My Garden

Strawberries - your advice please

Last post 06-11-2009 3:14 PM by catymck. 3 replies.

• 04/10/2009 10:26 AM

  catymck Location: surrey Joined on: 12 Mar 2009 Posts: 40

  Reply | Contact I hate strawberries, but himself loves them, so we got 10 plants a couple of months ago - knocked down at the garden centre!  They're in a variety of pots and tubs at the moment and have produced a few strawbs, but they need a better home.  Don't know whether to put them in the garden or for him to make a big trough/raised bed type thing with better soil/compost.  Our soil is very sandy so gets extremely dry and from what I've read, strawbs need a fair amount to drink and quite decent soil.  Do they they need full sun all day, or would they be happy with sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon?  Are these strawberry pots with little shelves in them any good - they look nice, but the shelf-type things seem so small and these plants are quite substantial.  Any advice you can give would be most welcome. Thanks

• 04/10/2009 02:39 PM	In reply to
  jaysgarden Location: Kent Joined on: 02 Oct 2009 Posts: 16	Reply | Contact Hi, Strawberries do well in raised beds, as you will be over wintering them now, protect from frosts and wet weather. The soil needs to be improved and keep in full sun the better. If you use Strawberries pots, water well and feed in the growing season. Keep the fruit off the ground with straw hence – Straw-berries or matting. Jay

• 05/10/2009 06:25 PM

  In reply to

  tony Location: inverness Joined on: 03 Aug 2009 Posts: 10

  Reply | Contact We are in the Highlands of Scotland, cold winters and not too warm summers and our stawberries have very little attention, occasional weeding that's all. We've had lots this year, with a few lost to snails and other crawlies. The soil is quite wet and heavy, quite a lot of leaf mould and home compost and nothing else. No raised beds, no winter protection, no visqueen with holes. I put little twigs under the dangling fruit to keep them up off the ground as the strawberries start to develop. They spread at the rate of about three or four new plants per year from suckers growing off the main plant. I transplant some of these to new areas of our large garden. We all love them, cut in quarters, sprinkles of brown sugar and Carnation evaporated milk. Tony

• 06/11/2009 03:14 PM	In reply to
  catymck Location: surrey Joined on: 12 Mar 2009 Posts: 40	Reply | Contact I'm so sorry not to have thanked you for your advice - but thanks! Tony, I have to say that your way of eating strawbs sounds revolting to me - but the husband has tried it and says its delicious!!