PING Arch and other home growers

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walker

New Member
Location
Bromley, Kent
Hey Arch and all others that can help out here.

I am moving into my Nans in the next month or so and she has an extremly Large Garden that's not really doing much. I was thinking of. for the remainder of my time in the UK, to grow my own fruit and veg. I know how to Grow Toms, Pots, Beans, but I was thinking of having a little area to grow Strawberries as I assume they are quick to grow.

My quiestion is, When can I start growing them and how quickly do they take to Harvest?

thanks
 

zimzum42

Legendary Member
Hello my name is dr. greenthumb
Id like to tell you just where Im from
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
I bought some plants off the market, or did I get them from a catalogue? Can't remember...

No, it was a catalogue, and they sent them at the right time to plant, and I think I got some fruit that year. Now, if I could remember what time of year they were sent, that would be helpful, wouldn't it.

Um....

I think, they might have gone in in autumn, over wintered, and fruited the next summer. You'll get a small crop at first, but it should get bigger in the second year. I got bumper crops in the third and fourth years, and then, on advice, have split the plants to use the runners, since the original plants start to tire after 4 years or so.

Cab will know better. I'm rather of the "try it and see" school of veg growing, and I'm not sure I learn much from one year to the next!

Also, if you protect them with garden fleece or glass, you might be able to get away with establishing them late, if the winter is mild? My strawberry plants had a second flush of flowers last week. I doubt they'll come to fruit, but it's a bit out of season...
 
U

User482

Guest
My local garden centre gets them in the spring - shove them in the ground and harvest 3 months later - easy! Just remember to feed and water them regulalrly - use tomato plant food. I've found (like Arch) that the plants are only good for about 3 years, but also that the runners don't tend to do as well as nursery bought new plants. Given the low cost of the plants, I don't bother with runners any more.

I tend to avoid Elsanta variety - this is the one you'll find in supermarkets and is bred more for ease of growing and appearance, than flavour. I've found Honeoye to be good.
 
Bear in mind that strawberries come in a plethora of varieties to produce early, mid and late crops. You can probably buy late croppers next spring that will establish themselves over the summer.
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
walker said:
Hey Arch and all others that can help out here.

I am moving into my Nans in the next month or so and she has an extremly Large Garden that's not really doing much. I was thinking of. for the remainder of my time in the UK, to grow my own fruit and veg. I know how to Grow Toms, Pots, Beans, but I was thinking of having a little area to grow Strawberries as I assume they are quick to grow.

My quiestion is, When can I start growing them and how quickly do they take to Harvest?

thanks


How long have you got left in the UK? If it's less than 4 months you may be wasting your money.
 
rich p said:
How long have you got left in the UK? If it's less than 4 months you may be wasting your money.


My thoughts exactly.
 
Getting a neglected garden into any sort of shape can take 1 -2 years. Plus if you are emigrating (my inference) you may find you have little time spare. I really wouldn't bother.

I'm speaking as an allotment grower and gardener who is still swearing that "Next year I'll REALLY get on top of it"....

BTW, you won't get many strawbs in the first year anyway, and you can't grow them from a strawberry very easily.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
walker said:
Thanks Lads and Ladies,

Can I grow Strawberries for an actual strawberry?

I'm not sure you'd get very far - sometimes commercial plants are hybrids and the seeds in the fruit can be non-viable, or not germinate 'true'. You could try, but it might take a long time, if it worked at all.

If you've got 8 months, you should be able to get plants, and get a little crop, by next July. If the garden is in need of a lot of work, why not bung a couple of plants in a container (a pot, or even one of the special strawberry 'towers'). Less hassle than clearing a space, and easier to keep slugs off/cover against birds...
 

littlered

New Member
This thread is interesting. I made raised beds this year to grow veg:biggrin:
I grew, cabbage, carrots, strawberries, raspberries, chard (for the rabbits), snowball turnips, potatoes, onions, garlic.

Some things did not work out like parsnips and sweetcorn.

I grew most from seed. I tried veg packs from work (work in a garden centre) but the cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower were crap. They performed very poorly. So wont be buying these next year.

As fro strawberries try alpine strawberries they are small by they have much more flavour.


Oh and the garlic and onions can be planted now, garlic will be ready by summer.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
We also made raised beds this year - sweetcorn (about 4 were vaguely edible), spinach, carrots (I planted them too thinnly), beetroot, lettuce (didn't need to buy any between May and last week), peas (rubbish), tomatos, herbs (rubbish), rocket (brilliant), squash (rubbish), cucomber (good).

It was a good first year ... I wanted to plant garlic but the local garden centre didn't have them .. can I plant the ordinary cloves from the supermarket and if so is there any that are better than others and is it still ok to plant it?
 
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