Strawberries can enrich your balcony not only in a pot, but also in a flower box or in a vertical tube. We tell you tips and tricks.
Gardening on the balcony is trendy. Balconies are becoming more and more beautiful plant paradises in which it blooms and thrives. And growing fruit and vegetables on the balcony is also not a problem with the right types and varieties. Strawberries (Fragaria) grow low, are adaptable and therefore particularly suitable for balconies. They also require little space and delight large and small balcony owners with their tasty fruits. We'll tell you what options there are for planting strawberries on the balcony and the best way to go about it.
Ways to grow strawberries on the balcony
Strawberries are very flat-rooted. Much of their fine roots are in the top 15 cm of soil. This means that 15 cm high containers are theoretically sufficient to plant strawberries in them. However, taller planters make watering a lot easier - especially on hot summer days - because the water stays in them longer. The strawberry plants should be planted about 25 cm apart. Depending on the size and condition of each balcony, there are different ways to plant strawberries.
Ways to grow strawberries on the balcony:
- Place individual plants in pots about 12-15 cm in diameter and at least 15 cm high.
- Plant several strawberry plants in shallow planters, a shallow "raised bed" or window boxes: height at least 15 cm, distance between plants about 25 cm.
- Grow strawberry plants vertically: in plant tubes or plant walls, on easels or similar.
- At the back of pallets that are used as seating, for example.
- Hanging in a hanging basket.
Strawberries on the balcony: climbing and hanging strawberries
Especially if you have aIf there is limited space available, but you would like to plant vertically, you can think about so-called hanging and climbing strawberries. All strawberry varieties that produce strong runners are suitable for climbing as well as hanging in traffic lights. If you want to get a climbing strawberry, the tendrils are guided upwards on a scaffold. If you don't do this, you automatically have hanging strawberries, as the runners hang down from the mother plant. With these varieties, which form many runners, one must not forget that a lot of energy is also required for this. The yield will therefore be somewhat lower. Ampel strawberries are a way to harvest strawberries on balconies or to have them decorative.
Tip: The numerous foothills of hanging and climbing strawberries can of course also be used to propagate the strawberry variety. To do this, cut the connection to the mother plant and place the seedlings in moist potting soil. Placed bright but not sunny, the runners will soon root.
Strawberries in a pot: choice of location
The ideal location for strawberries is sunny, sheltered from the wind and warm. This is why south-facing balconies are particularly well suited for growing strawberries. Since their thick rhizome is sensitive to frost, they should be placed closer to the house wall in winter and ideally also on cold-insulating materials such as wood or polystyrene. Strawberries should be protected in winter and in spring from late frosts, especially on balconies on high floors or in rather windy locations. For example, jute bags, fleece or a mulch layer made of leaves are suitable. While leaves and fleece can be placed over the plants, pots that are at risk of freezing are wrapped with jute and fleece.
Planting strawberries on the balcony: planting time and instructions
The best time to plant strawberries is early July to mid-August. If you plant at this time, then you can already count on the first harvest next year. Planting is also possible until September or in spring, although it then usually takes a year longer before the first fruits can be expected. An exception here are the so-called Frigo strawberries (in "A+" quality). They can be planted between the beginning of April and the end of June and bear ripe fruit after about eight weeks. But they are a bit more expensive and not in everyoneget a garden center. The early fertility of Frigo plants is possible because the runners that became Frigo plants were cut off much later than normal. So they could already form flowering plants as foothills.
Strawberries are planted in nutrient-rich potting soil or compost. The distance to the next plant, wall or similar should be about 25 cm (15 cm for monthly strawberries). When planting strawberries, you should pay close attention to the correct planting depth, as the transition between roots and shoots is minimal. If the plants are too deep, the heart leaves (the small growth tips in the middle of the plant) or the roots can easily rot. On the other hand, if the plants are too high, there is a risk that the plant will dry out.
A drainage layer at the bottom of the planters ensures good water drainage and effectively prevents waterlogging. Our Plantura organic compost is also suitable for growing strawberries on the balcony. The high compost content promotes a loose and permeable soil structure, stores moisture and releases it to the plant roots when required. The special nutrient composition has a particularly beneficial effect on plant growth. The high potassium and magnesium content in our organic soil benefits the strawberry plants.
You should water the young strawberry plants vigorously immediately after planting. During the next two to three weeks, it is important - especially when the temperatures are hot - to ensure that there is always an adequate water supply (watering every day or two is best).
Tips for proper care of balcony strawberries
Strawberries are basically easy-care and grateful plants. If they are watered properly, fertilized and cut if necessary in the fall, they produce aromatic fruits every year. Incidentally, strawberry plants are usually replaced after about three years of harvest, because then their yield decreases significantly - of course you can only replace them later, after all, planting on the balcony can be quite cumbersome. However, if you decide to plant fresh strawberries (e.g. home-grown stolons), then be sure to use fresh potting soil. Strawberries should not be planted after themselves, as soil fatigue often occurs. Young plants suffer from soil-borne diseases such as gray mold (Botrytis cinerea), which are transmitted from the old plants to the next generation of strawberry plants via the substrate. Furthermorethis provides the young strawberries with a fresh, nutrient-rich substrate.
Tip: You can still use the old strawberry soil for cress (Lepidium sativum), salads (Lactuca sativa ) or use radishes. These plants do not have such high nutrient requirements, are not sensitive to strawberry diseases and only stay in the ground for a short time.
Watering strawberries properly on the balcony
The sunnier and warmer the location, the higher the water requirement of the strawberries. Don't forget to water your strawberries regularly, especially during flowering and between flowering and fruiting. The smaller the planters are, the more regularly they need to be watered. The best time to water is early in the morning because by then the plants can absorb enough water to survive the heat that follows. Since strawberries - like most plants - do not tolerate waterlogging, you should not be too generous when watering and ensure good water drainage. It is better to regularly water less than to give large amounts of water less often. Also empty plant saucers or plant pots if the water has been standing in them for a long time.
Fertilize strawberries properly on the balcony
Strawberries require nitrogen and potassium based fertilization. Smaller amounts of phosphorus and magnesium are also required for flowering and he althy plant growth, but these are usually sufficiently available in the soil. The nutrient requirements of strawberries on the balcony hardly differ from those that grow in the bed. In the garden, strawberries usually grow a little more vigorously, which means that the need for nutrients is a little higher, but they root deeper.
The easiest way to supply strawberries on the balcony with nutrients is with a liquid fertilizer such as our Plantura organic tomato & vegetable fertilizer. This is simply administered via the irrigation water every one to two weeks between March and October. The purely organic organic liquid fertilizer contains nitrogen and increased levels of potassium, which are important for strawberries.
In a nutshell: When, with what and how much do you fertilize?
- Fertilize between March and October during the growing season.
- Use an organic liquid fertilizer with increased potassium content.
- Dose the amount according to the package description and every one to two weeks over the irrigation waterfeed.
You can find more information about fertilizing strawberries in our special article. Here we present more fruits for growing in pots and thus also for growing on the balcony.