Content
Gardeners are original people, and if the plot is small, they will find many fantastic ways to grow the maximum number of cultivated plants, while saving acreage. As a rule, these are combined plantings. But some gardening enthusiasts have gone even further. They began to use any container for planting plants.
One interesting option is to use vertical containers for growing garden strawberries. Gardeners, even with extensive experience, immediately have a question about how to care for such plantings and what agrotechnical standards must be followed. Let's say right away that strawberries in a barrel not only save space, but also simplify care and harvesting.
Pros and cons
What are the advantages
Growing strawberries in a barrel is gaining popularity among both experienced and novice gardeners.
In addition to saving space on the site, there are many more advantages:
- The number of planted strawberry bushes is increasing significantly. Depending on the height and volume of the barrel, you can plant up to 100 seedlings per square meter.
- The fruits remain clean because they do not come into contact with the soil, therefore, the strawberries are not subject to putrefactive processes.
- Mice, snails and slugs do not live in vertical beds; they cannot reach the berries.
- Plants warm up well, yield increases.
- Picking strawberries in a barrel is not difficult; you don’t have to bow to every berry.
- There is no need for weeding.
- Barrels for growing strawberries are easy to buy, although you can use old ones.
It can be placed anywhere on the site. Look at the photo, isn't it great!
Minuses
You shouldn’t just sing the praises of planting remontant strawberries in barrels. For every plus there is always a minus. What nuances do gardeners pay attention to in their reviews:
- Fertilizing strawberries in a barrel should be carried out weekly.
- The soil dries out faster and requires frequent watering. In addition, a lot of moisture accumulates in the lower part of the barrel, while at the top the ground is already dry.
- Vertically installed beds strawberries must be mobile in regions of risky farming, for example, in Siberia and the Urals. For the winter you will have to put the barrels away in a warm place. Outdoors, the soil freezes to the ground and plants die even with extensive cover.
- Most often, you have to plant strawberry bushes in a barrel every year.
In the photo below, strawberries are planted in a mobile barrel.
Everything in them is already adapted for planting and growing berry bushes.Such a barrel of strawberries can even be placed on a balcony or loggia. Look at the photo to see what such a device looks like.
Strawberry varieties for barrels
Once you have decided on the method of growing fragrant berries, you need to choose the right variety. Today, thanks to the hard work of breeders, this is not so easy to do. When you read the description of garden strawberries, it seems that there is no better variety.
Experienced gardeners who have been planting strawberries vertically in barrels for many years are advised to opt for remontant varieties, as they are the most stable and viable in any climatic region.
We offer a list of the most popular varieties strawberries for vertical growing in barrels. Most often, gardeners advise using:
- Balcony charm and homemade delicacy;
- Aluboi and Tribute;
- Geneva and Freestar;
- Albion and Lyubava;
- Queen Elizabeth and Gigantella Maxi;
- Corona and Kimberly;
- Brighton and different varieties of climbing strawberries.
Features of preparing the “beds”
Not every barrel can be used for vertical planting of garden strawberries or strawberries.
But its preparation must be approached responsibly, taking into account special nuances. Let's look at this process step by step:
Step 1 - preparing the container
- First, holes are drilled in the strawberry growing barrel to allow water to drain. Secondly, you need to mark the places where the seedlings will be planted.The correct marking is in a checkerboard pattern. In this case, each strawberry bush will receive a sufficient portion of solar heat and light. The hole should be 5x5 so that the soil does not spill out and the plant is comfortable.
- If the barrel is metal, the edges of the hole need to be folded inside the barrel and pressed firmly. If the barrel is made of a different material, then you just need to cut a hole.
If you want to not only use a barrel for planting strawberries, but also decorate your area with it, then the container can be painted and even decorated. Painting will extend the shelf life of a wooden or metal barrel. Look at the photo below to see how one of the gardeners did it. In addition, in this version there are not just cuts made, but unique pockets.
Step 2 – drainage pad
To grow strawberries vertically, it is necessary to provide each plant with sufficient water. Since the height of the container is quite large, the load will fall on the lower layer of plantings. In this place the soil will be waterlogged. To prevent stagnation of water, you need to create a drainage layer in the barrel.
Coarse gravel is used as drainage, which fills the bottom of the barrel. Then a pipe with a diameter of at least 15-20 cm with drilled holes is installed in the center. It can be wrapped in burlap to prevent the holes from becoming clogged with soil. Gravel is also poured into the inner part - this is vertical drainage. Thanks to this device, water will be distributed throughout the entire height of the laid soil.
Step 3 – soil for the “bed”
When growing strawberries in a barrel, the space between the pipe and the walls is filled with fertile soil.To do this you will need:
- turf soil - 2 parts;
- sand – 1 part;
- wood ash;
- mineral fertilizers according to instructions;
- organic matter - compost or humus.
How to plant seedlings
The barrel for growing strawberries vertically should be installed in a sunny place so that all sides are evenly heated and illuminated during the day.
Now let's look at how to properly plant strawberry seedlings in the holes. Do not immediately fill the container to the top with soil. Then it will be more difficult to plant the strawberries in the growing barrel. First, fill the space with soil up to the first holes and lightly compact it. Garden strawberry seedlings are inserted into the holes, the root system is straightened, watered and soil is partially added again. Further actions are identical.
When the entire volume of the tub is filled, several bushes are also planted on top. Strawberries in a barrel feel comfortable if you continue to adhere to the rules of agricultural cultivation.
When planting strawberry seedlings in a barrel, it is practically impossible to avoid its damage. One of the gardeners, in his reviews of vertical plantings, offers a painless option for strawberries. You need to cut a strip from thin tin and wrap the upper part of the seedling in it. Together with the straw, they push the strawberries into the hole of the barrel. After disembarkation the phone is removed. Look at the photo below how convenient it is to work.
For several days, until the strawberry seedlings take root, the vertical bed needs to be shaded. You need to water every day through the drainage pipe. In extreme heat, you can irrigate the leaves with a spray bottle.
Rules of care
Growing and caring for vertical plantings comes down to timely watering and feeding of strawberries. Foliar feeding is carried out with Fitosporin, Alirin-B with Gumi. These biologically active preparations contain no toxins; you can eat the berries immediately after feeding. Herbal infusions have a good effect on strawberry yields. You need to feed one leaf at a time three times:
- After planting to increase green mass.
- Before flowering.
- In autumn after harvest.
After a year, the strawberry plantings are renewed. In warm regions, it is enough to wrap the barrel with burlap. In a more severe climate, you will have to think about major insulation or removing the barrels into a frost-free room.
