- Planting and growing early potatoes
- Growing herbs in pots or garden boxes
- Strawberries in your Planty Garden
- Sow or plant chives?
- Vegetables and herbs for the bees
- Buy vegetable seedlings or not?
- Growing potatoes in a pot
- Planting potatoes in an MM-Airbak
- Raspberries in your Planty Garden
- Growing garlic
- Beans in your vegetable garden
Almost all information about plants has been included with the plants in our free app. So, you don't need to remember it.
View the MM app
Growing strawberries in your Planty Garden
It's best to grow strawberries in a separate garden box or grow bag. This makes them easier to take care of and protect.
What are strawberries?
I don't think I need to explain that to you, right? Everyone knows these summer berries and almost everyone loves them.
I do too. As long as they're sweet, ripened by the sun, and - ideally - freshly picked. I'm not into those watery strawberries from the supermarket.
But what I didn't know is that strawberries belong to the rose family.
I do too. As long as they're sweet, ripened by the sun, and - ideally - freshly picked. I'm not into those watery strawberries from the supermarket.
But what I didn't know is that strawberries belong to the rose family.
The fruits contain very few calories: only 29 per 100 grams. But they are full of vitamin C, B11 (folic acid), and K, as well as potassium, manganese, and magnesium. So they are very healthy.
What do you need to grow strawberries yourself?
All you need is this:
- a square patch of 30x30 cm with a light, nutritious soil mix
- a strawberry plant
- a spot with at least 6 hours of sunlight per day
Strawberries thrive on this light soil mix.
Strawberries in an MM-Airbak
If you want to grow even more strawberries, then an MM-Airbak is a handy option.
I just planted these strawberry plants:
I just planted these strawberry plants:
More about our strawberries
There are many types of strawberries, but we chose plants of the Favori variety.
That is a new, everbearing variety that meets our requirements exactly: easy to grow, resistant to diseases, and a large harvest from June to early October.
And of course super tasty, with a flavor like wild strawberries.
That is a new, everbearing variety that meets our requirements exactly: easy to grow, resistant to diseases, and a large harvest from June to early October.
And of course super tasty, with a flavor like wild strawberries.
The best plants come from a real strawberry grower
Strawberry variety: Favori
Family: plant
Number per bed: 1
Height: 20-30 cm
Location: front and center of the bed
Planting: March to May - immediately upon receipt
Bloom: June to August
Harvest: June to early October
Sunlight: sun
Do you want to buy our strawberries? We sell them from the end of March until April.
Family: plant
Number per bed: 1
Height: 20-30 cm
Location: front and center of the bed
Planting: March to May - immediately upon receipt
Bloom: June to August
Harvest: June to early October
Sunlight: sun
Do you want to buy our strawberries? We sell them from the end of March until April.
We provide them as so-called power plants: these are grown in pots during the summer until they become sturdy little plants with a healthy and strong root system.
At the end of the year, the grower takes them out of the pots and freezes them at -1°C.
In the spring, they come out of the cold storage and are sold immediately - almost always to professional strawberry growers. They want plants that will take root quickly and provide a substantial harvest after just 8-10 weeks.
At the end of the year, the grower takes them out of the pots and freezes them at -1°C.
In the spring, they come out of the cold storage and are sold immediately - almost always to professional strawberry growers. They want plants that will take root quickly and provide a substantial harvest after just 8-10 weeks.
How to plant and care for strawberries?
You'll find these strawberries in our free Makkelijke Moestuin app. If you use it, it will guide you from the moment of planting until the following spring.
Each plant goes through several stages - we call them levels. The app tells you exactly what to do in each level and asks you to regularly check if your plants are ready to move on to the next level.
So you don't need to know in advance how to successfully care for strawberries. But if you like to read ahead, I'll tell you now what the whole process will look like.
Level 1: Planting strawberries
You'll receive the strawberries as bare plants with a root ball. They come from a cold cell and are slightly frozen there, and usually don't look very nice. That doesn't matter, as it's all about the roots and the growing core.
Before planting, first moisten the root ball well. The easiest way to do this is to put the plants in a bowl or container of water.
Stir the soil mix in the patch well so that it is loose and airy. Make a hole in the middle and pour in some water.
Place the plant in the hole - exactly deep enough so that the roots are in the mix and the plant itself sticks out above it.
Then lightly press the mix from the hole around the plant, and give some extra water at the base of the plant.
In the first two weeks, the plants still need to get used to their new environment. Therefore, keep an eye on the weather and cover them with some fleece (or an MM cap) in case of frost at night.
Do this during the day as well when the temperature drops below 8 degrees Celsius. After two weeks, this is no longer necessary.
Level 2: Care
After two weeks, your plant has already adapted a bit to its new environment and will grow faster.
In the coming period, you don't have to do anything except occasionally water them.
The only thing that is difficult about strawberries is that when the fruits ripen, you are not the only one who likes them. Birds love them, and so do slugs.
To keep the slugs away, plant garlic around them: they are also excellent companion plants for strawberries. Just press a clove (or, like in the picture, a small plant) into the mix here and there - it doesn't matter what kind.
Level 3: Flowers
Depending on the weather, you will see the first flowers after about three weeks. You don't have to do anything with them, just wait until the strawberries come and you can pick them.
So, there is no difficult pruning, cutting flowers, or flower stems with this variety. We didn't choose it for no reason 😉
Level 4: first fruits
About 8-10 weeks after planting, the first strawberries will ripen.
Harvest them when they are beautifully red and slightly soft. Cut the fruits off with scissors. This will prevent you from pulling the strawberries that are not yet fully ripe.
To give the plant an extra boost to produce many strawberries, sprinkle a tablespoon (or 15 ml) of MM plant food at the base of the plant.
Note: as soon as they turn red, birds, slugs, and woodlice will come to them. So, you need to protect them from them.
The best way to keep birds away is with a net:
Protect your strawberries from birds
I use an old piece of net that I got from a fruit grower for years. But if you don't have one yet, it's better to buy a blue or green net. Birds see those colors better and get less tangled in them than in a black net.
Something that flutters also helps to scare them away: like a flag or wind vane. If you have old CDs, you can hang them on a string above the strawberries - birds don't like that flickering light.
You have to pick the slugs as soon as possible. If necessary, sprinkle some diatomaceous earth between the plants: slugs don't like to cross that. Moreover, it also helps against other insects, such as woodlice.
Level 5: summer check and removing runners
In mid-summer - when you are already picking strawberries - runners grow here and there: long stems with the beginning of a plant at the end.
Cut them off as soon as possible. Because new plants grow on them, the plant invests a lot of energy there instead of in new flowers and strawberries.
You can keep harvesting for the next few months, hopefully until late October.
To help the plant make new flower stems and strawberries, sprinkle a tablespoon (or 15 ml) of MM plant food at the base of the plant again.
Level 6: end of the season
Strawberries are perennial plants, so you can leave them in your container. However, they bear the most fruit in the first 2 to 3 years. After that, it's better to replace them.
Around October, the leaves of the plant begin to change color. Leave old and ugly leaves as they protect the plant during the winter. However, now is the time to remove runners and any flowering stems as they only drain energy from the plant.
If you planted garlic alongside your strawberry plants in the spring, you can now harvest it.
Strawberry plants can withstand cold weather, but it's better to protect them during severe frost. I personally use the MM-muts to make it easier.
Level 7: Starting a new season
If your strawberry plants survived winter, they will start growing again around March. Then it's time to replenish the nutrients in the mix.
First, remove the grid and remove any unnecessary plants and blown-in weeds.
Then sprinkle 60ml (4 tablespoons) of MM-plant food around the plant and, if necessary, top up the compartment - or the entire container - with fresh MM-mix.
If you want, you can plant some garlic cloves between the plants now. This way, you'll kill two birds with one stone: it will keep pests away and you'll harvest garlic bulbs for the winter.
The rest of the year is the same as the first season.
Around May, the plant will start to bloom again and you can harvest strawberries in June. During the season, give the plant two doses of plant food: the first when the strawberries start to ripen and the second in early August.
In the summer, protect your strawberries from birds, slugs, and pillbugs. In winter, protect your plant with an MM-muff or straw in case of severe frost.
You can continue for a third year if you like, but then it's better to replace the plant, preferably in a different compartment.
So, what keeps you from growing and planting strawberries?
Sun-ripened strawberries from your own garden are tastier than anything else, and the cultivation is super easy. Plus, you can harvest them from ours for months.
Furthermore, with our app and materials, it's almost impossible to fail.
Buy your strawberry plants here - only in March and April - or get started with a complete kit of your own choosing.
Enjoy your strawberry harvest!
Other plants
- Planting and growing early potatoes
- Growing herbs in pots or garden boxes
- Strawberries in your Planty Garden
- Sow or plant chives?
- Vegetables and herbs for the bees
- Buy vegetable seedlings or not?
- Growing potatoes in a pot
- Planting potatoes in an MM-Airbak
- Raspberries in your Planty Garden
- Growing garlic
- Beans in your vegetable garden