Strawberries
Planting Strawberries
When to plant
Strawberries are best planted from early autumn through to spring.
Where to plant.
Plant in a sunny position in well-drained soil that has had top quality compost dug through it.
Strawberries can be grown in strawberry pots or other containers.
How to plant
Raise rows into mounds above the surrounding soil and cover in black polythene or pea straw. This helps suppress weeds and keeps fruit clean in summer.
Place a handful of ican Real Blood & Bone under each plant and top dress with Tui Strawberry Fertiliser and water well..
Pests and Diseases
If strawberries are well fed and watered they shouldn’t be troubled by many pests or diseases.
How many to plant?
Plant 5 plants per person in your household for bowlfuls of berries during summer
Pest and Diseases
The most common disease is botrytis or grey mould, which appears as a grey fur on the fruit. Avoid watering directly onto fruit and practice good hygiene around the plants.
Other things to watch for are Leaf Spot (spray with Grosafe FreeFlo Copper), and birds, for which bird netting is the best cure!
Strawberry varieties
All these varieties produce good sized, flavoursome fruit – Albion (Scott’s Strawberry farm variety), Camerosa, Camino real and Seascape
Home grown
Impress your friends and family with home grown strawberries in your baking and desserts.
Day neutral varieties
These strawberries are not affected by the length of Day which means they will flower and fruit as long as temperatures are high enough. Day neutral varieties are Seascape.
These strawberries are not as large but they do extend the strawberry harvest considerably.
Feeding
Strawberries respond well to regular feeding. In the garden top dress with Tui Strawberry Fertiliser every 6-8 weeks or liquid feed with ican Fast Food more regularly.
If growing in pots and containers use a slow release fertiliser such as Novatec, and liquid feed every 7-10 days.
Water regularly during the growing period.