![]() Growing Strawberries in Foam BoxesĪ great way to grow strawberries is in foam vegetable packing boxes. Note: It's also a good idea to soak these new plants in half strength seaweed solution while you prepare to plant them out as it will reduce transplant shock. In the subtropics, runners should be fruiting within 6 months. And there you go - a perfectly new, well developed strawberry plant. To find new plants follow the runners along until you get to a point where a new plant is forming, separate that and then uproot it. They send out long, whippy shoots after they finish fruiting and at various nodes, they produce a young plant that sets out roots, creating a new plant. Runners are the natural way that strawberries reproduce. The other way of propagating strawberries is with runners. Note: Jerry used around 500 seeds per tray, which could potentially rear 500 plants. Place in a sheltered spot with morning sunshine, as strawberry seed likes to see the sunlight as it germinates.Cover the seed tray with a plastic dome to keep the mix moist.For successful germination ensure the seed is in contact with the propagating mix. Fill a seed tray with seed raising mix, ensuring the soil is level and flat before sowing the seed directly onto the surface.Buy a fresh bag specifically for this purpose as strawberries, and all seedlings, dislike any pests or diseases that might be present in garden soil. Growing Strawberries from Seedįirstly, don't economise on seed raising mix. Of course you could buy them, but where's the fun in that? Instead Jerry shows us how he's going to grow his own from seed and runners from his existing plants. But to do that, he is going to need lots of healthy young plants. There's nothing quite like a fresh strawberry and that's why Jerry intends to have lots for harvest this year. And if you're starting from scratch, well, buy your plants as seed or certified disease-free stock. Use soapy water or pyrethrum spray to control them. If they ever get aphids, control them immediately because aphids transmit viruses. It keeps the fruit dry and they acidify the soil which strawberries love. If they're growing in the open ground, use she-oak or pine needles - that's the best. To control fungi, regularly remove all the dead leaves and make sure that they're mulched. The 2 main enemies of strawberries are viruses and fungi. And to establish them, well, I'm not putting them in very deep - strawberries are shallow rooted plants so I'm just making sure the roots are nicely covered by the mix and then I keep them moist. In the subtropics, runners will be fruiting within 6 months. Now the greatest advantage of using these boxes is that the fruit will hang over and not touch the ground and that means, in the subtropics when we get drizzly weather or heavy dews, none of the fruit rot.įill the box up with a premium potting mix. All you need to do is put 8 drainage holes in the bottom and you're set to go. I grow my strawberries in foam vegetable packing boxes. It's also a good idea to soak them in half strength seaweed solution while you prepare for planting out. And there you go - a perfectly new, well developed strawberry. To find new plants you just follow the runners along until you get to a point where a new plant is forming, separate that and then uproot it. They send out these long, whippy shoots after they finish fruiting and at various nodes, they'll produce a young plant and that'll root into the ground. The other way of propagating strawberries is by runners and runners are a natural way that they reproduce. I'm putting it in a sheltered spot with morning sunshine. Cover the seed tray with a plastic dome to keep the mix moist. I've probably got about 500 seed in this tray - potentially 500 plants - which shows you how economical seed propagation is. They like to see the sunlight as they germinate.īy gently watering the surface, I bring the seed into intimate contact with the propagating mix. And this is important with strawberry seed. Now I'm just going to make sure this is nice and level and flat before I sow them directly onto the surface. Strawberries, and all seedlings really, dislike anything like pests or diseases that might be present in garden soil. ![]() I buy a fresh seed raising mix specifically for this purpose. The one thing that you don't economise on is propagating mix. Of course I could buy them, but where's the fun in that? I'm going to grow my own from seed and from my own runners. But to do that, I'm going to need lots of healthy young plants. JERRY COLEBY-WILLIAMS: There's nothing quite like a fresh strawberry and that's why I intend to have lots for harvest this year.
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