If you’re looking for a fun and easy gardening project, try growing strawberries in 5L plastic bottles or another container. Let me walk you through the process step by step:
What You’ll Need:
- Five five-liter plastic bottles (empty and clean)
- Strawberry seeds or plants
- Mulch for plants
- Plant Food
- Drainage pebbles or tiny stones
- Utility knife or scissors
- A spray bottle or watering can
- The light of the sun
What to Do:
Get the Bottles Ready:
- After removing the caps, give the plastic bottles a good cleaning.
- To provide room for drainage, cut or drill many holes into the base of every bottle. Root rot can’t happen since water can’t pool.
Get the Dirt Ready:
- Make sure to use a high-quality, nutrient-rich potting soil mix that drains effectively.
- Pour the potting soil into the bottles until they are 3/4 full. When watering, make sure to leave a little room at the top to prevent overflow.
Direct the Strawberries to Grow:
- You have two options: either buy strawberry plants from a store or grow them from seed. To ensure proper germination, always refer to the seed packet for guidance.
- Plants, if utilized, should be carefully transferred from their nursery pots to the sterilized bottles. The roots should not be compressed; they should be spread out.
Find a Place for the Jars:
- Set the strawberry plants in containers and move them to a sunny place where they will get 6 to 8 hours of sunshine daily. Put the pots in a sunny spot or under some artificial lights if you’re growing them inside.
Sprinkler system:
- Make sure the soil is always damp, but not soggy. Strawberry plants do best in slightly wet soil.
- Soak the plants from above and let the water drip down through the pores at the base.
Fertilization process:
- Follow the directions on the fertilizer’s packaging for feeding your strawberry plants a balanced liquid fertilizer. The typical frequency of application throughout the growing season is once every two weeks with a diluted fertilizer.
Trimming trees:
- Strawberry plants have the ability to develop runners, which are long stems that have little plants growing at their tips, as they mature. You can let some runners develop and take root, but if you let too many, it will sap the energy from the fruiting process. Reduce the number of runners to promote more fruit production.
Eliminating Insects and Diseases:
- Aphids, slugs, and snails are pests that you should watch out for. Quickly remove any pests or leaves that have been impacted.
- Powdery mildew is just one of many plant diseases that can be detected with routine inspections. Do the right thing if you see any problems.
Gathering fruit:
- The ripening process for strawberries can take anything from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the type. Gather the berries when they are completely crimson and fragrant.
- Without damaging the plant or any neighboring berries, delicately remove the strawberries off the plants.
Keep in mind that strawberries, when grown in pots, do require some TLC. The secret to a bountiful crop is constant vigilance, plenty of water, and the right amount of sunshine.
Are you a fan of this? Encourage your friends to do the same!