Growing strawberries in a barrel vertically

Gardeners are an original people, and if the site is also small, they will find many fantastic ways to grow the maximum number of cultivated plants, while saving acreage. As a rule, these are combined landings. But some lovers of fruit beds have gone even further. They began to use any container for planting.

One of the interesting options is the use of vertical containers for growing garden strawberries. For gardeners, even with extensive experience, the question immediately arises of how to care for such plantings, what agrotechnical standards must be adhered to. Let’s say right away that strawberries in a barrel save not only space, but also simplifies 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:

1. The number of planted strawberry bushes is significantly increasing. Depending on the height and volume of the barrel, up to 100 seedlings per square meter can be planted.
2. The fruits remain clean, because they do not come into contact with the ground, therefore, strawberries are not subjected to putrefactive processes.
3. Mice, snails and slugs do not host on vertical beds; they cannot get to the berries.
4. Plants warm up well, the yield increases.
5. Collecting strawberries in a barrel is not difficult, you do not have to bow to every berry.
6. Eliminates the need for weeding.
7. Barrels for growing strawberries are easy to buy, although you can use the old ones.

It can be placed anywhere on the site. Look at the photo, isn’t it great!

Cons

You should not sing only the praises of planting remontant strawberries in barrels. For every plus there is always a minus. What nuances gardeners pay attention to in their reviews:

1. Top dressing of strawberries in a barrel should be carried out weekly.
2. The soil dries out faster and requires frequent watering. In addition, a lot of moisture accumulates in the lower part of the barrel, while the ground is already dry at the top.
3. Vertically installed strawberry beds should be mobile in regions of risky farming, for example, in Siberia and the Urals. For the winter, you will have to clean the barrels in heat. On the street, the soil freezes to the ground, plants die even with capital shelter.
4. Most often, strawberry bushes have to be planted in a barrel every year.

In the photo below, strawberries are planted in a mobile barrel.

Everything is already adapted in them for planting the cultivation of berry bushes. Such a barrel of strawberries can even be placed on a balcony or loggia. Look at the photo how such a device looks like.

Varieties of strawberries for a barrel

After 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, it is not so easy to do this. 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 more than one year advise opting for remontant varieties, as the most stable and viable in any climatic regions.

We offer a list of the most popular strawberry varieties for vertical cultivation in barrels. Most often, gardeners are advised to use:

• Balcony charm and Homemade delicacy;
• Aluba and Tribute;
• Geneva and Freestar;
• Albion and Lyubava;
• Queen Elizabeth and Gigantella Maxi;
• Crown and Kimberly;
• Brighton and different varieties of climbing strawberries.

Features of the preparation of the “bed”

For vertical planting of garden strawberries or strawberries, not every barrel can be used.

But its preparation must be approached responsibly, taking into account the special nuances. Let’s walk through this process step by step:

Step 1 – container preparation

1. First, holes are drilled in a barrel for growing strawberries to drain water. Secondly, you need to mark the places where the seedlings will be planted. The correct markup 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 5×5 so that the soil does not spill out and the plant is comfortable.
2. The edges of the hole, if the barrel is metal, need to be bent inside the barrel and pressed well. If the barrel is made of another 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 site 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, how one of the gardeners did it. In addition, in this version, cuts are not just made, but peculiar pockets.

Step 2 – drainage pad

To grow strawberries vertically, it is necessary to provide each plant with enough water. Since the height of the container is large enough, the load will fall on the bottom layer of landings. In this place, the soil will be waterlogged. To prevent stagnant water, a drainage layer must be created in the barrel.

Coarse gravel is used as drainage, which fills the lower part 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 with burlap so that the holes are not clogged with earth. Gravel is also poured into the inside – 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”

The space between the pipe and the walls when growing strawberries in a barrel is filled with fertile soil. This will require:

• sod land – 2 parts;
• sand – 1 part;
• wood ash;
• mineral fertilizers according to the instructions;
• organic – compost or humus.

How to plant seedlings

A barrel for growing strawberries vertically should be installed in a sunny place so that all sides are evenly heated and lit during the day.

Now let’s look at how to properly plant strawberry seedlings in holes. Do not immediately fill the container with soil to the top. Then it will be more difficult to plant strawberries in a growing barrel. First, the space is filled with soil to the first holes, lightly tamped. Garden strawberry seedlings are inserted into the holes, the root system is straightened, watered, and soil is partially added again. The next steps 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 follow the rules of cultivation in the future.

When planting strawberry seedlings in a barrel, it is almost impossible to avoid damage to it. One of the gardeners in his reviews of vertical plantings offers a painless option for strawberries. From thin tin, you need to cut a strip and wrap the upper part of the seedling into it. Together with the straw, they push the strawberries into the hole of the barrel. After disembarkation, the tube is removed. Look at the photo below how convenient it is to work.

For a few 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.

Care instructions

Growing and caring for vertical plantings comes down to timely watering and fertilizing strawberries. Foliar feeding is carried out with Fitosporin, Alirin-B with Gumi. There are no toxins in these biologically active preparations, you can eat berries immediately after feeding. Herbal infusions have a good effect on the yield of strawberries. You need to feed on the sheet three times:

1. After planting to build green mass.
2. Before flowering.
3. Autumn after harvest.

A year later, planting strawberries are updated. In warm regions, it is enough to wrap the barrel with burlap. In a more severe climate, you will have to think about capital insulation or cleaning the barrels in a frost-free room.

Reviews of gardeners