Different Ways Of Growing Strawberries For Pick Your Own At Court Farm

A shorter version of the "Extending the Season" video from Court Farm, Tillington in Herefordshire. This video covers just the strawberry crop and shows how they grow them inside and outside, on tabletops and the ground, to extend the season and suit their customers.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• strawberries
• Court Farm
• Tillington
• Herefordshire
• polytunnel
• ground
• outdoor
• variety
• pick your own

[hopeso]

I had a row of strawberries along the south facing fence that would yield about three or four handfuls of berries, not a lot.

In the fall, I transplanted them all into three rows, 2 ft apart, about 10 ft. long. I added some sheep manure on top of the soil and this year, all the plants are thriving with huge leaves and multiple runners, it's all growing like a weed.

But, very few strawberries. I kept them well watered and we've had a very, warm, sunny summer.

What did I do wrong ?

[TheFoodiesBooks]

@hopeso My best guess is that the sheep manure is making the soil too rich. Fruiting is essentially a guarantee of surviving into the next generation when the parent plant may not. Strawberries with a lot of fertiliser will often produce an abundance of leaf and runners galore, but little fruit, because they're fed enough to not be concerned with surviving . I generally feed mine with liquid feed when they are flowering and fruiting and keep the soil ok but not too rich.

[TheFoodiesBooks]

@hopeso You could try transplanting half next year in to poorer soil and comparing the two to see if that is the issue. The soil should be well drained and with some nutrient but not too rich. Also don't forget that if you plant new plants (including your runners from this year) you will get a much better crop if you don't let them flower and fruit first year - pinch off the flowers - and the energy will go back into the plant. That's my best guess! Good luck.

[hopeso]

@TheFoodiesBooks Thanks, what you say makes sense. It takes far more energy to produce runners but they assure the propagation of the plant. Propagating by way of berries seems to be a second best way.

This is my first year of paying attention to this tasty fruit. What should I do for the winter, trim the leaves off down to stubs or just let the plants go dormant naturally?

[TheFoodiesBooks]

@hopeso I think that is just a matter of preference, and depends on your weather patterns - harsher climates may demand a different approach. I tried both one year - half trimmed, half left to die down and I didn't see any difference in yield or winter survival so now I personally let mine die down and then just do a quick tidy up of the dead leaves at the end of winter to allow the new leaf to get going. Other people swear by trimming. Why not try both approaches this winter and compare?

[MrMunchiemo]

How are you watering the strawberry's in the field?

[hopeso]

Thanks, that's a good idea. Experimentation is the best way to learn.

[mariusivan48098]

@TheFoodiesBooks Thank you for your answer. The plants have established, one died, the rest of them have their leafs a bit burned, but other leafs are coming out, so I think that it's going to be ok after all. Two of them have flowers. Thank you again.

[TheFoodiesBooks]

@TheFoodiesBooks

- Also if you have bought established plants don't forget that some of the old leaf will die off late winter early spring, so if you have enough new leaf coming through I wouldn't worry too much about old leaves dying off, just remove them. If the new leaf starts dying, you may have other problems.

- It has been one of the driest springs on record, so chances are you just need to keep on top of the watering, little and often. Good luck!

[TheFoodiesBooks]

@mariusivan48098 Hi there, it's hard to say without seeing them, but here are my best guesses:

- remember that dark plastic does keep water in but also warms the soil so when you're putting new plants in they still need a really good soak the first week or so to get established.

- you say you wet the plants every evening - make sure you are watering the hole in the plastic, not the plants themselves - if there is water on the leaves it can either burn in the sun or the cold night air.