We have been placing straw under strawberries. Mike hates the untidiness of straw, as it tends to get dropped on the way to the strawberry patch & bits of straw blow round the garden. But while he is away, I thought I would take the opportunity to slip some under the strawberry plants.
straw-on-strawberry
The advantages of using straw under the strawberries are:
- the fruits grow out onto the straw, and are kept off the soil, so the strawberries are clean
- the straw stops weeds growing
- the straw acts as a mulch and conserves moisture
- the straw protects the strawberry plants against frost in winter
- the straw holds the fruits up, allowing air to circulate freely, which keeps the fruit healthy & less prone to fungal diseases
- the straw breaks down into organic matter which will eventually enter the soil & feed the plants
straw-between-rows
We have tried alternatives:
- no straw at all because the strawberries were planted through a plastic membrane. The membrane will stop the fruits coming in contact with the soil. But I found the strawberries tended to ’sweat’ on the plastic membrane, and then rotted.
- wood chips - slugs were a problem
- straw - barley straw is my favourite & this is what we have mainly used this year. But I accidentally picked up some oilseed rape straw, which has been laid on the left hand side of the left strawberry row, in the photo below. It has crushed up more, but it will be interesting to see how it compares over the fruiting season. I would expect it to stay drier, but we will see.
straw-under-strawberry
Strawberry mats look a nice, clean alternative. Perhaps someone will read this & remember my birthday next month! You can click to buy them here! But I wonder if they will be big enough? Our strawberries tend to grow out a long way.
strawberry mats
So much depends on the season: the rain, the temperatures and the humidity. We are having a lot of misty weather just now. But we will watch the fruit and see what effect the straw under the strawberries has.
Picking strawberries is an art, if the strawberries are to remain bright and unbruised.
ElsantaStrawberry
The aim is to :
- break the strawberry stalk without actually touching the berry
- end up with a stalk about 1 cm long attached to the strawberry
- not squeeze the strawberry at all
strawberry-60dayElsanta
The method of picking strawberries:
- surround the strawberry with your hand, and with the fore-finger & thumb nail pinch the stalk about 1cm from where it is attached to the strawberry
- twist the stalk so that it breaks off
- let the strawberry roll into the cup of your hand so it rests gently in the palm
- carefully place the strawberry in a bowl
- do not overfill the container or the berries at the bottom will get squashed
PickedStrawberry
Strawberries are very tender & bruise easily. Once bruised they will start to deteriorate and rot . Bruised strawberries loose their bright appearance and the colour darkens.
The strawberry must not be held in the fingers and pulled off the strawberry bush, because the pressure of the fingers on the berry will bruise it. It is important to pick strawberries with the hull intact by breaking the stalk!
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Strawberry walls are superseding table top strawberries as a growing technique.
ripening-strawberries
Agrovista exhibited their vertical strawberry wall at Fruit Focus last week. The big advantages of a vertical strawberry wall are:
- save space
- produce more strawberries per metre than table tops
- uses 4 times less water than table tops growing strawberries in peat bags
A Strawberry wall would look great on a balcony & strawberry walls are definitely the way forward for gardeners who are short of space.
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Table top strawberries have proved to be pest free – slugs cannot climb up to the table tops, & fungi do not like to be in such an exposed position!
TableTopStrawberries
Not having to bend to pick the strawberries is an added bonus. Click this link to read about a Pick Your Own Grower who was surprised to discover how popular his table-top strawberries were!
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The strawberry variety Flamenco is ideal for gardeners who are short of space, or use containers, as it produces lots of sweet, juicy strawberries over a long period.
Strawberry-present
Strawberry Flamenco
- fruits June to November – but peak harvest is September
- extend growing season with polytunnel
- ideal for containers on patio
Click this link to buy some Strawberry Flamenco plants, which can be planted out in the vegetable garden or grown in pots & containers on the patio.
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Cupid is a great variety of strawberry to grow in the garden or in containers.
cupid strawberry
Cupid strawberry is:
- a June-fruiting strawberry
- earlier if grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel
- juicy
- well flavoured
- rain tolerant
- disease resistant
- suitable for growing in containers
Click the link below for more details of this book about growing fruit.
Click this link to buy some Cupid Strawberry plants.
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The Honeoye strawberry plants were pruned at the end of July. and every leaf was cut off each plant.
Today the row of Honeoye strawberries looks a picture of health.
Honeoye-strawberry-regrowt
Fresh, new, green leaves have grown and the strawberry plants look very healthy.
fresh-strawberry-leaves
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Immediately summer strawberries have finished cropping, the old tops are removed. This involves cutting off all the leaves, new and old, and
removing all plant debris. Care must be taken not to injure the crowns
(the central growing point, just above soil level).
This process of removing the leaves prevents the overwintering of botrytis & other pests and diseases.
strawberry-leaves-off
The photo below shows the row of Honeoye strawberries. They have
stopped producing fruit, so all the tops have been removed.
strawberry-row
It is easy to raise new strawberry plants from runners. Strawberry runners must originate from a healthy mother plant.
* select a healthy plantlet on a runner, in June or July
strawberry-plantlets
* cut off the runner beyond the plantlet
trim-strawberry-runner
* fill a pot with compost. This pot can be buried in the ground, close to the plantlet. If the strawberries are grown under plastic, the pot will have to be kept above ground.
* peg the plantlet to the compost, but leave it attached to the mother plant.
In a few weeks, new plants will be big enough to be planted out as shown in the link.
Most varieties of strawberries produce runners (long stems) which produce plantlets along their length.
select-strawberry-runner
* These runners will sap the energy from the mother plant, and are usually cut off as soon as they are seen.
* But some growers allow them to grow and root between the plants, so that a continuous mat of strawberry plants is formed.
* The runners may be used to propagate new strawberry plants.
