What variety of strawberries?

browneyedbazzi

Hi all, I'm new to this board as this year I'm making my first real attempt at being greenfingered. I live in a flat without a garden but I have a reasonable sized balcony that I've put planters out on and am growing a few bits...mostly fresh herbs and the makings of a salad.

I'd really like to grow strawberries too as I have really fond memories from childhood of going to the garden after school to pick (and eat) strawberries. I'm not sure which varieties are best, particularly for the growing conditions that I have - I get morning sun but it's shady in the afternoon and as it's a balcony it can get quite windy (although I do have a cloche that they could go in if, like my tomatoes, they aren't keen on wind).

Any ideas of what would do well?

cootambear

big planters so they dont get blown over

they are tough so they wont need protection in summer, though a bit of wind protection in winter would be helpful

the sun levels sound ok

unfortunately you have left it a bit late to get meaningful fruit this summer

get em in now, because imhe they suicide if planted in high summer, otherwise you can wait till autumn to plant

the varieties I would heartily recommend are mara des bois and gariguette

maras can crop in 2/3 flushes, and have superb flavour

gariguette have a very good flavour and are a slightly early variety

browneyedbazzi

Thank you, a trip to the garden centre is on the cards for this afternoon I think!

cootambear

mail order only for these varieties

Farway

Cambridge Favourite for flavour, old variety so may not be obvious to find.

TBH given limited time scale, just pop in Wilkinson's / Lidl / B & Q etc any buy what they have.

Then DYOR over the summer, check out specialist fruit growers, like Ken Muir and look forward to summer 2013

Budget_Gardener

I bought a cheap packet of alpine strawberry seeds in a mini propagator (Poundworld or somesuch) a couple of years ago - hundreds of seeds, too many plants to put in the tiny yard, great-tasting strawberries all the way through summer and autumn until the frosts. Can't kill them very easily as they are pretty hardy. Really worth looking for - a different thing in some ways but very rewarding.

cootambear

Farway wrote: »

Cambridge Favourite for flavour, old variety so may not be obvious to find.

TBH given limited time scale, just pop in Wilkinson's / Lidl / B & Q etc any buy what they have.

Then DYOR over the summer, check out specialist fruit growers, like Ken Muir and look forward to summer 2013

dutch bulbs sell em cheap

the-mango

Budget_Gardener wrote: »

I bought a cheap packet of alpine strawberry seeds in a mini propagator (Poundworld or somesuch) a couple of years ago - hundreds of seeds, too many plants to put in the tiny yard, great-tasting strawberries all the way through summer and autumn until the frosts. Can't kill them very easily as they are pretty hardy. Really worth looking for - a different thing in some ways but very rewarding.

Oh I just bought some of these. Have lots of tincy tiny plants, could I have some advice as to what to do with them now? I've been looking on the internet but I'm a bit lost!

cootambear

the-mango wrote: »

Oh I just bought some of these. Have lots of tincy tiny plants, could I have some advice as to what to do with them now? I've been looking on the internet but I'm a bit lost!

plant them now!

radiohelen

I'm waiting for my alpine strawberry seeds to get a bit bigger before I put them out. They only went in a couple of weeks ago. They naturalise so I have a home for them up between my blueberries and the mint jungle.

Loran - never seen this variety in any other garden centre but our little one near home. They taste brilliant. Only thing - they don't seem to do runners! Is this normal? Any ideas on how to propagate them?

[Deleted User]

cootambear recommended mara des bois last year and I got 12 runners from ken muir in april 2011. They established very quickly and we had strawberries right up to october. I got hooked on strawberries and now have almost 100 plants.

on the allotment
monterey
calypso
cirano

calypso and cirano grown on from a few manky runners from another grower (CB I don`t recommend at all)

At home I have mara des bois (more new runners KM)
gariguette new runners KM
alice from a few poor runners (CB)
lucy
and new runners of monterey and sonata KM

All the strawberries at home are in troughs, tiered planters and now a new system called `table top` from ken muir

I took out last years plants and gently stroked the roots straight and cu toff the bottom if needed, so that they could be planted with the roots straight down as possible, in new compost

The table top system looks very interesting, £45 if bought with the runners and provided with a pvc cover as well as a net cover, so a good multi use system. There are 10 runners in each growbag £2.60) gro sure bags. Two days on and the runners are growing already. I will leave them for 3 years and will be cutting off all runners. Sonata in the top one as it seems quite weather proof. I do have a moisture meter as keeping the moisture just right will be important. Ken Muir is the only grower I will use now, their runners are fantastic and so is their customer care

Lucy is in buckets and I grew a few more from 3 runners. The plants look lovely, so healthy and strong with flower buds. They really do survive this awful wet weather and they just might be the variety that I grow in the allotment in three years time

I have dozens of flowers and have been round several times with a soft make up brush and now have quite a few developing fruits

I have also been able to move most planters and troughs into sheltered positions, which has helped. I left lucy exposed, in order to see how it copes