Page 36 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2021

Growing Table
Top Strawberries
GERRY EDWARDS FNVS
The strawberry today is as popular as never before and whilst they can be easily grown at home in the ground in the garden or at the allotment in the ground, I suggest that you consider growing them at a raised level in growbags as this will make the whole process of strawberry cultivation much easier. This is known as table top growing and is what the commercial growers do now so there is absolutely no reason not to follow them!
There are huge advantages to growing strawberries in this way - you do not need to worry about soil borne diseases (which can particularly affect strawberries) or pests such as snails and slugs, you can plant more plants for a given area and planting, watering, feeding, and picking is so much easier. Additional for the less able this method of cultivation becomes so much easier as it does not involve backbreaking bending.
Purpose made table top structures can be purchased from various suppliers and these will hold two or three growbags. Alternatively, you can make your own table top using old benches, wooden boxes, or old crates if they are strong enough to hold well watered grow bags which can be very heavy. For this reason, I suggest that you do not use garden tables etc. unless they have been reinforced - after all it would be tragic if your whole structure collapsed one day!
You can grow table top strawberries out in the open or under some form of protection such as a greenhouse or polytunnel. Obviously if you can grow under some
form of protection which will prevent spring evening chills getting to the plants you will be
able to achieve earlier cropping.
I recommend that you use good quality growbags from a reputable manufacturer.
In this way you will get the largest size with a good quality filling. The cheap growbags you often find at supermarkets etc. for 99p or so are usually smaller than most and
the filling is of little substance. The good thing, though, with paying a little extra for a quality growbag is that you will be able to get up to 10 plants per bag which means an awful lot of strawberries! You will need to provide drainage for the bags just in case overwatering occurs. This is best achieved by small slits at each end of the growbag just below halfway and small holes in the bottom of the growbags in any place that they overhang the supports.
The best plants to use are strawberry runners which have been kept chilled and once planted will give a crop within 60 days - and these unsurprisingly are known as 60-day runners. (You will find that flowers start to appear within two to four weeks
of planting which I always think is very exciting!). It is best to get stronger growing plants for growbags and you should be able to find all those cultivars that I recommend. If you have space for two or three or more growbags you can grow several different cultivars and by planting them at different times you can extend your season.
Always buy your runners from a reputable source where certified disease-free plants are sold as this is the only way to guarantee that you get good plants which will provide you with a good crop for a couple of years or so. I can assure you that any extra cost involved in buying this way will be well
worth it. Please do not be tempted to buy your plants from general stores, car boot sales etc. or take a few from friends and neighbours. It is highly likely that these will be runners which have been taken from plants that are already are succumbing to disease. You are warned!
Maintenance wise strawberries are
quite easy to look after. Perhaps the
most important thing to do with table top strawberries is to ensure that they are watered and fed properly. Water the plants once they have flowered to encourage fruit
36 Simply Vegetables