Kitchen Garden Forum

Last year I potted up a load of well-rooted runners from my strawberry plants and they look fit and sturdy.
At the weekend I promised my 6 y.o. grandaughter that I would plant her up `a lovely container of strawberry plants` so that she could tend them and pick her own.
She looked appropriately amazed and admiring and I beamed and basked in her smiles.
I know I should know this but - will they flower and fruit this summer? At the moment she thinks I`m the fount of all knowledge. I`m trying to put off the day when I`m unmasked - the day when she responds with, "Yeah, wha`ever -"

Elderflower

The short answer is Yes.

So you remain the fount of all knowledge for a while yet

Yes, I had lots of new plants last summer from my small runners the previous autumn and got a very good crop from them in June/July. In fact some of them even gave a tiny second crop in the autumn. I did give them a dose of rotted manure to help them on their way.

Usually you get some fruit in the first year, then some more in the second and the third should be the premium crop, You may have to repot them each year, as they are hungry and will exhaust the nutrients in basket compost quite quickly, I would recommend some loam is added to the top with a mulch of gravel, to keep the container dry (if it is not too late)

Compo

Thank you very much - (but I shall take the credit for it of course)