If you’ve got a green thumb and love to grow your own strawberries at home, you may have experienced a disappointing harvest of sour or tasteless fruits despite all your tender care –- a far cry from the desired sweetness reminiscent of the world’s most expensive strawberry: the Japanese Bjin-Hime variety. Where did it all go wrong, you might ask yourself. They’re getting plenty of sunshine, have good drainage, are watered regularly, and you planted them in the right time of year, so what gives? Well, the truth of the matter is that strawberries are very temperamental and stubborn fruits to cultivate, but one simple ingredient found in most kitchens could be the answer to all of your growing woes. For the juiciest strawberries, all you’re going to need to do is go into your pantry and grab some yeast.
Strawberries and yeast aren’t exactly a combination that you’d naturally pair together –- but trust us here. One reason you may yield underwhelming strawberries is due to your soil quality (especially if you’re growing strawberries in a pot). Over time, nutrients diminish due to the plants extracting them. Mix one teaspoon of dry yeast, one tablespoon of white sugar, and four cups of lukewarm water, and ferment it at room temperature for 24 hours. Then, you’ll have a nutrient-rich fertilizer on your hands — resulting in luscious, juicy strawberries perfect for your next strawberry-rhubarb pie or strawberry and goat cheese bruschetta. Just dilute the mixture at a 1:5 ratio with water, and then put a tablespoon of it in the soil under your plants.
Other kitchen staples that could help you grow juicier strawberries
No yeast? No problem. Instead, repurpose some banana bits. When you’ve finished eating one, you probably don’t think twice about throwing away the peel — what use does it have, right? Well, banana peels are actually rich in nutrients essential for fertilization, such as potassium. So instead of throwing out the peel, try composting it. Compost will dramatically improve your soil quality while also providing your strawberry plants with nutrient-rich food — and it’s an eco-friendly, zero-waste method if you want to lessen your carbon footprint. It’s not just banana peels you can use; many commonly thrown away kitchen ingredients are great for leveling up your fertilizer, from eggshells and coffee grounds to other fruit and vegetable peels.
If you’re a tea drinker, you’re also in luck. Tea leaves are loaded with nutrients like tannins, nitrogen, and flavonoids that can aid strawberry growth, and this applies to all types — so no matter if you’re partial to green, black, or herbal, you can put your love of tea to further use! You can share a cup with your strawberries by watering them with a nice, lukewarm brew (just be mindful not to overwater). Alternatively, simply remove the raw tea leaves from the bag and mix them with your compost or sprinkle them over the soil.
