Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
different. To make sure that they have really well-established roots and crowns,
nip out the first flush of flowers when it appears. Some gardeners like to remove
all flowers until the last of the outdoor berries are ripening so that the plants
don't become exhausted too soon.
Try to harvest the berries only when the plants are dry, or you risk spreading
diseases and moulds throughout the bed. Check the plants every day, or at least
every other day, during the fruiting season and pick everything that's ripe, or
they will quickly go mouldy. Pick them with a little of their green stem, or part of
the fruit may be left behind to rot.
Cut the old leaves down to a height of about 5cm once the harvest is complete. If
you do this carefully you won't remove any of the smaller new leaves, which can
then grow on. Remove the old straw and any dead foliage and compost them,
then add a top dressing of compost with a little balanced organic fertiliser (taking
care not to bury the crowns) to help feed the plants for the following year.
Strawberries may be frozen whole and fully ripe (after removing the green calyx)
for later processing, and although the texture deteriorates markedly they can be
used, still frozen, to top dessert dishes. Alternatively, halve the berries and pack
them in containers of light syrup (100g sugar in one litre of water, heated to dis-
solve the sugar and cooled before use) for freezing, remembering to leave space
for the liquid to expand as it freezes. They can also be dried if cut into slices no
more than 5mm thick, and are surprisingly tasty.
Problems
Rabbits
,
birds
, squirrels (net against all of these),
slugs
and
moulds
.
Mould
is a constant companion of the strawberry bed, especially in damp,
cloudy conditions. Once present in a bed, the spores quickly spread, so you need
to check the berries carefully on a daily basis and remove any affected fruit.
Sweet potato
Varieties:
'O'Henry'
Not a true potato but a member of the bindweed family, this space-hungry plant
is rarely grown in the UK, as outdoors it needs a long, warm summer to provide
