How to grow strawberries

Strawberries are one of the most rewarding crops to grow in a small garden. Homegrown berries taste far better than store bought and you can save some serious money not having to pay supermarket prices. Whereas most fruit trees take several years to begin bearing, you can collect your own strawberry summer first time.

1. Decide where your strawberries GROW 

Make them a little sun on the balcony, rooftop, patio or door.

And even if you live in an apartment, condo, townhouse or small house, you can grow berries in a container on your balcony, rooftop terrace, or even the door. If your horizontal space is limited, consider growing strawberries in a hanging basket or planter stacked, allowing you to enjoy the space more vertical than the strawberry plants tumbling over the sides. Homes more of your own berries, you will also be helping the environment, since strawberries grown commercially use amounts waste water, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and some of the worst imaginable, not to mention the environmental cost of shipment for hundreds or thousands of miles. A sunny place outside of your home is the best place to grow strawberries, if you can get a partial harvest with less than half a day of direct sunlight sun. For shady spots, try planting alpine strawberries (available from seed catalogs and vegetable nurseries online), which take more patience, but eventually produce delicious fruit.

2. CHOOSE A CONTAINER FOR

Give your plants enough space to grow.

Whether you choose a container clay, plastic, wood or other material, make sure it has a soil depth of at least 12-14 cm to give the plants roots systems of space to grow. How many plants you can fit in will depend on the width of the container, since you should space plants about 10-12 inches apart to allow them to spread horizontally.