There’s nothing quite like the taste of homegrown strawberries, picked fresh from your garden. Richard shows you the best way to plant bare root strawberries so you can enjoy an abundance of tasty fruits all summer long.
How to plant bare root strawberries
Read the transcript
Strawberries were the first plants I ever grew. I was eight and grew them with my granddad. That first sun-warmed strawberry was delicious, and I’ve loved gardening ever since.
Start with dormant bare-root plants. I call them “sleeping beauties”. The growers raise them the previous summer and keep them in cold storage over winter. Once planted in spring they wake up and start growing.
Plant a few in a pot. I like to plant three in a pot this size, spacing them apart and spreading out their roots. Fill around them with peat-free compost. I use Richard Jackson’s Easy Compost. Leave each crown, where the roots meet the shoots, just above the compost surface. If it’s buried, gently lift it until you can see it.
Firm the compost and water in. Give it a little tamp to settle the roots and then water. New leaves can appear within a few days, followed by flowers and fruit as the plants establish. I feed with Flower Power during summer to support the crop.
