How deep does soil have to be?

[cacran]

How deep does the soil have to be to grow strawberries. I have made some raised beds using pallets on legs. I was going to buy grow bags to put on top of them for my strawberries. I have some lovely compost of my own so thought it would be a cheaper option to do without the grow bags.  was going to frame the beds with 4" planks and put black polythene with holes in it before filling with soil. would that have been okay? Then I had a thought...... I'd aquired a lot of 3" deep trays from a skip. If I were to drill holes in them and put my soil and strawberies in them, would they grow okay? What do you think?

[cacran]

[Georgie]

If I understand your question correctly you want to know if you can grow strawberries in three inches of home made compost.  I'd say no.  They will not get enough nutrients or water.  I'd say you are going to need grow bags or at least 20cm deep of a good multi purpose compost.

G x

[cacran]

Oh thankyou. My OH said, "I told you so"........... Well it was worth a try! Got a lot of old washing up bowls though, they are much deeper. Would it work with them do you think?

[tonybloke]

A growbag is only about 3 inches (or 75mm) deep, so there should be no problems with the depth. if you can provide a balanced feed and regular watering you should be O.K.Keep an eye on the undersides of your 'on legs' planters, snails love this sort of hiding place! ;)

[windygale]

I'm With Georgie on this one, the deeper the soil/compost the better the soil will hold the moisture, the better amount of nutrients, in turn the better the plants will be and bigger the fruit crop,

[tonybloke]

I'm With Georgie on this one, the deeper the soil/compost the better the soil will hold the moisture, the better amount of nutrients, in turn the better the plants will be and bigger the fruit crop,

that's why i said 'if you can provide a balanced feed and regular watering' I've seen tomatoes grown in NO SOIL, with a nutrient film technique, and they were doing it commercially!! ;)
http://website.lineone.net/~neilbussey/

[vegmandan]

Instead of growbags I'd grow them in pots about 10 litres in size.

I've had cracking results over the last 3 years putting 3 plants in a 10 litre pot filled with multipurpose compost mixed with a bit of John innes.

And as you can keep them in the pots rather than faffing about with a bag you'll get a good 2-3 years out of them. ;D

[carrot-cruncher]

This is how I grow mine.   The containers just contain B & Q's own brand compost with some slow release granulated feed and water retaining crystals mixed in.

So far I've had great success for the last three years.   Last year I had over forty runners, all of which took.   Also, with the stack being in a sheltered spot I tend to find my strawbs produce up to the start/middle of November.

The pots themselves were all acquired from car boots

CC

[hellohelenhere]

Tesco have cheap buckets, 73p or thereabouts, black plastic. I was thinking of planting stuff in those as I still don't have my beds ready, but plants in my lean-to will be ready to go out soon.
Drill a few holes in the bottom, much cheaper than plant pots of the same size. :)
The handle could also be used as a support for a cloche cover if needed, with something to prop it up.

[1066]

thats exactly what I do Helen - grow my toms like that and works a treat. I drill holes about an inch up from the bottom so excess water runs out. But either way is good :)
Love the stacking you've got going there Carrot Cruncher - giving me yet more ideas  :)

[manicscousers]

we put one plant to a free black buckit, or Morrison's 10 for 99p.
means we can bring them under cover for an earlier crop  ;D

[cacran]

Thanks to you all. I have some food for thought!

[Slug_killer]

I grow mine in the deep (double thick) grow bags, or the 75ltr bags ie Mirical Grow Multi Purpose with water retention (£3.99). I get 10 good plants to a bag and boy do they fruit.

I put the bags on a table and use copper tape on the legs to prevent slugs. Being in bags they don't get mud splashed up onto the fruit making them grity.

If you want cheap 'buckits' talk to Hyacinth she's an expert at aquiring them.

[carrot-cruncher]

For cheap "bukits" try a local sunday market/car boot.   I have one near me where I got five bukits for £2.50 last year.   I used them as planters in the greenhouse & did fantastic.   I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, melon, aubergine & capsicum.  I only used one plant per pot but boy, did they do well.   The other good thing is that they can provide several years use, making your produce even cheaper.

CC