Strawberries

I decided to combine two ideas I saw on YouTube, one was the worm tower which I already started in my raised bed and the other idea is making a strawberry tower out of crates.  I hadn't seen any strawberry plants at the garden centers, so I ordered some bare root ones (which I forgot to take photos of as it was about to storm as I was putting all this together, so I was working as fast as I could to get it set up).  I picked up 4 plastic crates from Walmart which were $3 something each, and had already ordered some landscaping fabric.

The bottom crate I just have completely empty as it's just to lift everything higher off the ground.  I took some more of the tube I used for the raised bed worm tower and made some holes in it to let the worms in and out, and then in the bottom of two of the crates I made a hole big enough to feed the tube through.





The second crate up I did not cut so the tube wouldn't fall through and I completely lined it with the fabric to stop the soil falling through all the holes.  The next two up I just put fabric around the sides so that water and worms could travel freely through the crates.  I used some moisture control potting mix and regular potting mix in the hole it might help the bottom filled crate retain a bit more moisture in the Florida heat.  I also added a bit of plant food.


Then it was time to stack them all, filling as I went the same way until all three were filled with the tube through all three.  I then cut a little hole in the fabric in sides poked my finger in and then shoved the roots of the plants in careful to keep the crown out.  I had ordered 20 plants but in fact ended up with 25 so that was a bonus!  I scattered them around the outside of the crates and then put 4 on the very top, and also added some mulch to the top to help with water retention.   As the plants produce runners eventually I will add more to it.  At the moment there is nothing in the worm tube as I don't have any more worms, but I will be given some tomorrow as my mother in laws worm farm has an abundance of them.

 Hopefully the tube will help with getting water all through the crates, and in a few weeks the plants will wake up and we will see some growth.