'Willpower & sheer idiocy combine in harmony'
Autumn or spring planting for summer harvesting
AUTUMN or spring is the ideal time to establish a new strawberry patch, or plant new runners to replace old varieties.
Strawberries are easy to grow, as long as they have sun, shelter, and fertile, well-drained soil. Don't plant in areas that have previously grown potatoes, chrysanthemums, or tomatoes to avoid the disease verticillium wilt.
Buy named varieties, or use your own runners. In poor soils grow in raised beds, or try containers, hanging baskets or grow bags.
Plants can be grown under a cloche in early spring, but remove or roll up the sides when the plants are flowering to give pollinating insects access.
Greenhouse strawberries
Strawberries in containers can be grown in an unheated greenhouse.
In a heated greenhouse or conservatory, you can bring forward flowering by several weeks, so long as the temperature does not go above 16°C (61°F), because this will inhibit flowering.
You will also need to hand pollinate the flowers, which is time-consuming.
Plant 35cm (14in) apart, trimming the roots lightly to 10cm (4in) if necessary, then spread them out in the hole. Make sure that the base of the crown rests lightly on the surface.
Place the next row, 75cm (30in) away. A fibre mat can be placed around each one, or you can plant through black polythene. Water in.
Liquid tomato feed
Water frequently at soil level, as water from overhead can rot the crown and fruit. During the growing season, give plants a liquid tomato feed every seven to 14 days. In early spring, apply Growmore at a rate of 50g per sq m (2oz per sq yd).
As fruits start to develop, tuck straw or matting underneath them to prevent them rotting on the soil. Net if birds are a problem.
After cropping has finished, remove the old leaves with secateurs or hand shears, and the straw mulch, fibre mat, or black polythene.
Strawberry plants should crop well for three years before being replaced - the plants' runners should provide you with ample replacements.
With care: grow strawberries all summer
What to choose
SUMMER-fruiting varieties are the most popular, with short but heavy cropping periods over two or three weeks. There are early, mid, and late fruiting cultivars.
Perpetual, or everbearer strawberries produce small flushes of fruits from early summer to early autumn.
The crops are not so heavy and the fruits are smaller, with plants less likely to produce runners, but are useful for extending the season, like Parfum Eternal Love, pictured.
PLANTING TIME: March/April or October.
HARVESTING TIME: June-September.
PLANTING DISTANCE: 35-40cm apart (14").
ASPECT AND SOIL: Full sun, moisture-retentive, sheltered, fertile soil. Avoid windy sites. Feed with granular fertiliser in late winter/early spring and mulch; feed with tomato fertiliser every 7-14 days in growing season.
HARDINESS: Hardy
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PRUNING: Cut back old leaves after fruiting; tidy up plants in late winter. Remove unwanted runners.
RECOMMENDED VARIETIES: Early: Honeoye, Frutium Belleure.
Mid-season: Cambridge Favourite, Alice, Elsanta, Hapil, Pegasus.
Late season: Symphony, Florence.
Perpetual: Mara de Bois, Aromel, Parfum Line, Parfum Royal, Parfum Fraisonette, Parfum Fraisibelle, Parfum Eternal Love.
Grow at a glance:
strawberries
A fine day's pickings
THIS was taken on a fruitful day in late July, and the last of the pickings from the main strawberry bed.
Despite a good year, a week of solid rain meant any left were afflicted by grey mould.
However, the everbearers kept on going well into autumn.
WHAT better way to use home-grown strawberries than this Tiramisu recipe from Pascale Treichler (gardener and chef) and shared by Lubera.
Firstly, make portions in glass tumblers, so you can freeze any spare - it's delicious eaten half frozen.
Ingredients for base:
2 sponge fingers for each glass
Very strong strawberry syrup, diluted with a few drops of water.
If you want alcohol, use sweetened orange liqueur with icing sugar.
For the cream:
Mascarpone 500g
Natural yoghurt 200g
Whipped cream 200g
Vanilla sugar 3 tsp
Icing sugar 100g
Fill each glass with the sponge fingers and baste with some strawberry syrup. This will soften the biscuits, so push them right to the bottom.
Then add some fresh, chopped or sliced strawberries, depending on the size of the glasses into slices or cubes.
Carefully mix all the cream ingredients together until combined.
To finish, add the cream mixture on top of the strawberries and sponge fingers and garnish with mint.
For more information on Lubera strawberries, visit www.lubera.co.uk.
Strawberry tiramisu recipe from Lubera
