It's been a second bumper year for strawberries this year. 4 weeks of picking and now they are at an end. The whole patch comes from two plants - both Honeoye. Early and with a sharpness, they suit us well, but now the challenge is to extend the season. This spring I bought three plants. I was after late strawberry Florence, but the garden centre only had one so I also bought another late one Judibell and then a mid season Cambridge Favourite. These were planted in pride of place in the border at home. When they started to develop fruit I removed it all and any further flowers too. As a result they grew green and lush - and produced a crop of strong runners. So today, during the lighter rain, I buried a few pots and anchored down the plantlets that have started up. A couple had taken root already. so I let them be. Perhaps rather greedily I have allowed for 6 offspring for each plant. Any further runners have been removed. Once I'm happy the new plants are viable on their own I'll cut the runners and then remove the whole lot to the plot. and replace all but a dozen in my current patch. 21 plants for the price of 3, provided you are happy to wait a year. Following comments from people who have seen their strawberries mix themselves up I plan to be very rigid about where I let these kids run in future. All being well we should have strawberries over a much longer period. It'll be interesting to see how they compare.
Great work! I love propagating strawberries by runners. All of mine current strawberry plants I got from 4 that I bought some years ago.
ReplyDeleteI propagate them now also, so I can replace ones that are old and don’t grow a lot of fruit.
I wish you would send us a little of the rain you are getting...just in the night maybe!!
ReplyDeleteThe strawberries are looking great...Our patch seems to run everywhere but as it was Kate's planting and on her end I kind of let her get on with it as she likes and I just pick any fruit when she offers...I have no idea what sort they are as they were given to Kate but they are lovely and sweet!
That's a good plan Mal. Work gave me a £25 gardening voucher for my birthday and you've just given me a good reason to spend it, mid-late season strawbs. I did cut some runners off our early unknown variety yesterday and then got distracted - I'm hoping they'll be OK if I pot them up today, always something else to do!
ReplyDeleteRain - what's that?
ReplyDeleteWe want to increase our strawberry growing season this year - hopefully with some everbearers.
Sounds great. Cambridge Favourite are my number 1 strawberry, smaller than some but the flavour is lovely and they don't seem to lose the flavour if you are late on the picking which suits me very well.
ReplyDeleteNo rain here. I've had a great harvest from my strawberries this year. I've got three varieties which fruit at different times, all muddled up in one bed, but I'd like to get some everbearers which I'll keep in a separate bed.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking off adding fruit next year; blimey, I didn't know it involved thinking too! I better dust off the Carol Klein fruit book!
ReplyDeleteSo organised! I intended to do this, but my runners ran away. Ah well, next year. Will be interested to hear how your different varieties perform.
ReplyDelete