As strawberry fields aren’t forever, replace runners
Scotland has a long tradition of growing high quality soft fruit, first in Lanarkshire and then in Angus and Perthshire where the soil and climate are ideally suited to it. Fruit was grown in the open, the season was short, and the yield was at the mercy of the weather. Before the days of refrigeration much of the fruit was made into jam or canned. Today a lot of the fruit is grown under cover. I don’t like the appearance of acres of polytunnels but they have enabled farmers to extend the season’s cropping whatever the weather.
On my plot, strawberries ripen first followed by raspberries. Seamlessly, as the last of the raspberries are picked, brambles and autumn raspberries begin to fruit. I’m happy to attend to the cultivation of soft fruit but when it comes to picking them, I really appreciate some help, even if it does mean sharing the produce. Whether it’s grappling on my hands and knees under the strawberry netting or making my way along the line of raspberry canes, it makes all the difference to me having someone close by to chat with. Just now, I’ve got three different strawberry varieties occupying the same bed, ripening at slightly different times.
Commercial strawberries are grown with shelf-life rather than flavour in mind. There’s something magical about eating freshly picked, sun-warmed strawberries, particularly if your previous experience has been eating ones from the supermarket chiller cabinet.
They are not difficult to grow as long as you can find a bit of ground in full sun with good drainage.
There’s something magical about eating freshly picked, sunwarmed strawberries
Our sandy soil on Musselburgh allotments is ideal. Strawberry plants don’t go on fruiting for years. While congratulating myself that my strawberry bed is doing well, I need to remind myself that as most of the plants are now three years old, it is time to think about replacing them. After fruiting, the plants put out runners that can be pegged down into pots of compost until they have rooted. In the autumn, the young plantlets are severed from the parent plant and re-established in a new bed, avoiding an area previously used for potatoes or tomatoes. If any of the parent plants look diseased they must be discarded and some new plants of certified virus-free stock should be bought from a reliable garden centre or mail order specialist. As new varieties are always being developed, it’s an opportunity to try them out along with old favourites. n