a silver lining

[BUFFS]

after buying new strawberry plants to get some clean strong stock I could put into new trough, to maximise the amount of fruit, as soon as june started all they did was to start putting out runners due to the cold but little or no fruit(sid squirrel had the few that did appear), so now it looks like from about 24 new plants I will get about 65-70 new runners and they will be put into the greenhouse in the autumn to try to get them to crop well next year ,so all is not lost but the shop ones taste c*** ,like lightly flavoured cardboard, so roll on next june for some well flavoured strawbs......

[Alison]

First year runners never produce a big crop, they're at their best in years 2 and 3 so I replace a third of my plants every year, minimising the number I have in their first year. You do get a few off the first runners but if you've taken ones further down the runner then they'll take longer to build up. At the lottie I have a dozen in each year band (use 36 in total) which leaves me loads to eat, make jam etc and give punnet loads away. Don't worry about the greenhouse either, they'll survive outside in freezing conditions even in 3" pots

[BUFFS]

First year runners never produce a big crop, they're at their best in years 2 and 3 so I replace a third of my plants every year, minimising the number I have in their first year. You do get a few off the first runners but if you've taken ones further down the runner then they'll take longer to build up. At the lottie I have a dozen in each year band (use 36 in total) which leaves me loads to eat, make jam etc and give punnet loads away. Don't worry about the greenhouse either, they'll survive outside in freezing conditions even in 3" pots

I know they will survive but I have to stop sid the squirrel becoming the chief taster as he seems to love the taste, and the best way to do that is to "lock" them in the greenhouse, they will go in there early in the spring...

[BUFFS]

well, we are now getting the other side of this cool weather, so far 8 x 2ltr ice cream tubs of raspberries, 7 of blackcurrants, 2 big buckets (builders type) of gooseberries, blueberries still to come, apricots picked(first crop, just 11 beauties), around 20 first crop cherries, with a bumper crop of plums nearly ready and the moved rhubarb now averaging nearly 3ft in length (keeping them to pick the best for the village show) and the apples are behind on growth but time enough yet so plenty of good news, but, French beans only just starting to crop, onions are still the size of pickled onions despite being in the ground since the start of april, carrots are one quarter of what was sown and only 12 beetroot from 3 sowings so some failures , all down to dodgy cold weather, we lost all our peaches as they just dropped off in the icy nights, melons died on the vine again but peppers/chillies have started to grow at last so all in all a very mixed bag this year......

[NatalieCooke]

I noticed a couple of strawberries going missing. I had to door closed during the day so couldn't understand why. I'm standing in the kitchen one afternoon and noticed a squirrel running up the tree with a massive red juicy strawberry in his mouth. The little bugger had been getting in the greenhouse via the vents at the back of the greenhouse!

[BUFFS]

our squirrel came around the back garden yesterday and shot up the cherry tree and got a shock as we had picked the cherries, around 20, and after rushing round then gave me a very long stare and run off back towards the wood, I don't suppose we will see much of him now that all his "easy pickings" are gone..