How do I plant up a strawberry hanging basket?

Celebrate summer with your own sweet, tasty, home-grown strawberries

Planting strawberry plants in a hanging basket is the ideal solution to a shortage of space or if you have a problem with slugs and snails. The disadvantages of planting in hanging baskets are you have to really be vigilant with watering, possibly twice a day in summer, and feeding. You can incorporate some balanced controlled-release fertiliser in the compost when you are planting them or once they start to flower feed fortnightly with a high potash feed, such as Tomorite.

 You will need:

• multi-purpose compost
• 3 strawberry plants
• controlled-release fertiliser
• water retention gel crystals
• 12” hanging basket

If you are using a basket with a plastic liner cut drainage holes in the bottom.

Fill the basket with compost to within 5cm (2”) of the top.

Mix in a scoop of fertiliser and a scoop of water retention gel, this will act as a buffer if the weather is hot, allowing you time to water.

Place the plants evenly around the edge.

Fill in any gaps with compost.

Leave a little depression in the centre into which you can pour the water without it running straight off the top.

Water.

Hang up in the greenhouse to bring them on a little; they can be kept in the greenhouse or hung outside.

Feed fortnightly throughout summer with a high potash fertiliser, such as Tomorite, if you haven’t put in any controlled-released fertiliser.