The days are shorter, and spring still feels a little way off, yet here I am, already thinking about juicy red strawberries and planning ahead for the warmer months.
All of my strawberry plants this year have come from runners that were gifted to me. I love growing plants for free! Not only is it easy on the wallet, but there’s something very satisfying about taking a small runner, encouraging it to root, and eventually turning it into a productive plant. At the moment they’re still getting established, but they’re rooting beautifully and putting on plenty of healthy growth.
My New Strawberry Plan
This strawberry season rather than planting them directly into the garden as I’ve done in previous years, they’ll be grown in pots. For now they’re spending time in the greenhouse while they establish strong root systems, but they won’t stay there forever. Come spring, they’ll move into their new home on outdoor shelving. My thought process around this is that by growing the strawberries on shelves, the plants can spread naturally and cascade over the edges of the pots… and they are light enough to move around if required. Not only should it look attractive, but it also makes good use of vertical space.
But more importantly, I’m well aware that strawberries aren’t just popular with people. Birds, insects, and the occasional opportunistic creature often seem to think they have first rights to the fruit. To help protect the crop, I’ll be creating a lightweight structure over the shelving and draping netting over it once the fruit begins to ripen. It won’t be a full shade house, just enough protection to give the strawberries a fighting chance and hopefully allow me to harvest more fruit than the local wildlife.
A Little Winter Maintenance
Before repotting the strawberries up into larger and roomier pots, I give each plant a quick tidy to remove dead leaves, stray weeds that have snuck in and nip off sprouted runners. Normally accumulating runners is exciting (that’s how I grew them all in the first place), but at this stage I’d rather the plant focus its energy on developing strong roots and healthy foliage so it can direct all of its resources back into establishing itself.
When I removed the plants from their temporary bags (from when they were baby runners), it was encouraging to see plenty of roots developing. The root balls were beginning to fill out nicely. A gentle massage around the roots helps loosen them slightly and encourages them to spread into their new larger pot. I used 16cm pots because I had plenty at hand, but I wouldn’t go any smaller. In fact 20cm pots would be ideal.
For potting up these strawberries, I turned to one of my soil bins. They originally started life as compost bins, but over the years our composting methods changed and they found a new purpose. The material inside is rich, dark, and full of organic matter. It’s certainly not a commercial seed-raising mix, but perfect for potting mix.
For now, it’s simply a case of keeping them growing steadily through winter in the greenhouse. It’s not a dramatic gardening project but needs to be done now!
