strawberrys

[Busy Lizzy]

Hi everyone, sorry I am a first timer! I wanted to try my hand at some strawberry plants but I need ones that produce good yeild but are a low work load, I dont fancy digging and messing about to much as I have a small garden. Any one know what type I need and any advice for me please!

[andrewo]

Marshmello

I've grown Marshmello for several years in bins, they crop well and taste wonderful (are hardy and the runners all come true). From 12 plants I have got over 30 new plants and will have these delicious strawberries time after time. They only need feeding with potash and cleaning up the dead leaves in early spring but they pretty much keep care of themselves.
http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/rkm...1021&XPAGENO=2

Also, suggest Flamenco, so you get strawberries through the growing season.

Andrewo

[Beryl]

strawberries

I agree Marshmello is a very good variety to grow. It holds it's fruit high, keeping it clean and off the soil away from slugs.
They will do very well in grow bags if you can raise the bags off the ground, on something like old pallets cut in half, so much the better.

Beryl.

[AndrewD]

Very interesting, I would prefer to get a variety that is recomended by real gardeners, rather than making a blind choice from a catalogue, thanks for the advice. Can't find this variety in the catalogues that came with this months GYO magazine though. Can you suggest a mail order source for this variety?

Secondly, I have had some self set strawberries appear in the garden by themselves. The berries only grew to the size of peas. Does anyone have any idea what these are, and will the berries grow larger as the plant gets older?

[andrewo]

Alpine

They sound like alpine strawberries, the original wild ones, lovely and the spread! See above link for Marshmello at Marshalls.

Andrewo

[Busy Lizzy]

Strawberry plants

Thanks Andrewo & Beryl for the advice I will get some of these type to try! I have just got my copy of Grow Your Own guess what is on offer?? You'v got it Strawberry plants Do you know if these type Elsanta are a good one to try as well I may buy some off this offer as its not a bad price! But thanks every one for your help all I need is to get out there to plant some!!

[andrewo]

Elsanta

Can't lie, I've never tried them, so would be interested in what they are like, out of room for strawberries but do try a mix of Marshmello and Elsanta and let me know!

Andrewo

[Jaxom]

Elsanta are only good for two things.
Mass production as you can drop them and they bounce.
Mass transportation round the world and arriving at the supermarket with more airmiles than Richard Branson does.

This type of Strawberry was taken to the French and Spanish Markets and offered to shoppers to taste. 100% of all asked replied that although they looked nice and were of a large size they were nasty to taste.
What you buy in the shops here in the UK is Elsanta.
The test that Supermarkets demand Strawberries to pass is called the drum test. This test involves dropping a strawberry from five foot above, on to a kettledrum. If it bounces with out receiving any damage then it passes.
I would rather go without Strawberries than give Elsanta any ground space in my garden.

Jax

[Beryl]

Beryl

I have not grown Elsanta so can't comment.

Beryl.

[CityChick]

...
I would rather go without Strawberries than give Elsanta any ground space in my garden.

Jax

Please do tell what varieties you do grow / recommend then

Flavour is the number one priority for all I'm growing...

[Jaxom]

This is the point where I push the point of "Save labels" or "Keep a journal".
My strawberry plants are a number of years old and have moved home with me twice in the last five years. Each time they were dug up and boxed and with the aid of friends all plants that journeyed with us were thrown into the ground to try and save as many as we could. Now two moves on I have no idea what I now have growing.
The one thing I do know however is they are not Elsanta. They are always soft when ripe and hardly travel as far as my kitchen never mind a journey up and down the M4.
This is where I have to hand over to others and show my lack of knowledge.
Jax

[Lesley Jay]

I am not going to be much help. We grow gorgeous tasty strawberries but I haven't a clue what the variety is. We were given some runners years ago when we first got our allotment and over the years we have formed a fabulous large strawberry bed. Now we give spare runners away. Last year we had a list of people wanting them.

[CityChick]

LOL!! Well then, since I can't find any "heritage Jaxom" strawbs or "Lesley Jay Favourites" in the catalogues I'll have to look for something else

Marshalls do a strawberry collection: 12 plants each of: Marshmello, Mae and Flamenco for £24 which sounds quite a good variety of plants and not a bad price.

And Fothergills do a collection of just 6 of each.

Hmmm.... although Royal Sovereign seems to be one recommended for "old fashioned flavour".

Marshmello has already had the thumbs up here - anyone got any comments on the other three?

[Lesley Jay]

Just had a quick look in one of my books and Royal Sovereign is not to be recommended. The yields are low and it is prone to alot of diseases. I shall keep having a read on the varieties for you. One thing I have found out though if you want to make your own jam the bigger strawberries are better.

[CityChick]

Thanks Lesley!

Low yields aren't a show stopper for me IF the flavour is worth it. I can always just grow more plants....

All I'm after is the best tasting strawberries around, to eat the same day I pick 'em.

I have seen one called "mara des bois" advertised as a traditional french variety. Though I did see it in Waitrose (I think) last year, so that made me wonder if I should view it with a simillar suspicion with which Jaxom views Elsanta? And IMHO I didn't think it tasted that much better than English grown Elsanta...