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STRAWBERRIES

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• The flavour and texture of homegrown strawberries are far superior to commercially grown ones.
• Raise from plantlets grown from runners (with exception of alpines). Need to be established during previous year.
• Need sun and shelter.
• Prepare ground about a month before planting out. Strawberries prefer a slightly acid soil. Remove weeds & dig in fertiliser. Don't use same plot for strawberries for more than 4 years and don't reuse for strawberries for another 10 years.
• All strawberries can be grown in containers.
• Often advised to remove flowers and not to crop for the 1st year. It is true that by doing this a larger crop will be produced in the 2nd year but the combined crop of years 1 & 2 will be greater than the increased 2nd year crop.
• 3 types: perpetual, summer fruiting & alpine.
• Perpetual: not overly hardy, cropping life is about 2 years, fruit is small and not overly sweet but they crop twice a year, in June and late summer/early autumn.
• Perpetuals can be planted out in July/August or March/April; summer fruiting - July-September. Cloche protection will be needed as weather chills.
• Summer fruiting: produce largest and sweetest berries but only once a year - May-July. Cropping life is about 4 years.
• Alpine: perfumed and sweet but berries small and on the dry side. Raise from seed, sow in previous autumn. Treat as annual. Usually container-grown.
• Weed regularly but pull rather than hoe to prevent damaging roots near to the plant.
• Water regularly in dry weather but water around the plant rather than over the fruit and leaves.
• Mulch in May.
• Need to protect against birds and slugs. There are now environmentally friendly ways of dealing with the latter.
• Need to keep berries clean and dry so raise them from the soil - one method is to place clean straw around the plants... hence the name.
• Tortix moth: leaves are pulled together inside a web and small green caterpillars can be seen inside. Remove leaves (and caterpillars) and destroy.
• Frost: if centre of strawberry flower goes black - it has been frosted and will not produce any fruit.

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