If you’re looking to learn how to build a strawberry planter, there is some very good news for you: it is really easy to do! You do not need to do a lot of work or worry about measuring or anything else – you can have a beautiful strawberry garden in no time at all!

Anyone with limited garden space will appreciate an easy to build and easy to use planter, since strawberries are self reproducing and can tend to spread out and grow – yes, they can take over your whole garden if you don’t take some precautions! (Thankfully, there are no attack of the killer strawberries movies out there!)

By building a raised bed, you can control exactly where the strawberries grow, and you can also make sure the you use the perfect soil for strawberries as well, since they can be pretty particular about what they like!

Plants need to be planted about 12 inches apart, so the larger the bed the more plants you can fit into it. We like a 4′ x 8′ size, as it allows you to grow about 24-30 plants quite easily, ensuring you a nice large crop of strawberries!

Here are the materials you will need:

(3) 2x6x8 boards
8 nails or screws
A hammer or a screw driver
A saw
Potting Mix
Strawberry Plants
Straw

And here is a quick sketch of what we’ll be creating:

Step 1: Cut one of the boards in half. We’re using two of the boards for the length of the bed, and we’ll cut the other board in half to make up the sides of the width of the bed. Since boards aren’t always uniform in size and shape (even though, yes, we know technically they should be!) the best thing to do is measure from both sides about 4 feet and see if they are in the same place. If they are, great! If not, pick somewhere in the middle to give you nice even sized boards.

Step 2: Choose a Place for Your Bed: You are going to want to build your bed wherever you plan on keeping it, since it is going to get pretty heavy and difficult to move on your own once it is together. Strawberries LOVE sunlight, so make sure wherever you choose to place it that it will get at least 6 hours of sunlight in that spot each and everyday.

Step 3: Lay out the framework. You are going to place the longer 8′ boards about 4 feet apart from each other so they are running parallel and then the 4′ boards on each side to make a box.

Step 4: Nail the boards together. Nailing is pretty simple, you could instead use a power screwdriver and screws if you’d rather go that route. Both ways work, so do whatever is the most comfortable and convenient for you. Some beds can hold up just fine without this step, but it is really up to you to decide. Nails and/or screws will help it stay sturdier and last well over the years.

Step 5: Fill with dirt. Strawberries like a mix of potting soil, sand, and peat moss, see Strawberry Potting Soil to learn about which types of dirt are the best.

Step 6: Plant the Berries: It wouldn’t be called a strawberry planter if you didn’t plant strawberries in it, now would it? To plant the plants, just place them about 12 inches apart from each other, and make sure the dirt covers all of the roots.

Step 7: Fertilize and Water. Once your plants are all in their rightful places, you’re ready to fertilize and water them. You should only fertilize your crops once when transplanting and then again only after they bear fruit – fertilizing them too much not only wastes money, but risks the possibility of damaging the plants as well.

Step 8: Cover with straw: Straw will help protect your plants from the soil getting too hot, it will also help reduce the likelihood of ground insects and mold as well. This is especially important to do when planting the strawberries in the fall.

Step 9: Take Care of Your Plants: Now that the hard part is over, you’re ready to just take some basic every day care tips. If it is fall, not much to do until spring. If it is spring or summer or if your plants have flowers or fruit on them already, pinch it off so that the plant can put its energy into growing roots. See more on this in our Strawberry Care FAQ.

Now that you know how to build a strawberry bed, you’ll be sure to enjoy your strawberry plants all through the season. Do you have any strawberry planter plans you would like to share? Tell us about yours in the comments section below.