Growing your own strawberries at home can be a rewarding experience. Planting strawberries in a hanging basket rather than in the ground offers several advantages. Baskets allow you to move the strawberries around, if necessary, to obtain the proper amount of sunlight. In addition, hanging baskets prevent the strawberries from developing fungal diseases which can often occur in ground soil. Hanging strawberries are also protected from most animals that like to each the red berries off the plant.
Look for a hanging basket that is wide rather than deep. Strawberry plants have very shallow roots so deep baskets are not necessary and only increase the weight on the hanging structure. Make sure the diameter of the basket is wide enough to allow the strawberry roots to grow outward.
Fill the basket with a potting soil containing organic matter, such as compost, and add 2 to 3 tbsp. of bone meal to the basket. Also add a granular fertilizer in the amount recommended on the fertilizer packaging.
Place five to six strawberry plants per basket and make sure the roots are covered well with soil but still sit at the top of the soil.
Place the hanging basket in a location that is in full sun, but sheltered from wind if you live in a wind-prone area.
Locate a solid wood joist on the underside of your house and insert a threaded hook into it by twisting with your hand. Or hang the basket on a metal shepherd's hook plant stand, which is more portable.
Water the strawberries at least once per day until water drips out of the bottom of the basket. During periods of excessive heat, water the basket twice per day. The soil in the basket must be constantly moist but not soggy.
Fertilize the strawberry plant with a liquid fertilizer once per week starting when you see green growth emerge in the spring. Continue the fertilization throughout the growing season
Remove the basket from the hanging location when the plant stops producing berries for the season and set it in an outdoor location that is covered, such as a porch or a shed. Leave the plant there until the threat of frost is over at the end of winter and return it to the hanging location in preparation for flowering.