Growing Strawberries

Growing strawberries in the UK, granted the season is a bit shorter, is still quite possible, and they can be growin either in the ground or in containers.

The Strawberry is an herbaceous plant that has three very separate and distinct types., those being, summer fruiting, perpetual fruiting or alpine.

The summer fruiting will give the best yield here and as a rule this is the type that most people in our area will grow and they can be purchased from any good gardening supply store..

Strawberries still on the plants

You should site the plants in a warmer, sunny area, making sure that the soile there is well drained. If you are going to plant in the ground, then also make certain that you don’t grow in the same site where you have previously grown potatoes as they can pick up a virus from the potato plants.

When you are growing strawberries, one thing thats necessary is to keep the fruit up and off of the soil, so I like to use either raised beds or plant them in pots, where that is easier to do.

Begin with some good quality all purpose compost material and then add a layer of stones on top so that the water isn’t splashed onto the fruits when the plants are watered.

A healthy set of Strawberry plants

If you plant your strawberries in the ground, its going to be necessary to either use straw, or to provide them with what are called strawberry mats to protect the fruits.

Strawberries have whats called a three year cycle, so the first year, when your crop is smaller, its not because you’ve done something wrong.. the second you will get a larger crop and the third still larger yet, but after the third year, the plants will most likely need to be replaced.

The green thumb gardener recommends that ” When strawberries are growing well, they throw out tendrils, which grow miniature plants on the end, and they are the runners. When they get to a size of 3 or 4 leaves, then cut off the runner, and plant it in a pot of good multi-purpose compost, and keep well-watered. When you take the runners in the first year, do not let the runner plant crop. Just let it sit, and produce leaves. They are called maiden plants…. if flowers look like opening, take them off. Don’t forget to label and date your runners. Remove surplus runners, and make sure you keep your plants well weeded if growing them in the ground. When watering, do not wet the fruits, as they will develop botrytis, so use a watering can, and gently water near the crowns. Do not use a hosepipe, as it will spray the fruits, and disease will follow.”

Crop of fresh picked strawberries

If you are very fortunate and plan your strawberry garden well, this will be the inevitable result.

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