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Growing soft fruit.

Introduction
Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) are a dream crop for the urban gardener. For a start, they are compact and ideal for containers, especially grow bags. They are stunners to look at - those red dangling fruit will lift anyone's heart. In season, they are not all that expensive to buy but the flavour is often disappointing.

Nowadays, commercial growers are combining both polytunnels and modern varieties to stretch the season. Back in Victorian times, the native strawberry season only lasted a monthy or so - now it's around three times as long.

For the novice, there are various key points to bear in mind, Firstly, the strawberry varieties we buy in the shops can all be traced back to the wild (or Alpine) strawberry - the smaller relation, which is still very much prized as a culinary treat in France.  It has fallen out of favour in the UK, which is a shame since what the wild strawberry lacks in size, it makes up for in flavour. 

There are three key catagories: perpetual (new varieties which will keep pumping out fruit for many months, from around June to October); summer fruiting; and Alpine.

Planting
(Months below do not apply to 'perpetual' strawberry varieties, which should be planted by August or later in spring.)

Strawberries love rich soil - add plenty of compost or well-rotted manure beforehand and sprinkle bonemeal. Prepare the soil ahead of time (some weeks or a month if possible).

Chalk soils should be avoided. Sandy soils promote early crops. Heavier soils - loams, clays - promote flavour.  You can buy bare root strawberries in winter, to plant ready for spring. Or in pots or plugs all through the season. Few amateur growers bother from seed.

Grow bags are well suited to growing strawberries - ideally raised off the ground (see pic) as a defense against pests. Another option is raised beds covered with netting against the birds (see pic). Another strategy is to plant on mounds of soil through slits in black polythene or Mypex which helps warm the soil, suppress weeds and protect from slugs. Some commercial nurseries are now offering new climbing varieties  - potentially ideal for those with limited growing space. 

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Strawberries enjoy a rich soil, shelter and plenty of sun. The wild varieties are more shade tolerant, and typically grown from seed.

Spacing
45cm in rows 70cm apart.

Growing notes
Protect the crop with a glass or plastic cloche if you want an early crop. Once the berries start to develop, you want to tuck in straw around the base of the plants - this is to keep the fruit clean and encourage air circulation and therefore discourage rotting / fungal disease. It also helps reflect light onto the ripening fruits.

Once they get growing in spring, use a balanced liquid feed, moving to higher potash when flowering and fruiting.

If you have both perpetual and summer fruiting strawberries, you want to pick off the flowers of the perpetual varieties early in the season so that they produce more fruit in autumn.

Treat wild strawberries in much the same way as you would ordinary strawberries, though it's best to expect a lower yield at least to start with.  The plants are small but attractive and propagate easily from 'runners' - new shoots running sideways -  they're often used as excellent ground-cover. In fact if you've got the space, you could plant them round the base of other, taller plants in a sunny situation, give them a good manure feed once in a while, and then let them get on with it.  They should propagate themselves.  They'll flower from April or May through July and fruit from then until September.

Strawberries are perennials, but with a short productive lifespan. They are relatively hardy.

To propagate strawberries, peg down one of the runners into a new pot filled with compost. Once it is anchored with roots you can cut it away from the mother plant.

A bed of strawberry plants will last three or four years.

Do not water to the leaves, especially in warm and hot weather, as this will encourage fungal disease.

Keep on tops of weeds. Mulch once the weather has warmed up to conserve moisture.

Containers
Ideal, but keep moist and feed regularly with a seaweed extract. Use a lighter compost (not too much loam), adding compost or manure. Strawberries like being raised off the ground - it makes for a more stable climate. There are special tiered strawberry planters available which make efficient use of small spaces.

Pruning
Do this after the fruits have finished. Remember that runners and flowers expend the plant's energy, so snip these off. You cut summer varieties right down, about 7cm above crown. Just remove the tired leaves from the perpetuals.

Harvesting
Pinch off the fruits with an inch of stalk.

Pests and disease
Birds and slugs. Botrytis, red spider mote, fungal leaf spots.

Varieties
Aromel, Cambridge Favourite, Royal Sovereign (early), Gariguette. Mignonette is a terrific compact Alpine variety.

Cooking
Choc-dipped strawberries are a classic. Or make cocktail sticks of cubes of brownie and a strawberry. For a strawberry 'squash', mash with sugar, cream and Grand Marnier. Or try this: saute butter and green peppercorns, then sliced straws, a big splash of Grand Marnier, a capful of Pernod and flambe then douse with orange juice and serve over ice cream. Or a fetta, avocado, strawberry and mint salad.

Did You Know?
Darker fruits indicate higher levels of antioxidants.

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