Quick QUESTIONS
Why have the strawberries we moved three years ago failed to produce any fruit? Jill Roberts, by email Stefan says: You tell me your husband moved them from the allotment to the garden. However, I wouldn’t recommend transplanting mature strawberries and, after three years, I don’t think you’ll have any fruit. Unless you’re very lucky, strawberries will always decline after two or three years and should then be replaced. Don’t think of them as perennials.
Why do our winter pansies raised from seed only have leaves? Jim Holt, by email
You say this is the first year you’ve raised them from seed and that when you bought plants in previous years, they were full of flower. I’m sure your seeds were not sown early enough and the young plants should have been given a feed such as tomato fertiliser, which is high in flower-promoting potash. In my experience, it’s important for winter pansies to have at
least some flowers formed before the winter begins.
Why did my greenhouse cucumbers taste bi er? Andy Carter, by email
The reason is almost certainly that you have allowed the flowers to become pollinated. With all of the old varieties of greenhouse cucumber, it was essential to take off the male flowers to prevent this, but these days it makes much more sense to grow an all-female variety such as ‘Emily’ or ‘Louisa’.