Does anyone have tips on growing fruits in containers?

Welcome to the forum, Jim.

A good start would be to specify where you're from. All gardening advice is highly localised and seasonal so impossible to give any advice as to which would be better or if they should be in sun or shade without knowing your climate.

If you're new to gardening (climate dependent) I'd start with tomatoes, specifically cherry tomatoes... They'll be more forgiving than strawberries and don't require such a high organic/fungal content in the soil to be successful and grow in more climates.

Container gardening can be fun but is a lot of work. Need to keep up that water... I'd also suggest a reservoir/self watering pot so it's a bit more forgiving for watering requirements.

Also best way to learn is to just get started. There will be many failures but that's how we learn and best to get that out the way whilst we're not relying on the food to survive.

Welcome Jim.

I've been trying various ways of container gardening, but as mentioned above watering is a major PITA. I'm in Perth, and we get very dry summers (although we haven't had a hot summer in a couple of years).

To add an element to the discussion: I'm looking at burying my pots in the ground; this should hopefully prevent them from heating up too much (therefore less evaporation), contain fertilizer/good soil better, and hopefully reduce the amount they're choked by other stuff (such as couch grass from the neighbour's place).

Thoughts?

Glad to see responses.

In terms of location I live in Victoria (Melbourne), how frequently would you guys suggest watering strawberries for example in containers? Do they thrive in direct sunlight or should I try to limit their exposure? When would be the best time to try and germinate the seeds to give them the best chance?

Thanks.

(Ohhh, in terms of composting, could one create good compost with grass and rotten banana skins? What are the benefits of compost, the science behind it.)

You water plants before they dry out but not too often as they would be soggy... This is vague because there is no answer and any book/website that tells you how often to water X is wrong. A small pot in direct sun can dry out in just a few hours on a hot day. Use larger pots where possible (but not too big for what you're planting as you don't want to transplant into a massive pot 1 strawberry plant, make a good go of it for system stability)

Strawberries will do great in direct sun if they don't dry out, your lifestyle will dictate how much you give them.

Compost needs good moisture management, so long as you have a mix of dry grass and wet clippings/scraps you will make acceptable compost so long as it's turned regularly for oxygen and you add soil/clay for stability.

Organic matter is always great but what you're really getting from the compost are organisms. We'll made compost is a better environment for the generation of a good ecosystem that you can then innoculate your plants with. Think of it as a probiotic for your soil. What's often misunderstood is that bad compost is worse for your soil than no compost. If you generate anerobic conditions in your compost and it smells bad do NOT put it on your plants, you'll be setting your soil backwards.

I don't do strawberries from seed but I'm sure it'll be on the packet... I'd suggest if set on strawberries you source some runners locally that have adapted to the same climate/conditions you will be growing them under. Runners are ppanred in spring. Seedlings are fine but will often be grown from the same non-adapted seedstock. If you're set on seeds find a local organic seed grower for best chances of adapted stock, take runners in the next year from the best plants.

Yeah soggy is basically soil that is too wet. If soil is wet roots can't breathe and the plant will drown.


If you have a heavy soil mix (lots of clay) you need to think about adding things such as coir, pearlite, expanded clay and other various light materials to increase drainage/create air pockets.

In traditional gardening over-watering is less of a problem as the moisture content will equalise over a larger area and it has somewhere to go. In container gardening it's very easy to over water if you don't have good drainage as you're dealing with a much smaller system.

The soil should always feel moist but never wet. More frequent smaller waterings are better... You may read conflicting advice on this due to traditional gardening where this is the wrong approach.

Also you're not really interested in the top 1/2 inch of soil (which really should be mulch anyway) you need to stick your finger in 1" to know what's going on.

I like the look of these for strawberries

www.diggers.com.au/shop/fruit/strawberries/diggers-deep-red-hanging-garden/pcosddr/

Good space saver although I agree that self watering pots are great. Hanging plants save space but can dry out easily.

When we grew our best strawberries they were in a garden bed with lettuce. Again, this was in a garden bed, but I’m thinking that if you were to get a big self-watering pot, it could be good to put in a mix of strawberries and lettuce. The strawberries can hide from birds etc under the lettuce, and they just seem to do well together. And lettuce do well in pots.

I believe that strawberries are originally forest plants so at least some varieties do well with some shade (that is, close to other plants - like lettuce). And in a sunny Australian climate it is often better to plant closer together to shade the soil so it doesn’t dry out as much and to provide some shade for plants.

But I’m a little further north than you.

I'm preparing a few containers for planting - going to try sweet potato in one, as well as peas, more radish, onions, spinach, and probably more lettuce and carrots.

Thanks - good tips there.