How To Grow Strawberries
Strawberries are the ultimate summer fruit treat and it’s possible to grow them in any garden, either in the soil or containers. They are prone to disease, so plants are usually replaced, and beds moved, every 3 years. To extend the fruiting season, grow strawberries under cover, and plant perpetual and day neutral types.
Summer Strawberries
These are the Strawberries that are worth waiting for. Warmed by the early sun, their syrupy sweet aroma and smooth juicy flesh must be one of the best things its possible to grow in your own garden. The only trouble with summer varieties is that they only fruit -3 weeks and then that’s it, you’ve got your crop. If you have space, grown a combination of early, mid and late season varieties for fruit all summer long. They can also be moved into a greenhouse or put under a cloche during winter which should give berries 3 weeks earlier the next year. Make sure all strawberries are planted before autumn for the following year
Perpetual-fruiting
Also known as ever- bearing and remontant strawberries, these varieties produce sporadic bursts of fruit from late summer until the first autumn frosts. If the weather is not too cold, you can cover them with cloches and they many continue to fruit during mid-winter. Plant them in late summer or early autumn for a crop for the following year. Replace plants annually if possible, because they won’t produce as many berries the following seasons.
All-season strawberries
These are different again. These can grow ad fruit at any time of the year, as long as the temperature is kept above 10’c. Their dry, firm flesh means they are no real competition for summer varieties but they are worth planting in pots mid-summer and moving into the greenhouse in mid-autumn for flushes of fruit right through winter. Try them indoors too or on a bright windowsill.
