When I showed Larry a photo of a strawberry barrel, he got a bee in his bonnet about making one. We had the barrel, given to us by our friend Jason. It was perfect for this project.
So Larry got busy with a drill and some plans we found online here. The end result:
A barrel full of berry plants!
The process is really simple. Drill the holes for the plants, drill drain holes in the base, add gravel or broken clay flower pots in the bottom for drainage, and add a tube with drain holes in it down the center for watering. Then start putting in dirt (We used MiracleGro Moisture Control, pricey but worth the cost), and put gravel in the tube as you go. Plant the plants as each level of holes is reached, and keep repeating the steps until the barrel is full.
I can't wait to see how this does for us. Our old berry patch was taken over with perennial weeds, as so often happens, and cleaning it each year was back-breaking work. We are hopeful that we will get a good crop of berries with much less work. I chose everbearers because I like having fresh berries throughout the year. With Larry's diabetes, we don't eat much jam any more so a few in the freezer an fresh to eat throughout the growing season is a good option for us.
One more thing off the to-do list!
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
When I was a child, my father built one and it grew so good, I believed we has a strawberry bush. This looks like it, so I will be build me one.
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