Easy-to-grow: Strawberries

Lockdown has shown everyone that we’re all more than capable of having green fingers, and there isn’t much more satisfying than growing your own food. However, most of us aren’t lucky enough to have an allotment or acres of land to grow in.

When space isn’t a luxury, what can you grow? We’ve created a series of blogs to show you the best fruit and veg for a small garden.

First up, strawberries

You’re well within your right to disbelieve this, but trust us, strawberries are easy to grow. They can be grown in the ground but they also do very well in containers. You can grow them in tubs, hanging baskets, troughs – anything that’s spacious enough to let them spread their leaves.

(Photo by Oliver Hale on Unsplash)

Which is the perfect strawberry for me?

The best species to choose is completely dependent on where you live and how much time you have. There are three types of strawberry plant:

• Perpetual-fruiting (easy): this type has a brief crop in summer, and then produces a ton of fruit in autumn. They do best in milder climates with frost-free autumns.

• Summer-fruiting (easier): this type produces nearly all of its fruit during a few weeks in mid-summer, sometimes producing a small crop in autumn. You can create clones from runners (and never have to buy another strawberry plant!).

• Alpine or wild strawberries(easiest): this type is always raised from seed, rather than runners, and they produce small fruits from June till October. They’re much smaller than other strawberries, but some find them even sweeter. When left to naturalise, they create lush ground cover.

(Photo by Heather Barnes on Unsplash)

How to look after strawberries right

It’s important to make sure strawberries get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day, to ensure you get deliciously sweet fruits. A sunny spot in your garden or on a balcony should do the trick.

Strawberries will thrive in most well-drained soils and when they’re planted directly into the ground or in a large bed, they won’t need to be watered until they start fruiting. Always make sure to check container-grown plants for water regularly - the smaller the container, the quicker a plant can dry out.

It’s best to water strawberries with rainwater because they prefer a slightly acidic soil. If you don’t have a water butt, just leave a watering can or bucket outside to catch some rain.

You can also fill a watering can with tap water and leave it for a few days - this allows the water to absorb more oxygen, creating carbonic acid and making the water slightly acidic. It’s not by a lot but it’s what we do for our acid-loving plants if the water butt runs out.

(Photo by Farsai Chaikulngamdee on Unsplash)

That’s all from us here at Lilac Tree Gardens! We hope you enjoyed the first installment of our series about the kinds of fruit and veg you can grow in small gardens - stay tuned for more!