Strawberries are one of the most rewarding crops for a British kitchen garden, but they can be frustrating in open ground. Slugs, birds and wet summers often take the lion's share. Growing them in pots and hanging baskets solves many of these problems. You control the compost, drainage and watering, and you can move plants under cover when the weather turns. On an allotment, containers lift fruit clear of soil-borne pests and let you use vertical space. A sunny patio, a balcony or a few metres of greenhouse bench can produce a surprisingly generous bowlful from June to September. Best of all, you can pick fruit at perfect ripeness, still warm from the sun.
For containers, early varieties are a wise choice. They fruit in June, before bird pressure peaks and before vine weevil larvae are most active. Look for 'Honeoye' or 'Malling Centenary'. Everbearers such as 'Flamenco', 'Albion' and 'Mara des Bois' crop in flushes from July to the first frosts and are excellent for hanging baskets. Alpine strawberries, including 'Alexandria' and 'Mignonette', are small, intensely flavoured and produce no runners, so they suit tiny baskets and shadier spots. Buy certified virus-free crowns or young plants rather than saving runners from tired old stock.
Strawberries are greedy feeders. Use a rich, free-draining compost: a mix of peat-free multipurpose and John Innes No.2, with a few handfuls of well-rotted manure and a slow-release fertiliser such as chicken manure pellets. Allow about 3–5 litres of compost per plant. A 30cm pot takes one plant; a 35–40cm pot takes two or three. For hanging baskets, line with coir or moss, fill with compost and plant three to five everbearers or alpines. Make sure there are drainage holes. Plant with the crown exactly at compost level. Bury it and it rots; leave it proud and it dries out. Water in well and keep in a bright, sheltered spot. In a strawberry planter with pockets, start at the bottom and work upwards.
Containers dry out fast, especially hanging baskets. Little and often is the rule. In warm weather, check morning and evening. Rainwater is ideal; tap water is fine but let it stand if you can. Water the compost, not the leaves, to reduce botrytis. A bottle drip or a short seep hose helps on busy days. Feed with a potassium-rich tomato feed once flowers appear, every 7–10 days. Before that, a balanced liquid feed is enough. A mulch of straw or wool pellets around the crown keeps fruit clean and conserves moisture. Never let plants dry out while the fruit is swelling — that is when crops fail.
Birds are the biggest threat. A blackbird will strip a pot in an afternoon. Net with 20mm mesh over a rigid frame, held taut at least 20cm above the foliage. Never drape netting directly on plants; birds and hedgehogs can become tangled. Remove netting for a few hours on warm, still days to let bees and hoverflies in, or hand-pollinate with a soft brush if plants are under cover. Raise pots on feet and use copper tape or nematodes against slugs. Vine weevil grubs hollow out the roots — apply nematodes in late summer. Mice and squirrels may nibble fruit; a fruit cage is the best answer on an allotment. Inspect weekly and pick any mouldy fruit immediately.
After cropping, cut off old leaves, remove runners unless you want new plants, and tidy the compost surface. Move pots to a sheltered, frost-free spot — a cold greenhouse, against a south-facing wall, or wrapped in bubble wrap. Reduce watering but do not let the compost dry out completely. In late winter, top-dress with fresh compost and a handful of slow-release fertiliser. Strawberries crop best in their first three years. After that, virus and root pests build up, so start fresh crowns every two or three years. Pot up runners in late summer for a free supply of new plants, but only from healthy, heavy-cropping parents. With a little care, a few pots and baskets will keep you in strawberries from early summer to the first frosts.
Gate & Furrow shares practical, down-to-earth guidance on british kitchen gardening and allotment growing for readers across the UK.
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