Vertical Gardening-Strawberries

[TReeves]

It's getting time to plant strawberries and I'm excited! But, last year's crop failed miserably. I'm still not sure why. So, this year I wanted to try vertical gardening specifically on PVC pipe with holes drilled every 8 inches around the pipe. Has anyone used this method before?
I also bought grow bags (2) that hang up and each have 10 bareroot plants in them. I've read a lot of bad reviews. So, again has anyone used them and had luck?
If I can't grow them vertically or in a small space I'll be out of luck. What little getting gardening area I have is already allotted for other things and all my containers are full. I can't build anything permanent anywhere because we rent and will probably only be here until 2016-2017.
Any advice is welcome!

 

[catjac1975]

What is your zone? I think this idea would require a lot of watering in the heat of summer. I am not one for any of these inventions. My personal experience is they look best in the photos from where they came. I would go back to a well prepared garden bed-perhaps a raised bed. Use lots of mulch and stay ahead of the weeds. Blossoms should be picked off the first year. I tilled under my strawberry patch. The weeding got to be too much. The best years I had was when I used a garden blanket on them early in the spring. It made them grow early and lush.

 

[Nyboy]

I started a thread on here last spring about strawberry pots, I had picked one up at yard sale. Almost every person who tried them said keeping well watered was big problem.

 

[Wishin']

It's getting time to plant strawberries and I'm excited! But, last year's crop failed miserably. I'm still not sure why. So, this year I wanted to try vertical gardening specifically on PVC pipe with holes drilled every 8 inches around the pipe. Has anyone used this method before?
I also bought grow bags (2) that hang up and each have 10 bareroot plants in them. I've read a lot of bad reviews. So, again has anyone used them and had luck?
If I can't grow them vertically or in a small space I'll be out of luck. What little getting gardening area I have is already allotted for other things and all my containers are full. I can't build anything permanent anywhere because we rent and will probably only be here until 2016-2017.
Any advice is welcome!

I have tried the vertical grow bags. They are a waste of time and money. When you water, the water runs strait through the top plants, and sets at the bottom. In short you have to choose let the top plants dry out, or let the bottom ones get root rot. Either way the middle plants don't really thrive. There are several types of strawberries that give bountifully the first season, you can also get started plants and don't pinch the blooms, your crop won't get be quit as large, but you will still have a reasonable number to enjoy for snacking. I do the latter.

 

[TReeves]

I'm going to try it and see. If they fail I'll be sad. Thanks for the information. I found a small piece of unused garden I'm going to plant a few in.

 

[the1honeycomb]

'I've picked vertical strawberries the man had a small black sprinker hose that he ran the whole way through the pot andput small pin holes by each plant.
all of his poles (50+) were lush and really did deliver a huge amount of strawberries

 

[catjac1975]

I'm going to try it and see. If they fail I'll be sad. Thanks for the information. I found a small piece of unused garden I'm going to plant a few in.

How cold do you winters get? Will you have to wrap it for winter protection?

 

[TReeves]

I'm in SW Texas. We get freezing temps a few times a year. Our winters are normally in the 40s and 50s. I will have to wrap them for sure at least a couple times a year. I was so excited about this method and the grow bags because they are portable. About the time we get a gardening space established the Army send us somewhere else.

 

[the1honeycomb]

Bless you for serving our country, I did 10 yrs in the Navy, keep us informed regarding your plants and let us know how they do.

 

[TReeves]

This is the updated strawberry system. I'm hoping it works!