13 JULY 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 45Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke
THE catering firm that runs the food and
drink outlets during the Wimbledon
Championship estimates it will sell
around 27 tons (28,000kg) of English
strawberries, which amounts to over
two million individual berries.
The price of Wimbledon’s
strawberries and cream has changed little
over the last decade, with a portion (minimum of 10
strawberries) costing £2- £2.50. To ensure freshness, the
fruits from farms in Kent are picked the day before, or early
the same day, and taken to Wimbledon, with some arriving
as early as 5.30am. They are then inspected and hulled.
It is estimated that if all the strawberries sold at Wimbledon
were laid end-to-end, they would stretch almost 37 miles,
which is the distance from Wimbledon to Reading in Berkshire.5
decorative plants with
‘strawberry’ in the name
Heuchera ‘Strawberry Swirl’Rhododendron ‘Strawberry Ice’Strawberry tree
(Arbutus unedo)Deutzia x hybrida ‘Strawberry Fields’Growing your own
The Wimbledon factor
Strawberry meals forever!
Fascinating facts about the sweet taste of summer
This
week
it’s:All photography Alamy / Wikicommons / TI Media, unless otherwise credited
STRAWBERRIES are synonymous with
the British summer. And millions of them
will be knocked back with cream at
Wimbledon from 1-14 July. They are
definitely the berry of the moment,
despite not technically being a berry
(see below), but while we all know that
strawberries work well with cream, icecream or a glass of bubbly, what else do
we really know about them? Let’s look at
some of the facts and stories about this
quintessentially British fruit.
In medieval times, strawberries were
served at important functions, as they
were thought to bring peace and
prosperity to both host and guests. Heaven! Strawberries, cream and bubblyShrub rose ‘Strawberry Hill’The strawberry is not a berry. In everyday
English, ‘berry’ is the word we use for any
small edible fruit. However, the botanical
definition is that of a fleshy fruit produced
from a single ovary (like the grape,
gooseberry, currant or orange). The
strawberry is an ‘aggregate accessory
fruit’, meaning that the fleshy part comes
not from the parent plant’s ovaries but from
the ‘receptacle’ that holds the ovaries.
The strawberry does not have its seeds on the
outside. Technically, they aren’t seeds! The strawberry is
actually a fleshy ‘receptacle’ covered with numerous very
small ‘achenes’. These are tiny individual dry fruits, each
containing a single seed. By the way, the average strawberry
has 200 achenes. Go on, count them!Two myths busted
strawberries and cream has changed littleThe Wimbledon factor
APART from the taste, there are other
reasons to grow strawberries. Plants are
inexpensive, and they generate many
fruits, representing excellent savings
compared to buying the already picked
berries. They are easy to care for, too, as
they produce fruit even when given the
minimum of attention (but remember
that with little or no care, crops will vary
in size from year to year).
When choosing plants, it is a good
idea to know when they will fruit.
These are the accepted fruiting periods
for strawberries:
Early summer: mid-June to early July
Mid-summer: late June to mid-July
Late summer: throughout July
Perpetual:from mid-August to mid-
October; may also crop in early summer
For the best
results, strawberry
plants should be
set 12-16in (30-
40cm) apart
with a 30-36in
(75-90cm) spacing
between rows.The strawberry does not have its seeds on theHeaven! Strawberries, cream and bubblyThe strawberry is not a berry. In everyday
English, ‘berry’ is the word we use for anydefinition is that of a fleshy fruit producednot from the parent plant’s ovaries but fromThe strawberry does not have its seeds on theTwo myths busted
The strawberry is not a berry. In everydaynot from the parent plant’s ovaries but fromThe strawberry does not have its seeds on theTwo myths busted