Page 27 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2021/22
P. 27
Management after Fruiting and getting ready for next year’s definitive bumper crop
After harvest no further action will be required until November. A generous 3” dressing of old manure or compost will help frost protection and enrich the soil.
• Pull off unwanted runners.
• Clear up old leaves and burn them,
pests, diseases and all.
• Fork between the plants and then sit
back and allow fresh leaves to grow. • Following the third year, destroy
that section of the bed and any other plants with signs of unhealthy growth.
• Plant a new area of a similar size to maintain complete continuity
A new idea for you. Try to grow some strawberries in Guttering
Growing strawberries in 3.5” guttering is a great option.
Treat them well by using a mixture of a multi-purpose compost, soil, sand, vermiculite and manure, followed,
in the spring, with a top dressing of organic fertilizers.
Strawberry ‘Summer Breeze Pink’
Plants developed in gutters require more specialist daily care. Picking
is made easier and the fruit are kept clean.
However there are problems to overcome when using this system. • Water problems: Not enough
moisture will kill the plants just as
surely as too much will.
• Insulation problems: Protect
the plants from rapid shifts in temperature during the extremes of winter and summer
• Growth/root problems: By constricting the root area to the size of the gutter used. This 3.5”gutter system limits both plant growth and strawberry production. The smaller the container, the more frequently you will need to attend to them.
Establish rows of Runner Bean in your strawberry bed as an innovative new idea.
Grow Runner Beans in rows 8ft apart, in your bed of strawberries.
The beans fix nitrogen from the air and release it into the soil.
Strawberries were originally a
Strawberry F1 ‘Delizz’
woodland crop. The dappled shade from the rows of beans is beneficial to them.
These parallel rows of beans work well, repelling garden beetles and other pests that feed on strawberry plants.
Ron Nuttall
Simply Vegetables 27
