13 JULY 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 15with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert
Strawberry fields
D
O you think you are growing
enough strawberries? I doubt
it. There is no better fruit, and
strawberries are so easy to
produce. You can have fresh strawbs
from May to September outdoors, but
for this to happen you need early, mid,
late and perpetual varieties, and for any
quantity of crop you need several plants
of each sort. Even so, that’s not a huge
investment – but you can reduce this
significantly by getting one of each
variety and multiplying the plants yourself.
Right now, along with flowering
and fruiting, strawberries are throwing
runners. To keep the cropping up, we
usually remove these as fast as they
form. If you let these run, they form a
chain of new plants and you get fewer
berries from the parent. So if you want
a crop as well, allow each plant just
one runner to form one new plant.
Ideally, select (or buy in a pot) a
healthy parent, then deflower and de-
fruit this to encourage several runners,
and a new plant will form on the end of
each. It really is that easy. Small plantletsNow’s the best time to increase your stock of strawberry
plants by potting up the runners, says Bob Flowerdew“Small plantlets
will soon form
on runners”
will soon form on the runners and just
need planting in potting compost in a
pot. They throw roots rapidly and can be
held temporarily in place with a stone if
necessary. You can stop at the first pot,
but runners might root again and again,
maybe giving three more new plants,
so one becomes at least half a dozen.The new strawberries need planting
out in August, so they can then crop next
year. But now, you’ve run out of garden
space. So why not plant each in a bucket
(with holes made in the bottom) and
suspend them? That way, your plants
will be safe from vine weevils, slugs and
snails, and the fruit can ripen safely and
cleanly hanging over the edge. Yummy!Bob’s top tips
for the week
2
Leave grass growing long under
fruit trees – it cushions windfalls
and takes up spare nitrogen so that
fruits ripen redder.4
Leeks are really thirsty plants.
Make a trough alongside them,
and then you can redirect your grey
water (recycled bath, shower and
washing-up water) to them.3
Be ruthless with your ‘prize’
pumpkins – take off all but the
best one from each plant, so the
remaining cucurbit can grow huge.with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert
for the week
For a crop of strawbs, allow just
one runner to form one new
plant and cut off the restYou can never have enough strawberries- and you can get more for free by
planting the runners!
All photography Alamy, unless otherwise credited
1
The June drop should be
finishing now, so it’s time to
thin apple and pear fruit ruthlessly,
ideally so that no two are able to
touch once swollen.TI Mediatrawberry fields
Bottom inset: TI MediaPlant strawberry runners in
pots of compost, and new roots- and new plants – will soon form