BRING ON THE BERRIES
S
trawberries, raspberries, blueberries,
and blackberries taste wonderful
right off the plant and offer myriad uses
in the kitchen far beyond simple snacking. Imagine picking your own mouthwatering berries fresh from the plant
whenever you feel the slightest pang of
hunger or sending your kids to pick their
own snack. A perfect addition to breakfast, salads, or desserts, berries can be
one of the most enjoyable fruit-bearers
to grow at home. Plenty of recipes and
inspirations lead to delicious culinary
creations and your yields will happily
freeze for future use. Best of all, you can
grow berries at home in containers with
very little regard to the size of your yard.
Easily avoid the oft-exorbitant cost
of buying berries by the carton when
you chose to grow your own varieties
from the comforts of home, be it in your
sunroom or on your balcony, porch, or
patio. The biggest pieces of the puzzle
in growing your own berries typically
involve choosing the right pot size and
ensuring adequate drainage. Whether
you wish to grow raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, or another variety,
you can find great success both indoors
and out. Start planning for spring and
consider these tips to help your homegrown berries thrive.
GROWING STRAWBERRIES
IN CONTAINERS
Especially suited for growing in
containers, strawberries take little time
and effort to establish a successful
setup. Start with an everbearing variety
like Ozark Beauty, Tillicum, or Quinault
for the most favorable results.
Choose the Right Container: Delightful
as a first choice of berry to grow in
containers, strawberries even have their
own style of container, a strawberry
jar, which is shaped like an urn and
boasts individual openings where you
can plunk down a plant on all sides of
the container. Strawberry jars make a
fine choice so long as you don’t let your
berries dry out for too long in the hot
sun. Other ideal containers include standard flower pots; half-barrels; long, low
planters; and hanging baskets.
124
Maximum Yield USA | January 2017
Planting the Berries: Before you fill
your strawberry jar, consider creating a
drain tube. Using a length of PVC pipe,
a drill, some gravel, and a bit of mesh
or pantyhose, you can make this handy
watering tube to help evenly distribute
the water. Drill holes evenly throughout the tube, add gravel, seal the ends
with permeable fabric, and place it in
the center of the pot. You can fill around
the drain tube with a pre-fertilized soilless mixture or one that already contains
a bit of compost. Once in place, put a
strawberry plant in each opening of the
jar and gently tamp to incorporate it
with the potting mix. Add several strawberry plants to the top of the planter
once you’ve filled the side openings.
If you are worried about the soil and
plants washing away out of the openings, you can add peat moss or a bit of
newspaper to the base of the plants.
Let the Sun Shine: Ideally, strawberries
enjoy full sun to partial shade and
temperatures of 70-85°F (21-29°C). For
the first few days, though, you may
wish to keep the pot in the shade until
the plants acclimate. Depending on
your climate, you may also need to
adjust location and watering intervals
to better suit the plants’ needs.
“
A PERFECT ADDITION
TO BREAKFAST, SALADS, OR
DESSERTS, BERRIES CAN BE ONE
OF THE MOST ENJOYABLE FRUITBEARERS TO GROW AT HOME.”