A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Apartment Quinault Strawberries

Hey,

So I'm a college student, living in a small, second floor apartment. I've always enjoyed taking care of plants and recently impulsed and bought a box of 10 quinault strawberry plants. I have a bedroom window that faces east. And the front of our place faces west. We live in central Illinois, zone 5. So what I'm wondering is, what would be best:

An overhang window box facing east (but I doubt this would hold many plants)?

or

A raised bed in front of our place (facing east) but covered by an overhang?

Maybe I should scrap the idea as a whole though, judging on my lack of growing area...

Maybe someone will have a few suggestions,
Thanks - Kelly

Hi Kelly Welcome to the Forum!

I have strawberries in containers and they are doing wonderfully. I even gave some of the babies to my daughter and she has them growing in her office at work. As long as they get some good sunlight during the day,they thrive. How sunny are the areas you are thinking of planting them? Have you considered a hanging basket?

G-Mom

Hello again,

If the window box were to work, they'd be in sun from rise until noonish (east-facing window w/ no shade).

If I were to try them out front, the would catch much less direct light. There is quite an over hang (thanks to our outdoor hallways around the courtyar). So direct sunlight would only hit here in the late hours of the afternoon.

-Kelly

Kelly, please don't scrap the whole idea ! College can be stressful, and you'll see how calming even a little bit of gardening is. It is my therapy, my mood enhancer, my calmer-downer !
I don't know what the experts would say, but the east exposure sounds best in your situation.
I love Quinalts too ! They are very sweet and never need to be sweetened. And soft and juicy !
Go for it !

Oops, I see that both of your choices have an eastern exposure. I mean that the morning one sounds best to me. Where I live the afternoon sun seems wimpy compared to the morning's.
I think I heard that the morning sun is better for plants. Not sure why.

Is it possible to try a few plants in each location and each type of container?

I've purchased a small strawberry pot to put out front (facing west). I could not find any window planters with U-hooks to hook over my window sill.

We'll see how it goes.
Thanks again,
Kel

Please keep us updated, I would liek to see how this turns out!