries are available in nurseries from the month of December while purchasing strawberry plants from nurseries select only mature healthy plants with a maximum number of lush green leaves and bigger crowns. Make sure these plants are disease-free and of good variety as far as diseases in a strawberry plant are concerned, these are hearty plants and hardly catch diseases but you should spray neem oil 5 ml per liter once every 15 days to protect from aphids and mice.
Step 03: Growing Season
When is the right time for strawberry plantation?
Well, it depends upon where you live and what variety you are growing but the ideal time is just before the winter starts between November to December.
Step 04: Fertilizing Strawberries
Fertilizer for strawberries should be balanced and piqué which is nitrogen phosphorus and potassium. If the fertilizer is applied correctly, it really doesn’t matter whatever the fertilizer is a 15 15 15 or 19 19 19, etc. Just as long as the numbers are the same, liquid fertilizers give quick and best results.
I mix freedom of NPK in nineteen nineteen nineteen in one liter of water and spray on the plants and also for same solution 250 ml in each of the pot once every 15 days.
Step 05: Potting Soil Preparation
The better destroy, the better your plants will grow. Strawberries love fertile well-drained and crumbly soil, prepare perfect potting soil for the best results. For potting soil you need:
- 40% garden soil
- 20% coco peat
- 10% cow dung composed
- 10% wormy composed
- 10% cent
- 5% vermiculite
- 5 percent perlite
- 2 Fistful of bone meal
- 2 Fistful of neem cake powder or neem collie
- 1 Fistful of slow-releasing fertilizer or organics well rejuvenator
Organic good rejuvenator will provide all micronutrients like carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, magnesia, boron, molybdenum, chlorine.
Use one tablespoon fungicide of any type, guys vermiculite holds micronutrients and perlite holds moisture. So, you can get these from your local agricultural shop but if you don’t have pure light or vermiculite don’t worry it’s not necessary. If you don’t have a swell rejuvenator as well you may mix one tablespoon of tea.
Now, mix everything very well and then prepare your pots. Once you’ve prepared all pots, then water it throughout for the first time.
Step 06: Mulching
Before plants start fruiting, it should be mulch with straw or wood chips to keep fruit dry and clean. The fruit keeps in contact with soil, it will get rot, also mulching the soil surface between plants will maintain an even soil temperature.
Step 07: Propagation Through Runners
Strawberry plants can be ruined from runners, established mother plants produces runners with the small bird (small plant) but in the end, runners should be removed unless you want to propagate new plants. The more runners a single mother plant has, the more nutrition will drain off from the mother plant. You need to plant the lower half of the bird in a small container, apply a plastic clip to hold it in its place, after one month this runner will be developed a nice root system.
Then it will be the right time to cut that Scott connected to the baby plant and the new plant will be ready to be potted in a big pot. It will probably start blooming and then it will start fruiting in a month.
Progress: After One And Two Months
When it’s been a month since you ported them, you will get there some red ripe berries, and plants will be full of green berries and flowers as well.
After two months, you will see the result, strawberries will be ripe and plants will be at their maximum fruiting. Your pots will be full of perfectly ripened and you will get big-sized strawberries.
Tips: For Watering
These plants love moist soil but not soggy, over-watering encourages root rot, especially in colder days. Avoid watering on foliage flowers of fruit, red fruits rot very easily in winter, water only when around 1/2 inch of soil gets sweat.
Info: Propagation By Seed
You can also propagate strawberries by seeds, you can easily pick seeds from mature fruits with the help of tweezers. Sun-dry the extracted seeds for at least 24 hours and sow the seeds, the success rate is very low. These seeds can also be preserved for the next season in an airtight zip pouch, you can mix a pinch of fungicide in each.
Last Step: Harvesting
Pick strawberries only when they are bright blood-red all over, trust me you can never get such tasty and sweet strawberries from the market.
Common Question: How To Save Plant For Next Season?
After fruiting gets over you can renovate plants for next year. Trim of their old leaves, making sure not to damage the center stalk of the plant.
Hope so guys you liked reading this article. I tried my best as much as possible ways to make you understand everything clearly so hopefully, this article is gonna be helpful for you in planting strawberries in pots. Keep visiting us to learn many more things. Have a nice day!
