herbs in strawberry jars

I saw this very big strawberry jar in DG's Garden Showcase, and got some information about the jar. This is the biggest strawberry jar that I have ever seen! I am thinking about getting one for herbs. It is like a vertical kitchen garden that I can put right by the kitchen door :-). The designer of the jar is also a gardener. He makes things that he wants to use. Here is the link to the website in case you are interested http://www.mylittlegardenbarrel.com.

I have never grown anything in strawberry jars. Do herbs grow well in them? Are they easy to water? Any advice?

I have several (with strawberries) and was not successful with them. They are hard to water. I read to put a PVC pipe in the middle, with holes bored in it, and then to pour water down that.

If you can get the roots going, they would probably work fine, but I never got over that hump.

Happy, this big jar seems to come with a pipe in the middle. I am not sure if the pipe is drilled though. How did you water yours? From the top? Into individual little "cells"?

I just wonder if strawberry jars are only good for very small plants with shallow roots -- strawberries actually fit into this category.

very attractive. donner, the jar maker might be willing to address these questions..maybe?

I have a small one (maybe 15 inches tall ten inches across. THat was hard to keep watered. I tried sedums and semps in it.

This looks like plastic that will help a LOT. Mine was clay.

This message was edited Feb 21, 2013 10:24 AM

Mine was clay. I watered it all over, including through the pipe in the top. But I'm sure I didn't water it daily, which is what the little plants would have needed until fully established. It was hard to get water to where their roots lived.

Uh oh, I was going to use my clay strawberry planter for strawberries.

Is this a bad idea? I actually don't know anyone who has (successfully) used these planters for growing strawberries. I only see them used with succulents.

I bought 2 of these-
http://www.genericseeds.com/product/GS-STKR-MIN_Mini-Garden-Stacker
Only $39.95, and free shipping- so far my stwarberries are doing well- of course they are dormant now, but I think they will be OK-

Jo, did your strawberries produce well in those pots last year?

Holly has been pretty successful with her strawberry pots, but we have used a plastic pipe with side holes planted right down the center for years. That was so you don't wash the soil out of the lower tiers before they get a good root system.
There are all sorts of stacking pots on the market now. We first saw them marketed at the Philly Show 6-8 years ago. I have even seen some that you can build against a wall. Prices have come down a lot and still vary from OK to ridiculous. Here's some samples: http://compare.ebay.com/like/170841421816? Ric

This message was edited Feb 21, 2013 8:22 PM

This message was edited Feb 21, 2013 8:23 PM

I only put my plants in those containers last fall, so they didn't get to do much before winter set in. This spring will tell- I see some green in part of them. I will keep you updated-

Donner, I really like that pot. Strawberry Jars are such great pots. I have two big blue ones that I grow succulents in and two plastic terra cotta colored ones that we made by just cutting holes in regular pots. Those two hold coleus. Plus 3 or 4 different sized terra cotta ones. I haven't really grown Veggies in any of mine but I would think they would do as well in those as in any other type pots. Watering them well is always the key and I see that the pot in your pic has a watering pipe in it like the ones Ric has made for me.
You can always do a mix of veggies, herbs and flowers. Last year I grew my Cherry Tomatoes in pots with Ornamental Peppers and Alyssum.

I'm attracted to the look of strawberry planters and have grown impatiens, trailing coleus, semps and sedums, herbs (creeping thymes did well), and strawberries. I prefer the ones with large pockets that stick out beyond the top rim as I can water them more appropriately and they will catch some rain and are easier to plant or replant. Helpful to keep cutting oor pinching plants back as many herbs at least will outgrow their space if left on their own. Also found I had to turn my jars to get even sun distribution

SSG, it seems that most problems people have with strawberry jars are in watering. Growing succulents in them is a good idea. I remember seeing that jar of succulents at Holly's last year. Yours probably will do well too.

A neighbor of mine gave me a glazed cobalt blue strawberry jar when she moved away. It was something like this one: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5580211063_f1ef6dd764_z.jpg. I LOVED that blue!!! But here is why I didn't get a chance to use it:

Hubby: I broke one "ear" off that weird looking blue pot today. Sorry.
Me : which "ear"?
Hubby: The one in the back.

So I threw the damaged jar away. Now knowing just how expensive it is to buy a glazed jar like that, I really regret it. After all, it was only missing a ear" in the back". LOL!





This message was edited Feb 22, 2013 4:20 PM

Ha! Donner, my hubby's always breaking my stuff, too!

I'm going to try the strawberries in the strawberry jar. The "ears" on this jar stick out, so that should make the watering easier.

Donnerville, a little Gorilla glue may have fixed it! Ric

ssgardener - I bet JoParrott's approach of starting the strawberries in the fall would solve the problem inherent in the strawberry jars, that they don't root well.

Hello! I am the owner of My Little Garden Barrel, the maker of the Garden Barrel Planters that are being discussed here in this forum thread. Thanks to Donnerville for the original post and referral to our website. If I may, I would like to shed a little light on the design and functionality of our Garden Barrel Planters.

In some ways they are like the smaller clay strawberry pots, but in actuallity our planters are made of an FDA approved high density polyethylene material. They are very lightweight, yet extremely durable. They will last for many years. Our planters are professionally made at a Midwestern facility right here in the U.S.A. They have 16 side-cup openings molded into the circumference of the barrel. We have designed our planter with a tappered cone at the bottom to allow for a pressure fit of our center watering tube that has 1/4" diameter holes in it to help disperse water and nutrients into the middle of the container soil. (This has always been a big problem with container gardening in larger planters like ours.) Our planters stand approx. 22" tall and 18" diamater. They can hold up to 20 gal. of soil mix. You can plant up to 22 of your favorite plants in them.

You can grow practically anything in our planters. We have pictures posted on our website and facebook page of various planters with strawberries, vegetables, herbs, tomoatoes, peppers, etc.... www.mylittlegardenbarrel.com
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Little-Garden-Barrel/456674187689115?ref=hl

I would be glad to answer any questions you may have. Please understand I will not be posting solicitation or sales type messages on this forum. I did not join for that reason. I appreciate reading the information and resources available here at DG. I am just a small start-up business guy with a unique container gardening product. I will try and check this thread a couple times a day to see if there are any further questions or comments. I just wanted to write this post to help respond to some of the discussion items I've read concerning our planters. Thank you and have a great Day.

Thanks for the information MLGB.

Thank you for the post, MLGB. That's a lot of helpful information.