Strawberries – red, round, and really delicious!

Every season has something special to offer. But summer has quite a lot in store—especially strawberries, which are not only really delicious but also healthy. And the best part: strawberries can be grown at home.

Strawberries are among the most popular fruits. No wonder—they’re incredibly tasty and taste like summer itself. And since they’re native to this region, they can also be harvested straight from your own garden.

Strawberries are native to Europe, the Americas, and Asia. And that’s a good thing—unlike bananas, kiwis, or pineapples, strawberries can be grown in large quantities right here. Anyone who has ever reached for a strawberry probably remembers summer days in strawberry fields, where more berries ended up in their mouth than in the bowl where mom was collecting them for jam.

If you don’t have a strawberry field nearby and want to snack directly from the plant, you can grow strawberries in your own garden or even on your balcony. Strawberry plants are perennial and produce small blossoms after the frost, which then develop into strawberries.

Interestingly, strawberries aren’t actually berries. Botanically speaking, they are aggregate accessory fruits, meaning they are technically more nut than berry. The real fruits are the tiny yellow seeds—called achenes—on the surface of the strawberry. The red part is just the fleshy receptacle.

But whether nut or berry—strawberries freshly picked from your own garden always taste the best!

Who doesn’t know the feeling of biting into a freshly picked strawberry and tasting the sunshine? The sunnier the spot strawberries grow in, the sweeter and more flavorful they are after harvest. Strawberries love full sun and should definitely be given a sunny location.

They should also be planted in a spot that is mostly protected from the wind. That said, a little breeze is still important—after rain, the leaves need to dry quickly to prevent rot. The soil where strawberries grow should be loose and rich in humus. Hard or compacted soil can be loosened with a spade and rake before planting.

To help them establish, the delicate strawberry plants appreciate a bit of fertilizer or leaf compost. Regular compost isn’t suitable, as it tends to contain too much salt and lime.

In general, after three to four years, the yield from strawberry plants begins to decline, and the location should be changed. Strawberries usually produce the most fruit in their second year.

If you don’t have a garden, you definitely don’t have to miss out on growing your own strawberries. Quite the opposite! There are now a number of strawberry varieties specifically bred for balconies and container growing.

If you don’t have space on the ground, you can grow strawberries as hanging plants and suspend them in a basket on your balcony. This not only brings the sweet red treats up to eye level, it also eliminates the need for straw, since the ripe strawberries hang in the air instead of resting on the ground like they would in a garden bed.

Of course, hanging baskets are just one of many options. Strawberries also grow well in balcony boxes. The most important thing is that the plants get enough sunlight. A shady balcony is not ideal for growing strawberries—they will still grow, but the more sun the little red fruits get, the sweeter they will taste.

But surely there’s at least a little sunny spot on every balcony. Let the strawberry season begin!