Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

18 AMATEUR GARDENING24 AUGUST 2019

with Lucy Chamberlain, AG’s fruit and veg expert

Fo cu s o n...Perpetual strawbs

W

E’REallfamiliarwiththe

summerstrawberry,which

givesrisetopunnetsof

deliciousredfruitsin June

andJuly– butareyouawareof their

relatives?If I saidthattheywouldhelp

youextendthatmouth-wateringfresh

berryharvestintoAugust,September

andbeyond,surelyyou’dwanttoknow

more?Well,welcometothe world of

perpetual strawberries!

Prolongingyoursupply

Alsoknownaseverbearers,perpetual

strawberriesarea godsend.While

conventionalsummer-fruitingvarieties

aregeneticallygeareduptoflowerand

fruit in late spring, perpetual types are

triggered(viachangesin daylength)to

producetheirmaincropin autumn.So,

byplantingsummerandeverbearing

varietiestogether,you’llgainfreshfruits

from June right through until October.

Divideandconquer

Perpetualsdon’tproduceasmany

runnersassummervarieties,because

they’reusingtheirresourcestoproduce

a harvestinstead.Propagationis therefore

viadivisionin autumnand,aswiththe

summertypes,plantsarebest replaced

everytwotothreeyears.

Themainprimaryberrieswillbe

largerthansubsequentfruitsproduced

onsideshoots.Plantsoftenproducea

small crop in June, so (if you can bear it)

removethesewhilethey’rein flowerto

boosttheberrysizeof themainautumn

flush.Coverthesewithclochesand–

whoknows?– youmaybeabletoboast

thatyou’reharvestingfresh,homegrown

strawberries on bonfire night!

All photography TI Media, unless otherwise credited

‘MallingOpal’:

ThistastyBritish-bred

varietyyieldsgood-

sizedberrieswitha

softtexture,making

themmorepleasantto

eatthanfirmervarietie

Willcropwellin contai ,

andhasstrongmildew resistance.

‘Temptation’:

ABritish-bredperpetu

thatperformswellin

typicalUKsummers.

Thefruitsarelarge,

well-flavouredand

presentedoncompac

plants.Usefulfor

hangingbaskets or tubsin a

sunnyspot.

‘Flamenco’:

Thisrecentintroductionis

fastestablishingitself

asa benchmark

variety,thanksto

improvedberrysize,

yieldanddisease

resistancecompared

tootherperpetualson

themarket.Peakfruiting

occurs in early September.

Lucy’s picks

Three ways to keep your strawbs at their best

1

Beweevil-wary:Keepaneager

eyeoutfornotchedleafedges,

whichis a signofadultvineweevil

damage.Whileadultsdon’tharm

plants,theirsoil-dwellinggrubsdo,by

eatingtheroots.Nematodes applied

now will thwart them.

3

Usestrawtodeterslugs:

Ifautumnturnsouttobemild

andwet,slugsandsnailsmaywish

todentyourstrawberryharvest.

Layingstrawunderneathyour

plants’foliageandfruitswill help

to keep them at bay.

Main an

Lucy’s

top tips

Removingearlyflushflowers

willboosttheberrysizeof

the main autumn crop

Three perfect perpetuals to grow

Harvest strawberries well into autumn withLucy’s guide

halls Seeds

Youcanextendyourstrawberryseason

bythreemonthsbychoosingperpetual

varieties such as ‘Mara des Bois’

2

Getclochesready:Yourperpetual

strawberrieswillcropthroughuntil

thefirstfrosts,especiallyif theyare

coveredwithprotectiveclochesonce

nighttemperaturesstarttofall.Choose

glassorrigidplasticcloches, which

offer the best insulation.

Kings Seeds

Pomona Fruits