Strawberries can grow in a bucket on the patio, balcony

Q: Can I grow strawberries on my balcony?

A: Does your balcony have enough sun? Strawberries need at least eight hours of direct sunlight daily, with morning and early afternoon sun if not a full sun location.

Strawberries come in a few varieties: June bearing — one large crop; ever bearing — with several fruit crops; and day neutral — continuous fruit all season (performs best in cooler regions).

What to plant them in? Terracotta strawberry pots are heavy, expensive and may crack if overwintered outside. You can make strawberry pots out of five-gallon plastic pails. Choose a light colored pail — it's easier to see the magic marker lines and cooler for the plants.

Here's how you do it: Turn the pail over. Make eight equally spaced marker lines on the lip (that's every 45 degrees, a protractor helps). Transfer the marks to the side of the pail. Put the pail on its side. Starting at a handle, make a mark 8 inches down. Rotate 45 degrees and make a mark at 4 and 11 inches down from the top. Repeat all the way around, alternating marks at 8 inches, then 4 and 11. Each mark will become a hole made with a 2-inch hole saw attached to a drill.

Drill a series of holes, or one half-inch hole, on the bottom for drainage.

In the end you will have three rows of four holes, with the middle row offset from the other two. Fill the pail with potting soil or soilless mix. Commercial pots have cupped openings to prevent soil spill, but yours won't. Take 3-inch pieces of newsprint and cover the holes on the bottom two rows as you fill them.

At the top row, place a strawberry plant in each hole, then fill the pail to the top with soil. As the strawberries grow, they will send out runners. Punch through the newspaper and plant the runners in the holes below. Other runners can be trained to go on the top of the pail.

Keep the soil moist and move the pail around with the handle so all sides get some sun. Enjoy your strawberries.

— John Kapica

• Provided through the Master Gardener Answer Desk, Friendship Park Conservatory, Des Plaines, and University of Illinois Extension, North Cook Branch Office, Arlington Heights. Call (847) 298-3502 on Wednesdays and Saturdays or (708) 725-2400 on Tuesdays or email northcookmg@gmail.com. Visit web.extension.illinois.edu/mg.