Page 37 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2021

growth but not before flowering unless conditions are very dry because if you water too early you will encourage too much leafy growth. Once you start watering you may well need to water once or twice daily in sunny, warm weather. It is equally important to apply a liquid feed that is high in potash at regular intervals once the plants have flowered. A good tomato fertiliser should do the job well and should be applied at the same time as watering. As it is not always possible to gauge whether growbags are wetted all the way through, I thoroughly recommend one of the many effective proprietary watering and irrigation aids that are widely available in garden centres and online.
To ensure that your strawberry plants grow well and remain strong remove any runners that are produced and remove any leaves that have turned brown. If growing outside and frosty conditions are forecast cover the plants with fleece, old curtains etc and this should prevent the flowers from becoming frosted.
From June onwards your plants will produce runners and you should always remove them as they can seriously weaken the plants.
Pick the strawberries as often as they are ripe and do not let overripe berries remain on the plants as this encourages the growth of mildews and moulds.
As soon as the strawberry plants have fruited you should cut off all leaves as close
as you can to the crown without damaging it and this will enable the plants to build up for the following year’s crop. The leaves should again be cut off in February and the new leaves will help the plants produce the next crop.
Strawberry plants will not last much longer than three years before they deteriorate and at the end of this period you should replace them with fresh stock in new growbags.
If you add up the costs of plants and growbags for the three-year period, you will realise just what value you have achieved from them!
RECOMMENDED CULTIVARS (ALL AGM’S)
Alice: Alice is one of the best midsummer strawberries and which produces good crops of sweet and juicy, shiny orange/red berries which have a superb flavour
Cambridge Favourite: Cambridge Favourite is probably the best known of all strawberry varieties available producing medium-sized, orange/
red berries from mid-June, which will hold their shape and flavour very well. This variety is a reliable cropper, has good all-round disease resistance and performs well on a wide range of soils and growing conditions
Finesse: Finesse is an everbearing strawberry which produces a good crop of high quality, well-flavoured, red berries in long trusses from early summer to early autumn and is considered to have particularly good disease resistance
Florence: Florence is a late season strawberry which produces heavy crops of firm, large dark red berries and is considered to have good disease resistance
Hapil: Hapil is a mid-season strawberry and often considered as one of the best all-round varieties available. Hapil produces heavy crops of large glossy, light red berries with an excellent sweet flavour
Honeoye: Honeoye is an early but heavy cropping strawberry which produces bright red, large berries. This variety can be susceptible to mildew but well worth growing
Malling Centenary: Malling Centenary was introduced in 2012 to mark the Centenary of East Malling Research and produces heavy crops of good sized juicy, flavoursome berries and is considered perfect for growing in the garden
Pegasus: Pegasus is a heavy cropping, late summer strawberry which is considered to have a good all round disease resistance. The large, red berries are easy to eat, sweet and juicy
Rhapsody: Rhapsody is a late season strawberry which produces heavy crops of attractive, glossy, large, red berries. Rhapsody is considered to have some disease resistance
Symphony: Symphony is a late season strawberry which produces heavy crops of attractive, glossy, red berries which have an excellent flavour. Although considered to be disease resistant it can be susceptible to mildew
Vibrant: Vibrant is an early-season strawberry which produces heavy crops of medium to large bright red berries
in early summer and a second crop may be produced in September if July temperatures are not too hot
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