Hello everyone...new member here with a question. Does anyone have a tried and true procedure for overwintering strawberries that have been grown in an Earthtainer located in my zone-4b? It gets quite cold here and we have LOTS of snow every winter. I would like to grow strawberries in a SWC, but would hate to lose 25 plants because I didn't have the correct information on how to overwinter. I have found lots of confusing information on this subject and would like to hear suggestions from anyone that has done it successfully from year to year. Thanks in advance for any help with this. Donna H.

Seedsilly: It's funny how a seemingly dreadful accident turns into a happy learning experience! I never grew strawberries before and was terribly concerned that they would just all die. Like you, I believe that sheltering them made all the difference. Isoh: My SWC's were homemade with two 3-gal buckets and a 6 oz. yogurt container for the wicking chamber. I used a small piece of landscape fabric to surround the wicking chamber (so the soil wouldn't get into the water reservoir, PLUS...I lined the entire bucket with a large piece of landscape fabric that laid on top of the wicking chamber so that when I removed the rootball, I wouldn't have to worry about 'fuddling' with the wicking chamber. For my soil less mix, I used Raybo's (then) experimental mix of peat, bark fines and perlite with some lime mixed in for rooting the daughter plants. The older plants were originally planted in a denser mix which contained peat, compost and perlite. Although the denser mix worked fine for the smaller containers, it did hold a LOT of water and I have since abandoned using it in favor of a more porous mixture based on Raybo's. As far as fertilizer goes, I added blood meal, phosphate, greensand, lime and Azomite when I made the soil to give the plants a boost. I was pretty lazy after that (OK...neglectful ;-) and only fed them one other time with MG added to the reservoir. I did try using fish emulsion, but take it from me...that stuff is just RANK in a water reservoir. I ended up flushing every water reservoir shortly after adding it. This year, I'm still trying to figure out a reasonable feeding schedule and what type of fertilizer to use. I have both chemical and organic. Only time will tell I guess! Donna H.

Living in the condo presents some 'problems'...do you have balcony? How many pots? I would make sure the soil in pots is very well draining; then keep them close together & if possible, surround with dried leaves. Maybe you can make some kind of bed - no bottom, just to keep pots together & keep the leaves around the pots & as mulch on top (from 2x4, or even fencing panels-doesn't have to be really sturdy). You could use chicken wire to make a cage, it will keep leaves from blowing around. If on balcony, do you get lots of snow in? They still need some moisture as Drew mentioned, so make sure they are not covered up with something like plastic. Good snow cover should actually insulate them. Worst is if you get constant freeze-thaw. As long as there isn't water sitting in the pots, they should be ok to overwinter. Rina This post was edited by rina_ on Mon, Sep 8, 14 at 9:35

Yes they need to be kept moist, maybe about once a month water, depends on soil, light, etc. You cover them for a consistent temperature. My in ground strawberries I cover once they freeze. it's the thawing and freezing that kills them, so the cover helps maintain a more consistent temperature. I don't cover the ones I overwinter in pots in the garage, but it would not hurt to cover them. I may cover them this year as a cold winter is expected.