I've had a strawberry plants for years — I do 1 task in summer for a bountiful harvest
Strawberries are surprisingly easy to grow at home, but encouraging them to produce plenty of fruit can be a challenge.
I bought two strawberry plants a few years ago after successfully growing a few tomato plants the year before. We're big strawberry fans in my household, and living in the 'Garden of England', where a good proportion of the UK's strawberries are produced each summer, I was sure they would thrive. Unlike other parts of the UK, Kent has warmer-than-average temperatures and longer hours of sunlight, which makes it the ideal spot for growing sweet, juicy strawberries.
My balcony garden is also south-facing and gets full sun for five to six hours a day. The first year, my plants didn't produce much fruit at all, but by year two, once they were well-established, they started to produce a good handful or two. I'm now in year three, and I saw dozens of white flowers appear in spring, which are now beginning to fruit.
While growing strawberries is fairly straightforward, I perform one crucial task each year to ensure a bountiful harvest: feeding them with tomato food.
From early spring onwards, I feed my strawberry plants every two to three weeks with tomato food, which is rich in potassium and phosphorus. This encourages the plants to produce more flowers and results in larger, healthier fruit.
How to plant strawberries
Strawberries grow well in beds or containers, but I prefer using a grow bag made of breathable fabric to prevent the plants from becoming root-bound. Grow bags are also much easier to water and move around my balcony than heavy terracotta pots.
I planted my strawberry plants in multipurpose compost in the spring when the weather was warmer and the days were longer, and any risk of frost had passed.
How often to water strawberry plants
Once planted, it's important to water the plants thoroughly every morning, especially during peak temperatures.
Strawberries in containers can dry out quickly, especially during the growing season, so it's essential to have a daily watering routine.
During summer heatwaves, I find I need to water them once in the morning and once in the evening to keep them hydrated.
It's essential to water strawberry plants at the root, as if the centre of the plant or the fruit gets wet, this can lead to grey mould.
How to feed strawberries
Some strawberries won't need feeding regularly if they're growing in regularly mulched soil.
However, strawberry plants in containers and grow bags need feeding at least once a fortnight during the growing season to produce the best fruit.
You can use a general-purpose liquid fertiliser or tomato food, but I find tomato food more effective as it has high potassium content, which encourages the plant to produce more flowers and therefore larger, sweeter strawberries.
Some of my strawberries have ended up being huge, and I believe that's down to the tomato food.
How to get strawberry plants to produce more fruit
Strawberries need six to eight hours of direct sunlight every day; if they don't get this, they likely won't produce as much fruit.
They also need to be watered regularly, but not saturated, particularly in hot, dry weather. If the plant is stressed due to a lack of water, it won't waste energy on flowers and fruits, leading to a smaller harvest.
Pruning is another key task. Strawberry plants send out thin runners to propagate themselves, which is useful if you want more plants. However, allowing runners to grow diverts energy away from producing large, juicy berries.
Trim the runners off as soon as you see them so the plant produces bigger and more abundant fruit.
