Planting in horizontal guttering

One clever space-saving idea is to plant your strawberries in guttering that can be attached to a wall, sat on a stand or suspended. The fruit will hang down, not sit on the soil, so is less likely to suffer from fungal problems. Make sure you can reach to water and feed your plants, and it’s still a good idea to cover them with netting to avoid the birds getting in first.

How-to

The guttering should be level or slightly sloped downwards. Make sure that water can drain out of one end (if it’s sloped make sure it can drain from the lower end). A light layer of scoria will help ensure that it continues to drain well.

Fill with Kings Potting Mix and feed regularly from spring through summer with Strawberry Food.

Planting in vertical pipes

A serious space-saving idea: drill 5–10cm holes in hard polythene piping and make a vertical garden perfect for strawberries.

How to

Keep the pipe upright by attaching it to a fence or wall, or by making some sort of stand. If you use an end cap to stop the soil falling through, make sure that it can still drain at the bottom. If necessary, create some small drainage holes with a drill.

Fill the bottom 3–5cm with scoria, pebbles or broken pottery to improve drainage. Fill the rest of the pipe with Kings Container Mix. Water and feed regularly through spring and summer to keep the plants healthy and productive.

Planting in a pallet planter

Reuse old pallets and give them a new lease of life my making them into a raised garden bed. This sort of planter is perfect for strawberries, and you can grow them both on top and from the sides.

How to

To make your pallet planter last longer, try painting or varnishing it before planting. If you're worried about the soil falling through, line with Geocil Weedmat.

Fill with Veggie Mix or Kings Container Mix. Mulch around the plants with Peastraw and Lucerne to help lift the fruit off the soil, which helps prevent fungal problems affecting the fruit. Feed regularly through the summer months with strawberry food.

Planting in hanging baskets

Less interesting but definitely a great way to grow strawberries. And if hanging baskets aren't quite right, you can also plant up wall hangers. Or in a pinch you could even use a colander.

How to

For best results, use a potting mix with a wetting agent to help stop it drying out. Feed regularly with Strawberry Food and when watering, apply water, allow it to drain and then water again. This helps make sure that there aren’t any dry spots in the hanging basket and helps the potting mix to hold more moisture.

By making small holes in the lining, you can also grow plants out of the sides of the basket.

Planting in terracotta pots hung on Leyland Latches

Growing in terracotta pots is an easy and cheap way to pot up strawberries. To make it more interesting and maximise space, try using Leyland Latches to create a tasty vertical garden.

How-to

Attach Leyland Latches to the wall or fence in a sunny spot. Plant pots as usual using Veggie Mix or Kings Container Mix and then hook them onto the Leyland Latches.