Grow your own strawberries: from balconies to window boxes — here’s how to create a strawberry container garden

What would British summer be without strawberries? Turns out they’re also easy to grow at home.

Berry good: fans at Wimbledon will eat two million strawberries this year

George Hudson12 July 2023

More than 28,000kg (equating to over two million) strawberries will have been eaten in just two weeks by the time Wimbledon comes to an end on Sunday. Feeling inspired to start your own summer harvest to rival that?

These perennials are super easy to grow at home in containers and raised beds. They have a long season, and there are still growers online selling plants that may fruit this summer with luck. Look for late-season or repeat-fruiting (everbearing) varieties.

How to grow

A south-facing window box is ideal, but anywhere that gets the sun for more than half the day should produce a decent crop. For shady spaces, try the alpine or woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), which is resilient in less light. You may need to protect fruit from hungry pests and it’s best that it doesn’t touch the ground as it can easily rot.

Which variety?

Not all strawberries are equal: some will fruit all season, others have been bred to fruit at a specific time. Select a range for the longest season. Fragaria vesca has small fruits, which, while delicious can be fiddly to pick. At the opposite extreme “Sweet Colossus” produces huge fruits, but you may only get five or six per plant.

Post-summer care

Water well, even after they have finished fruiting, as the plants will continue growing and likely give you a bigger harvest the following year. This makes them perfect for growing in containers Strawberry plants clone themselves on runners after fruiting, in a similar way to spider plants. These can then be separated from the mother plant and grown on.