Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) are easy to grow in a sunny part of your yard, even if you’ve never cultivated fruit before. They’ll also thrive in many types of gardens, from hanging baskets to planter boxes to in-ground plots. You can grow new strawberry plants by rooting runners that extend from mature plants. The plants that sprout from these modified stems are copies of the original. If you have access to full-grown strawberry plants, use cardboard toilet paper tubes to encourage the runners to create baby plants. The tubes function as biodegradable pots you can move from place to place without bothering the plants’ sensitive roots.

Without the protection the tubes provide, young strawberry plants may experience shock when their tender roots are transplanted. The tubes also keep the runners in contact with soil, which is what tells them to form roots. A plastic bottle cap and a rust-resistant nail can help with this task. The cap and nail act as a tack that holds a runner against a handful of soil inside the tube. To prepare your strawberry tubes, grab a cutting tool and slice your bottle cap in half. Then make flaps by cutting ½-inch slits in the tube’s lower portion. Fold the flaps up to close the tube’s bottom. Also make a couple of notches in the tube’s top edge, plus one in the middle of the cap’s rounded edge. These will help the runner stay put as it grows. Push the nail through the cap piece, then select your first runner. Choose a healthy one with a node, which will show tiny beginnings of leaves. This is where the roots will start, too.

Your next step is filling each tube with soil and a strawberry runner. You could mix composted coffee grounds into your strawberry-ready soil to provide a steady supply of nutrients, but standard garden soil is adequate for helping runners form roots. Soak the bottom of each soil-stuffed tube in water for a few seconds. Then pop it into a hole in the ground near its parent plant. Keep the runner attached to the parent as you do this. Afterward, set a runner on top, guiding bits of it into the notches you fashioned earlier, and tack the node to the soil with your cap-and-nail creation. If you don’t have a cap or nail handy, a staple or hairpin will do. For a demonstration of this process, check out a video by YouTuber A & J PEI Treasures.

If the new plant is watered consistently, its leaves will enlarge and roots will form within a month or so. At that point, you can carefully snip the runner attaching it to the parent plant. Doing this too soon may kill the fledgling plant. The rest of the plant should stay in its soil-filled tube. If you’d like to move the plant, now is a good time. Gently dig the tube out of the ground and move it to the spot you’d like it to call home. Tear a few holes in the cardboard before slipping the tube into a new planting hole. This will encourage the plant’s roots to grow outside the tube, and the cardboard will eventually disintegrate. Also water the young plant after placing it in the ground.

If you don’t have a source of strawberry runners, try sowing strawberry seeds in your little cardboard pots. This method works for starting other types of seeds as well. For instance, toilet paper tubes are great for growing carrots because they encourage the plants’ edible taproots to grow strong and straight while discouraging pests and weeds. In general, seeds like to germinate in damp, lightweight soil that’s not compacted. 

To grow a strawberry plant in a cardboard tube, start by filling the pot with soil. Then drop a seed or two into the center and mist the soil with water. Don’t cover strawberry seeds with soil, as this may keep them from accessing the light they need to sprout. If possible, create a greenhouse-like atmosphere that further encourages germination. You can do this by placing the tube inside a thin, clear plastic container. A transparent plastic bag will also work if you zip or tie it shut to lock in warmth and moisture. Keep the plastic-covered tubes near a sunny window and mist them with water if their soil is looking dry. 

Seedlings should emerge a few weeks after they’re planted. When they do, remove the plastic covering and water the plants regularly. Make sure to harden off your plants and address any drainage issues in your garden before transplanting them outdoors. Before long, you’ll have juicy red berries to enjoy.