Growing Strawberries
Following on from my earlier post about how to look after your strawberries I thought that the information ‘job’ should be finished off and instead of just spreading a bit of housekeeping knowledge it may be beneficial to give some tips on how to plant and generally look after your strawberries as well.
I am a great fan of the humble strawberry (as I think we nearly all are) the taste is fantastic and I think that just the look of a bright red, shiny strawberry is something that gets the taste buds going. They are also quite easy to grow, don’t require too much looking after and can take up as much, or as little, space as you want them to have. They are quite happy growing in pots just as they are quite happy being given a whole bed.
WHERE SHOULD I PLANT? – Anywhere! The strawberry is a plant that is happy to live in almost any type of soil from very light sandy/dusty areas right through to heavy clays but what it doesn’t like is a waterlogged soil. This is not uncommon with this type of fruit, and indeed many vegetables, so if you are planning to sow in a heavy soil try to break it up a little and dig in some sand or compost. If this is too much work then why not just plant in pots or containers, this is much easier and should not reduce your crop at all. When choosing an area ideally go for a sheltered position that will receive the maximum sunlight. This will protect your plants from the cold winds (which will damage leaves and reduce or even eliminate growth) and give the plant nice warm soil and plenty of sunshine to ripen the strawberries.
SOWING FROM SEED - This is not a difficult process. It is handy to remember that strawberries were originally a woodland plant so they do like ‘lots of muck’ therefore sow the seeds in a pot or container for the quickest and easiest route (unless you are looking at really large scale planting), fill it with good compost and sow the seed around 1cm deep. Water but do not soak. Sowing can normally take place during the late summer months or early spring.
TRANSPLANTING - The plants can then be left in these pots or if you are going to transplant do so about 8-weeks after sowing into rows around 60cm apart and leaving slightly less than that, around 35cm, between each plant in the row. When planting you do not want to plant too deep, it is far better to leave the roots quite shallow and spread them.
CARE - Weeds, weeds, weeds. Strawberries do not like weeds, so hoe and weed between the rows constantly or the whole bed will become a mess very easily. To maximise your crop
4 Stages Strawberry
a little mulching with some compost will help things and remember to water regularly. Remember not to water too heavily if your soil is not good at draining as the plants do not like to sit in water. Slugs can also a problem so a normal method to protect your plants is to put straw under the fruit and in the rows. Whilst this is very effective it can be quite a fuss and messy later in the season. Another method is to use polythene sheeting but, on a small scale, again I find this terribly fussy but it is very good at keeping the soil nice and warm. I like to use mulch mats (which also help to suppress the weeds) or I find that just keeping the area clear of weeds and dead leaves and not allowing the soil to become waterlogged is also very successful.
BIRDS - This is, probably, the biggest problem for the strawberry grower. We love strawberries and so do our little feathered friends. I am all for feeding the birds and having them in the garden but not on the vegetable plot and definitely not on my strawberries. Now we can stop them the natural way and just shout, clap, scream or jump up and down but doing this at 4:30 in the morning can cause a few raised eyebrows (especially if you only wear socks to bed) so it has to be netting. Growing in pots is easier as you can position them so that the birds can’t land too easily but a plot has to be covered. Make sure you stake the netting well at the edges as birds are not stupid and they will try to get under the net. Once in they will feed themselves, not be able to get again, so just carry on eating.
HANGING BASKETS - This is a nice, easy way to grow strawberries as the slugs can’t reach them and the birds find it too much hassle to attack the fruit. You must keep them watered everyday and have no more than 4-5 plants in each basket. What could be better than strawberries that you don’t have to bend down for? The Climbing Strawberry – Rampicante is designed for growing in pots or containers as it allows the fruit to hang.
Rubi Strawberry - Looking Good
And once you have enjoyed your fruit you can allow your plants to produce new ones with very little effort required, just click here for more information on how to look after your strawberries.
I hope all that has given a little help to you but let us know if there is something else you need help with.
Remember it is all supposed to be FUN!
