Tropical Style

Instructions for Topsy Turvey Strawberry Planter

Topsy Turvy strawberry (Fragaria spp.; U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 10) planters are made to grow plants through holes in the sides. The planter hangs out of a plant hanger or might be suspended from a eye hook in a porch roof or comparable overhead arrangement. If you have had one sitting in your garage for a while or have discovered a single second-hand, hang it up so that you can enjoy a bountiful strawberry lawn that is simple to harvest with plants in eye level.

Mix slow-release fertilizer granules with a bagged potting mix along with a homemade potting blend, such as equal parts peat moss, completed compost and perlite. Topsy Turvy produces a slow-release fertilizer for their strawberry planters, or you can use another similar product. The Topsy Turvy strawberry planter measures 9 1/2 inches in diameter, requiring approximately 3 liters of fluid. Fertilizer has to be reapplied once every few months, depending on product instructions. Skip this step if you use a potting soil mix that already includes fertilizer combined with the soil.

Remove the strawberries from the planter pots or cell packs. Squeeze the soil to loosen the roots in the rootball so that they grow more freely when planted.

Insert the rootball of the very first strawberry plant via one of the underside starburst planting ports. The flaps on the port should shut around the stem to hold the cylinder in place. Repeat with the other bottom starburst planting port on the other side of the planter.

Add potting soil to the Topsy Turvy planter a little at a time to fill just over the plant roots, stopping when you reach the bottom of the following set of planting ports. Insert two more strawberry plants in the following set of planting ports; add more soil to cover these roots. Repeat this process until all of planting ports are planted as well as the planter is filled with soil. Since you fill the bag, then you might find it beneficial to hang the bag in chest level.

Water that the planter thoroughly until the soil is evenly moist and water drains from the bottom of the Topsy Turvy. Watering fills in air pockets in the ground, causing the soil to settle, which means you may have to add more soil to fill the planter into the surface. Water the new soil and repeat until the planter is full as well as the soil is moist. Some soil settling is anticipated when you water, but don’t pack the soil with your fingers, or you risk smothering the strawberry plant roots.

Put in the eye screw — comprised with the Topsy Turvy strawberry planter — in a piece of wood that measures at least 2 inches thick, including a two-by-four. Sink the screw so all of the threads are embedded into the wood, ensuring that the screw is well-anchored and equipped to support the full weight of the watered planter. Skip this step if you prefer to use a plant hanger hook. If that’s the circumstance, hang the Topsy Turvy strawberry planter from the hook. The chosen location should receive whole sunlight, six to 10 hours of direct sunlight each day, for the strawberries to grow properly.

Water that the Topsy Turvy strawberry planter daily to keep the soil evenly moist. Add water until excess water drains from the bottom of the planter. The hanging design employs gravity to guarantee extra water drains freely so the roots don’t rot. This same design feature is also why the planter requires daily watering. Strawberries need approximately 1 inch of water weekly, but rapid emptying means that the planter dries out more quickly than strawberries planted in the ground or in different planters.

Remove the strawberry planter from the hook and then store it — plants and all — from your basement or garage over winter to look after the plants until the following spring. Strawberries planted traditionally in a garden bed can be over-wintered in place with a covering of straw to protect plant roots. In a Topsy Turvy planter, the crops are less protected and require overwintering inside in a cool place.

See related