Strawberries?

[CatBud]

Hi everyone,

Am I way too late to plant strawberries? Are they even on sale in garden centres anymore??? I've promised my nieces that they would have strawberries this year but with moving house I just aint had time. Any favourite varieties?

Cheers
Cat

[sandersj89]

There are still some in the garden centres, pot raised. They will probably be in flower and may even have fruit on them.

The crop wont be huge but you will get something.

Jerry

[Tigger]

There's lots in our market and local sales...... the nearest garden centre has them too. Do you want us to send you some?

[Allan]

I get a pot or two of any good ones I see and grow them on to get the runners to root into pots of compost in time to give a crop next year. You should get about 10 from a decent original. A cheap way of getting a stock of plants. My opinion is to ignore the usual statement to clear your plants out and start again after 3 years, as long as they are healthy and crop well you can keep potting up fresh runners for many years.
Allan

[Lyn]

Thanks for that, Allan. In view of what I have read in various articles, I was beginning to wonder if my practice of having saved the runners each year for about 6/7 years was just storing up disaster, but as everything seems to be quite healthy, it seems I don't need to worry after all.
Regards, Lyn

[Belinda]

I thought the three-yearly 'clear-out' was more to do with rotating the strawberry bed than getting new plants, so as to prevent build up of disease in the soil. Or maybe I misunderstood?

[Johnboy]

The only snag to all this disregarding the rule is it is fine until you get into difficulties. You then will have to preclude Stawberries from your plot for a considerable time. Is it worth taking that risk.?To me it is not worth it. These rules have evolved over the years as 'best practice' so I think that when you disregard the rule be it on your own head.
Viruses are exceedingly difficlt to get rid of once you get one.
It is so easy to take runners and to be safe you should only take runners off the first year of new stock that is 'certified virus free' and the beds should be rotated to be on the safe side.
If you want the best then persue 'Best Practice Methods.'

[CatBud]

Thanks guys I will nip to the garden centre this weekend. By the way Tigger, the tomatoes are especailly looking good any tips on the cucumbers? They're looking a bit poorly...

[vivie veg]

What do the suppliers of 'certified virus free' do to propagate their stock?

[Tigger]

Oooo - have you potted them on? Are they getting enough nutrients? Mine already have little cucumbers forming.

[Allan]

I would have thought that these days when just about everybody grows strawberries in growbags that the argument about poisoning the plot with virus could not apply to that technique.
I will do as I have done for the past 50 plus years until I see a plant of low yield and then worry about it, which has yet to happen. I used to mark the best yielders and propogate from those only, it made no difference so I don't bother now. Among the best yielding plants here are feral ones of Cambridge Late Pine at the base of a privet hedge.
One rule I never break is to propogate a fruit plant of no name and unknown pedigree.
Allan

[Johnboy]

Hi Viv,
Suppliers of plants do exactly the same as you and I but the only difference is that their stocks are checked for purity and get a cerfificate issued to that effect. When you or I take a runner we have not got the foggiest idea if the plant is infected or not unless you would care to fork-out for a Ministry inspection and pay for the Certificate.
As for 50 years ago when the dreaded viruses were not about it was safe to propogate to your hearts content but but with the influx of viruses on infected foreign plants to me it is now not worth taking the chance. As previously mentioned once you get one of these modern viruses they are exceedingly difficult to get rid of.
Strangely I know at least a dozen or so people growing their own Strawberries and none are in
Growbags in fact I do not know anybody who does.

[haggis]

Hi all

I am growing strawberries in grow bags for the first time this year - on one of those strawberry table thingies. It seems to take a bit more effort in that they require a lot of watering but so far they are looking good with loads of flowers on. I think the biggest advantage will be that they are well off the ground with no need for mats or straw. Also the frame and net bit means the berries stand a chance against the birds and, more importantly, toddlers. Anyway, it will be interesting to see what the yield is like. (Hope this isn't too much of a diversion from the original thread!!)
Haggis

[Allan]

There is another gardener here that is growing in 7 Growbags as well as open ground also square pots in a Hunter Hiflo gutter for easy irrigation. It might be interesting to have a peep in the many polytunnels around in Herefordshire and see what they are using. I know for sure that Court Farm, Tillington were using 100% growbags the last time I went there, very automated, a large polytunnel with nothing else but Growbags. The elevated trough method is used by some which makes for easy picking by GYOs, as featured some time ago in The Grower. Ken Muir gives great publicity to a rack system for Growbags.
Perhaps Tigger can enlighten us on the subject.

[Tigger]

Well - despite me being the grow bag queen in the tunnels, I grow my strawberries outside in raised beds. I grow on the runners and remove the 3 year old plants and I've got something like 800 plants this year as it's OH's favourite fruit. Even though we have more than enough for puddings, ice cream, smoothies, etc., he sulks if he gets wind of me giving any away. Anything else, but not HIS strawberries!