Strawberries !!

macma

Jake'sGran wrote: »

Is it correct that to grow the runners they need to be still connected to the original plant?. I did this last year and have had my first bowl of good strwbs this year. I grow the originals in tall plastic tubs from the supermarket and when the runners are quite long (as now) I pin them in a pot at the side. You need to pin them down e.g. with a bent piece of wire. Also, they like plenty of water and I fed them with tomato food.

A long time ago someone described a method of growing them hanging in some kind of bag but I have lost the instructions.

always root your runners before you sever them from the parent plant

digitalphase

cootambear wrote: »

Firstly, I think thats way too much feed. Second, are these new plants? Mine crop the heaviest in year 3. Third, sadly if the bees or other insects dont pollinate them, the can be small and misshapen. Fourth, the only thing strawbs are fussy about is water. Overwatering is deadly, and underwatering makes for small hard fruit. Five, beds are better than bags because that eliminates wild changes in water content. Six, they are tough and dont require any protection. Seven, depends on the variety. Some finish in early July, others will continue until first frost.

Thank you. How often should I feed/water them? They get watered everyday at present.
There's been plenty of bees about so not sure what happened there.
I am pretty sure I have two Cambridge varieties, that I bought. The others are from runners from my old neighbour's plant which grew into our garden :rotfl:so no idea what they are.
They are all plants bought/grown this year.
So they don't require any frost protection?
Will they be OK for next year?
Should I repot/put them in the ground once fruiting is over?

digitalphase

macma wrote: »

always root your runners before you sever them from the parent plant

Damn, I didn't do this silly me. Will try the pegging them down method next time.

wayne1983

Picked another boat load today!, still plenty left but i get the feeling it wont be for much longer, however an excellent amount this year:j

AuntyCat

jeferey wrote: »

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I went up to my allotment this morning and picke danother 2 big punnets of strawbs. They are so good this year.

I started off with one 20 foot narrow raised bed spaced about 12 inches apart nearly 3 years ago but that has now increased with the addition of another normal bed mad from 'babies'.
The narrow bed works really well as the strawbs are planted on top of a mound with weed suppressing fabric underneath. The strawbs then flop down and it makes them easy to pick.

I am hoping to make some wine this year as we have so many and my OH would like to try her hand at jam.
We must have about 50 plants now and we could probably use more - just go for it ~~Diane~~ and plant some more :rotfl:

We also have loads this year, just back from the allotment with another bag full.

Whats the wine recipie?

Or any other easy ways of keeping them. any ideas please.

cootambear

digitalphase wrote: »

Damn, I didn't do this silly me. Will try the pegging them down method next time.

The technique I use is to cut it leaving a good few inches of `runner stalk ` attached. Then i push the stalk deep in to the soil until the little plant touches the soil. It should then stay put and root.

cootambear

digitalphase wrote: »

Thank you. How often should I feed/water them? They get watered everyday at present.
There's been plenty of bees about so not sure what happened there.
I am pretty sure I have two Cambridge varieties, that I bought. The others are from runners from my old neighbour's plant which grew into our garden :rotfl:so no idea what they are.
They are all plants bought/grown this year.
So they don't require any frost protection?
Will they be OK for next year?
Should I repot/put them in the ground once fruiting is over?

No you shouldnt repot as they will overwinter happilly.

frosty

I went to Focus yesterday and they had reduced some hanging baskets to 99p,they had 6 strawberry plants in each one(very big and healthy)and heaps of runners.If your thinking of planting more strawberries it might be worth checking out.

cootambear

~~Diane~~ wrote: »

Well I did 10 runners today and cut the rest back to give the rest of the strawberries a chance, I'll do some more in a few weeks time.

Did you know there`s a strawberry variety named after you?