Did you add lime to the soil? If not, review your fertilizer choice and make sure it contains Ca and Mg - most 1:1:1 ratio fertilizers do not.

Al

I did not use anything except perlite, vermiculite and peat.

No top soil, no lime.

I haven't given anything except water yet.

I will use 15-15-15 fertilizer.

I will look for one which contains Ca and Mg, thank you so much.

Why are they important?

there are 15 elements here. I know they are essential but how can one supply all of them? If a fertilizer has 5 of them, another fertilizer has 5 of the others and another fertilizer has the rest elements, how should I give them?

All the fertilizers at the same time?

Or 1 is at this watering, 2 is the next watering and 3rd is at the third watering?

What if I use eggshell for calsium?

I heard it had a little magnesium, too.

Eggshells are almost all CaCO3 (calcium carbonate) which is insoluble in container media. Even if it was soluble and even if it contained traces of Mg, the fact that it is overwhelmingly CaCO3 would skew the Ca:Mg ratio so heavily in favor of Mg that w/o an additional source of Mg, an antagonistic deficiency of Mg would be a near certainty.

Whenever we discuss what is or isn't an appropriate part of the methodology we use to make certain our containerized plants get all the nutrients essential to growth and good health, we would probably first want to be sure our objectives are on target. It's difficult to argue with the idea that our focus in supplying supplemental nutrition to our plants should be on ensuring all the nutrients plants normally assimilate from the soil are A) IN the soil and available for uptake at all times, B) in the soil in a favorable ratio - that is to say in a ratio that mimics the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrient, C) at a concentration high enough to ensure no nutritional deficiencies, yet still low enough to ensure the plant's ability to take up water, and the nutrients dissolved in that water won't be impeded (by a high concentration of solubles in the soil solution).

At this point, you can accept these premises as worthy goals or argue against them. If accepted, we should then necessarily examine our efforts at supplementation in the light of whether or not our efforts bring us closer to or limit our ability to see the goals implemented.

This should help you to better understand fertilizing containerized plants.

Al

now, my first concern is water retention. I think you have a ratio called 5-1-1. my ratio is now very different and different things are there in it. mostly perlite, a little peat and so little vermiculite. And last night, I repotted one of my pots. I added sheep manure nearly 1-3rd to the mix. That was for suppyling some elements. I think, now my deficiency is Ca and Mg. If I use a fertilizer having Ca and Mg, that will be enoghh. Am I right?

I also use DynaGro Foliage Pro. Its top shelf!

If you can't get it at your local plant nursery, try a local Hydroponics shop or online.

Did you get a chance to peruse the info I linked to above? Manure, especially a fraction = to 1/3 of the whole, isn't a good choice for use in containers for several reasons. *If it's too fresh, manure comes with issues associated with a high level of nitrogen and a high level of dissolved solids (salts). Also, *manure breaks down very quickly in soils, and in doing so it reduces aeration, limits drainage, and increases water retention.

Whenever we discuss what is or isn't an appropriate part of the regimen we use to be sure our containerized plants get all the nutrients essential to growth and good health, we would probably first want to be sure our efforts are on target. It's difficult to argue with the idea that A) Our focus in supplying supplemental nutrition to our plants should be on ensuring all the nutrients plants normally assimilate from the soil are IN the soil and available for uptake at all times, B) That they exist in the soil in a favorable ratio - that is to say in a ratio that closely mimics the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrient, C) That nutrient concentrations are high enough to ensure no nutritional deficiencies, yet still low enough to ensure the plant's ability to take up water, and the nutrients dissolved in that water, won't be impeded (by a high concentration of solubles in the soil solution).

At this point, you can accept these premises as worthy goals or argue against them. If accepted, we should then examine our efforts at supplementation in light of whether or not our efforts bring us closer to or are actually limiting our ability to see the goals implemented.

Al

In your nutrient-absent growing medium you're using nutrient supplementation is required. Your strawberries may have water but they're starving for nutrients.

Aside: I'm in for Dyna-Gro Foliage pro too. It's wonderful stuff.

thank you for your comments.

Piggy backing on this thread... For everbearing strawberries just repotted (bare root + 5-1-1 with lime) and already made hardy/outdoors in their permanent containers and being fertilized with 9-3-6... Should I remove the flowers and fruit trusses for the first 60 days? Its my first time growing these and I've heard/read mixed commentary on that practice...

Fruit and flowers are powerful energy sinks. It would definitely be to the plant's benefit if you removed blooms or forming fruit until the root systems are well established. That's my default practice for bonsai trees until they're highly refined and I want to display them with blooms or fruit.

Al