STEP BY STEP

Grow strawberries

Choose a sunny spot with free-draining soil for a new strawberry bed. Strawberries also do well in large pots and baskets. Buy new plants or use young runners from an established bed. You’ll get a small crop this summer but expect a bumper one next year, particularly if you remove all the flowers this year to let the plants build up their strength.

1 LOOK for the small plants that are attached by a stem to the main clump but have rooted in, and select the strongest to lift for replanting. Pot-grown plants can also be planted now.

2 PLANT runners with a hand trowel, keeping the crown just at the surface. When planting in pots, keep the top of the crown level with the soil to prevent plants rotting at the base.

3 FIRM in the plants with your hands, being careful not to press them further into the soil. Soak the soil around the plants with water and don’t water again until you see signs of growth.

4 KEEP the new bed weed free. Apply a high-potash fertiliser once plants are growing to encourage flowering. Nip out any runners that start to grow from these young plants. Within a couple of months you’ll be enjoying your crops.