The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Growing => Fruit => Topic started by: Penninehillbilly on March 19, 2017, 11:28:41 pm

Title: Strawberries in guttering
Post by: Penninehillbilly on March 19, 2017, 11:28:41 pm
We have recently built a 'garden shed' with pebble dash panels, decided to run 6" guttering and plant strawberries. Any thoughts on how far apart to plant the strawberries?
Hopefully slugs won't like l climbing pebbled ash,  and I can hang netting from eaves to stop birds.
Title: Re: Strawberries in guttering
Post by: Lesley Silvester on March 27, 2017, 11:50:43 pm
I'm hoping to do similar but will put up brackets and sit troughs on them. I'm not sure if there will be enough depth of soil in guttering unless you space them very far apart.
Title: Re: Strawberries in guttering
Post by: Fleecewife on March 28, 2017, 12:35:27 am
As MGM, I doubt guttering would give enough depth of soil.  I use guttering hung under the crop bars in my polytunnel for starting off peas.  They germinate in there, inaccessible to mice, then get moved into the soil outside when they are about 3" high.  By then the roots have entirely filled the guttering.
It would be interesting to try though, and feed every few days, or even a dilute feed every time you water.  I wonder what that would do for the flavour?  If you don't try it, you'll never know  :garden:
Title: Re: Strawberries in guttering
Post by: Penninehillbilly on March 28, 2017, 01:25:17 am
I'll try and put take some photos tomorrow, I would have preferred some deeper gutter like I have some bits of, but OH had the 6" so that's what I got. Planning on 18" apart, only drilling holes in the end pieces, with piece of plastic on the inside to slide up or down to allow water out or not.
Not finished yet but the idea is there. Planting some 80cm troughs as well, took lots of runners last year :-).
Title: Re: Strawberries in guttering
Post by: Alex_ on March 29, 2017, 02:12:29 pm
I think alpines would do ok in gutter. With enough feed you might be able to get regular strawberries going well.
The problems I had is getter the draining right. drains to well and it dries quick or on the flip side drowns them.

Slugs and snails will be able to get to them but depending on how high up they are the pests wont climb too far to reach them