I have recently been given about 30 small strawberry plants. I don't have room in the garden for them and was thinking about a 'strawberry tower'. Does anyone have advice or experience of using them?

a strawberry tower is a good idea to save space, the plants are arranged around the tower in little planting pockets. i have found that it is difficult to keep the plants well watered, as the pot holds 8-10 plants depending on its design and the water tends to run out of the sides! a central watering tube running down the centre can help to wet the compost more thoroughly. the best tower that I've come across is the plastic model supplied by Ken Muir which has a water reservoir in the base to help.
hope this helps.

Thanks Julie, how do I get in touch with Ken?

Hi Chris. You can get in touch at -
Ken Muir Ltd, Rectory Rd, Weeley Heath, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex CO16 9BJ
Telephone: 01255 830181
Fax: 01255 831534
Email: info@kenmuir.co.uk
www.kenmuir.co.uk

Thanks, I just had a quick look, lots of £'ssss. May try ebay I think, or does anyone know any alternatives or diy solutions.

I saw a great tower on ideal world about twenty five quidlooked really good

Hi Chris, Bob Flowerdew has a great tip for using old tyres which I've used for my potatoes this year. Get some old tyres from a garage and cut away a ring about 2" wide from the rim on each side, then turn them outside in. This way they stack up and stay stacked. You can then cut as many holes as you need up the sides for your plants and plant more in the top.

Nice idea Shaz, however I can see a little trouble brewing if I start to fill the garden with old tyres! My produce not only has to taste good but to look good whilst it's growing and last but not least grow in something pretty!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have grown strawberries in strawberry pots, hanging baskets, troughs, flower towers, buckets and in the ground.

The dedicated strawberry pots are difficult to water properly, even if you leave dips in each pocket to try to pool water. You loose much of the nutrients too due to run off. You can help reduce problems by mixing some water gel crystals and or adding fibre to the compost, as this helps retain moisture and nutrients. If they still dry out too fast you can put a fibre rich core in the centre of the pot, (believe it or not old cotton wool or shredded wolly jumpers work well) plus a funnel leading to the fibre core. This lets you water efficiently and add nutrients without too much run off.

I got much better crops and more runners from plants in strawberry pots with a fibre core than standard compost planting.

You might find a flower tower easier to use. You can get quite a few strawberry plants in the various layers of a 3 tier tower, although you have to make sure that plants in the centre of the lower levels get enough water. One advantage of this method is having spare soil to root new runners while on the fruiting plants (just push them into available spaces). If you want them to look good you can always add a couple of standard flowering plants such as trailing lobelia to the layers. This looks really pretty, especially when the strawberries fruit and then get red leaves.

Strawberries also grow well in hanging baskets and you can get a large crop if you use flower pouches. Again, use fibre or crystal gel to retain moisture. Adding trailing lobelia or similar flowers produces a decorative effect which also yields good fruit.

All methods seem to benefit from repotting with runners the following spring, although many of my cultivars seem to fruit for about three years before the plants simply produce runners in a season.

Hope you find this info useful.

Well done Kath for winning the Gardening.co.uk best forum thread (July) prize for your strawberry thread. Each month members win prizes for their contributions to the forum and gallery, and for simply joining the site. I'll be sending you out a copy of the book Easy Gardening Recipes for Successful Planting. Hope you enjoy it.

(web editor)

Hi can someone help i  am new to all of this. I have 4 trailing strawberrie plants in one pot and they did ok this summer what do i do with them now? will they last the winter do i need to split them up?

Thank you Val