First Time with Strawberries

[Shelley Lou]

Hi, can anyone help me as I'm being told different things about strawberries. I bought my plants from a garden centre and put them in a strawberry pot. I am now getting some white flowers as the weather has been hotter than usual. Should I be picking the blossom off at this point or leaving them.

All help appreciated!!!!

[pigletwillie]

leave them be, they will give you a crop this year and a better one next.

Later in the year the plants will send out runners. These are small plants and can be put into pots to root before cutting free from the parent plant and Voila, lots of free plants.

After three or four years you can compost your original plants and replace them with new ones, or your runners, as they start to lose vitality and the crop diminishes.

[Shelley Lou]

Many thanks for the advice, there are loads of white flowers and thought it would be a shame to pick them all off, will hopefully have a good crop as they are growing exceptionally well at the moment, to my standard anyway.

Thanks again!!!

[Getoffmylande]

Shelley Lou just think of this years crop as a little taster for the better days to come. One thing i would say is that if you do let the plants runner not to let more than six runners come from the plant as this will weaken them, not to mention creating enough plants to feed the third world. I also would not add the plants to the compost heap after their third year as this is one way that can spread Botritus, most good books say that these discarded plants should be burned along with any straw used to surround the plants.

[moggssue]

I've just planted a dozen small garden centre grown strawbs into a pot (one per hole) and was going to leave them to do their own thing, other than watering of course, but maybe it isn't as simple as that? I have three white flowers so far, just about surviving the winds we've had here the last few days.

[Two_Sheds]

Sorry to brag, but I already have green fruits on my strawbs

[NattieG]

Well, I even had a red one!!!!

But a bloomin bird has pecked at it!!!
Never grown them before this year - how do I go about "netting" strawberry pots?

Thanks in advance xx

[veggiewomble]

You can buy netting from any garden centre, or your local Homebase or B+Q.

A simple way is to put stakes around the strawberry beds or pots to hold up your netting. Alternatively you could get a 'fruit cage' that fits over the plants. Or some wire hoops which you can drape the netting over. You don't really have to do this until your strawberries are turning red, which is when the birds take notice!

veggiewomble

[dan1979]

Anyone got a good clear pic of what a runner looks like?

I think I have a few coming out but not entirely sure.

[moggssue]

Is this akin to babies on spider plants? It sounds like the same sort of thing .. Can I feed my strawbs with tomato food or do I have to buy something special for them?

[Madasafish]

Netting strawberries

I use the following method which has the advantage s:
simple
cheap
easy to store when not in use.

Required: stakes about 5x5cms x 70cm, bamboos - 3-4 which in total are long as the plot length.

Net size of bed plus about 1 metre in length and 1 metre in width.
(so if the plants cover say 2x3metres, net should be 3x4 metres.)

I then raise a bamboo holder across the middle of the bed along the length - about 30cms tall:
consists of 3 or 4 vertical stakes each about 70cms long in total .Insert each stake into the ground - distance apart one bamboo length.
On top of each is nailed a small section of plastic pipe.. through the middle of the pipe and into the top end of the stake.(nail or screw it in after the stake is hammered into the ground - approx 30-40cm into the ground).
Insert bamboo into first plastic pipe end.
Add next stake. Insert other end of bamboo into plastic pipe of this stake.. continue until bamboo covers the length of the plot .

Cover with net.

Surplus material at ends of plot is held down with stones.. or heavy sticks laid on top.

To pick: remove stones/sticks and roll back net to middle (the bamboo holder) on 1 side of the plot only. Then replace net and repeat on other side.

No piccies yet as no ripe berries yet:-(

[moggssue]

Thanks LJ! I'll look out for runners later in the year then - and will use my tomato food on the plants. Looking forward to at least a couple of strawbs before the birds get there. If I plant the runners up this autumn into little pots, how long does it generally take before they become fruiting plants?

[dan1979]

I think I have a runner, my strawberry plants are in containers and the runner has gone off over the side. Should I just pinch it off or move it so it sets root in the ground?

Once it's rooted how long does it need to be left before it can be transplanted as a seperate plant in a new container?

I hate being such a beginnner

[NattieG]

Thanks for the netting advice

xx

[moggssue]

I have new strawb plants in a strawb pot - should I leave them for this year and not try to take runners from them while they'e only young themselves? I think I have two strawbs beginning to appear, and lots of flowers - it's soooo exciting ...!!