How to make a strawberry bed
Discover how easy it is to grow delicious strawberries, with our simple guide to creating a strawberry bed.
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Growing strawberries in a raised bed makes them easier to pick and highlights the fruits, pretty leaves and clusters of cottagey flowers. It's also a good option if you have very heavy soil.
Discover how to grow strawberries all summer.
You can make your strawberry patch any size you like, but this 1.2m x 1.2m bed will accommodate nine plants – enough for several punnets of juicy fruits. The willow-hurdle edge adds a rustic touch and is practical, too – on windy sites, it stops the straw blowing away. It also makes a convenient prop for covering the crop with netting should you need to keep birds at bay.
You Will Need
- Willow edges (4)
- Timber plants and pegs, or a wooden pallet cut into planks
- Strawberry plants (9)
- Wire, galvanised, plastic-coated or copper
- Hammer
- Spade
- Wire cutters
Total time: An afternoon
Step 1
If using a pallet, remove four planks by sawing through the frame flush with one edge of each plank. Leave 8-10cm lengths of frame protruding from the other side to act as pegs, securing them with nails. If using planks, cut to length. Nail a peg at each corner to hold them together, sinking the pegs into the soil.
Step 2
Dig over the soil where you want the bed, taking care to remove roots and perennial weeds. Use a spade to make a shallow trench, 5cm deep. Position the prepared timber edging, knocking the pegs into the ground to secure them in place.
Step 3
Make sure the frame is square and nail the corners together. Fill around the inside of the frame with soil and firm lightly in place. Add more soil to the bed, mixing in plenty of bagged soil improver or compost. Firm up the bed by lightly treading with your boots.
Step 4
Position your plants roughly 45cm apart. Make planting holes with a trowel, setting the plants in place and firming soil around the roots. Water the whole bed to settle the soil around the roots.
Step 5
Position sections of willow border edging, pushing them into the soil to make an attractive boundary to the bed. This will stop the strawberry foliage flopping onto surrounding plants. Take care not to snap the edging when pushing it into the ground.
Step 6
Use thin galvanised, plastic-coated or copper wire to secure the corners of the willow edging. Push the end of the wire through the woven end and thread it back three of four times. Twist the ends of the wire together and cut off the excess with wire cutters.
Other ideas for your strawberry frame
You could use reclaimed timber for the frame, or buy a raised bed kit from a DIY store.
