Vertical gardening is a space-saving method of growing plants, but is it suitable for many different types of plants? Strawberries are a popular garden crop, but how do they fare when grown in a vertical garden?
Strawberries are easy plants to grow and thrive in a vertical garden environment. The vertical garden gives them space to spread out without taking up too much ground space in the garden. Strawberries are ideal vertical garden plants because they are low maintenance and can last many years.
Growing strawberries in a vertical garden is simple, but choosing the right method will help you get the most out of your strawberries in the vertical environment. Strawberries require a sunny spot for planting and need a good quality starter mix for planting.
Is a Vertical Garden Good For Growing Strawberries?
Strawberries are one of the most popular plants for growing in a vertical garden. They require very little maintenance, add color to the garden and produce an edible crop.
There are various vertical gardening methods you can use to grow strawberries in a vertical orientation successfully. We will discuss the best strawberry-growing methods with minimal to no cost for getting the vertical garden established.
If you’re planting your strawberry plant in a vertical garden, make sure to choose a variety that is hardy and cold-tolerant. They should be grown organically to avoid exposure to pesticides since these can be passed on to you when you consume the fruit.
The fruit should start appearing on the strawberry plants within four to six weeks, and you can harvest them as early as four to six weeks after the plants’ flower. This makes for a relatively quick return from your strawberry plants. Make sure to pick them when the berries are fully red.
Using Planter Boxes For Growing Strawberries Vertically
Using stacked planter boxes to grow strawberries in your vertical garden is a great way to ensure your harvest remains vibrant and juicy while using less garden space. Strawberries have a shallow root system, and planters provide just the right amount of soil for your plants.
You can use the tiers as extra garden beds, and you can plant different varieties in different tiers, allowing for more variety.
If you cant spare the space for a horizontal garden, a vertical one can be the ideal solution. Strawberries will produce a luscious crop if you use up to 20 plants in the stacked planter.
The best stacking planter boxers are commercially manufactured products such as the Vivosun 5 Tier Vertical Gardening Stackable Planter for Strawberries. These compact planters are affordable and can be used on a balcony or a patio without creating much mess.
Planting Strawberries Vertically With Gutters Or PVC Pipes
Strawberry plants are easy to grow and maintain. Some varieties will only last a single season, but other varieties can have a productive lifespan of approximately four years. Using gutters or horizontally mounted PVC pipe is an ideal vertical gardening method for growing strawberries.
Gutters are essentially a half-pipe and can simply be mounted horizontally on a wall, one under the other. The open top of the gutter is filled with potting soil, and the strawberries are planted directly in the potting soil.
PVC pipes with a diameter of 6 or 8-inches can be mounted to a wall in the same way as the gutters. Holes at 6-inch intervals can be drilled in the upper surface of the pipe using a 2.5-inch, or 3-inch hole saw.
These holes will become the locations where the strawberry plants will be planted. Fill the pipe with potting soil, and you are ready to plant your strawberries.
The materials for a vertical garden can be bought at any home hardware store. You can make your own vertical garden using five pieces of framing lumber cut in half. Another option is to use two four-foot pieces of wood. These two pieces will be joined by three horizontal pieces. For a ladder-like effect, you can also use wood ladder-shaped frames. Alternatively, you can buy the materials and hang them on the wall.
If space is limited and you’re concerned about soil contamination, growing strawberries in gutters may be a good choice. Although it does come with a few challenges, if done right, it can yield great results.
PVC pipes can also be used on their ends as a successful method of planting strawberries in a vertical garden. Use a large garden pot and place a 4 or 5-foot length of 6 to 8-inch diameter PVC pipe end down in the center of the pot. Fill the pot with potting soil to keep the pipe planted vertically.
Drill 2.5-inch diameter holes in the vertical PVC pipe is a staggered pattern up the PVC pipe, with at least 6-inches between the holes.
Fill the PVC pipe with potting soil and plant the strawberries in the holes in the pipe and in the potting soil in the pot. You should be able to plant at least 20 strawberry plants in this arrangement which will give you a good strawberry harvest!
Planting Strawberries Vertically With Pallets
Growing strawberries in a vertical garden using pallets is an excellent way to save space and add a functional element to balconies or patios. Pallets are an easy DIY vertical planter for strawberries and give a rustic farmyard look to the vertical garden.
There are several ways the pallet can be used as a vertical planter for the strawberries. In most cases, the pallet stands vertically on its end and is used as a vertical planting platform. The pallet can be fixed to a wall for additional stability.
The void on the inside of the pallet can be filled with muslin sacks filled with good-quality potting soil. Make small slits in the sacks in the gaps of the pallet planks. The strawberry plants can be planted in the slits in the bag. The roots will spread in the potting soil, and the leaves and fruit will hang outside the pallet.
Plant one strawberry plant every 6-inches along the length of the pallet, and only use every second gap vertically on the pallet.
Water the plants regularly to encourage strong plant growth. Strawberries grow well in full sun, so they can dry out faster in a sunny location when planted in a pallet. Make sure to water them on a daily basis.
A vertical garden made out of pallets can be a great way to grow strawberries and other plants. Several pallets can be used to make a strawberry wall.
Before planting, check the quality of the pallets. Make sure that the pallets you choose are not pressure-treated or made from pressure-treated wood, as these products may leach harmful chemicals into the soil.
Once you have selected the pallets, clean them thoroughly, and check for stray nails and splintered wood. Make sure you wear sturdy gloves and protective clothing when cleaning them, too.
Vertical Gardening With Stackable Barrels For Strawberries
You can make a strawberry tower by stacking 25-gallon plastic barrels or buckets to form a tower about 4-feet high. A minimum of two 25-gallon barrels are needed for this type of vertical garden.
Use a 2.5-inch diameter hole saw to cut holes in the sides of both buckets. The holes can have a random pattern but must be at least 2-inches apart to give the plants space to grow and keep structural integrity in the bucket.
Place a burlap or muslin sack in the first bucket and fill the sack with potting soil. Drill some small drainage holes in the bottom of the second barrel and then place it on top of the first.
Line the upper barrel with a burlap sack and fill the sack with potting soil to about 2-inches from the top of the barrel.
In each hole in the sides of the barrels where you can see the burlap sack, make a small slit in the sack. Plant a strawberry plant in each hole, and you are all set for a great strawberry harvest.
Water the plants periodically at the top barrel. The water will filter down to the bottom barrel.
Conclusion
Growing strawberries in a vertical garden is not only possible, but it is easy, low maintenance, and it can add a pleasing aesthetic feature to your garden.
The variety of ideas for growing strawberries vertically is limited only by your own inventiveness and ingenuity. If you have a large vertical garden, you can inter-plant the strawberries with another plant, such as lettuce, to get two food crops from the same vertical garden!
References
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/strawberry/vertical-strawberry-tower.htm
https://smsf-mastergardeners.ucanr.edu/Tips/How_to_build_a_strawberry_tower/
https://savorylotus.com/how-to-build-a-wall-of-strawberries/
