Strawberries and cream… Strawberries and ice cream…. Homemade strawberry jam thickly spread on a fresh scone.

If the thought of eating these make your mouth water, then you’ll want to grow your own delicious strawberry crop.

There are two types of strawberry. Spring fruiting which produces fruits in June. And perpetual which produces fruits over the summer.

Your plants need to be planted at the correct depth. The top of the crown needs to be level with the soil. Plant them too deep and the plants will rot.

Strawberries can be grown in rows in your garden. Plant them 8” – 10” apart. Or you can grow individual plants in containers. You can also grow them in garden planters, raised beds or hanging baskets.

Where ever you choose, strawberries need fertile, sheltered sunny areas to flourish.  There is one warning though. Avoid anywhere you have grown potatoes or tomatoes. That’s because they are vulnerable to the disease verticillium wilt.

Plant your strawberries in the autumn or spring. Fertilize with blood and bone meal. It’s important to feed the plants every two weeks with a potash feed during the growing season. Tomato fertilizer is a great idea.

Cut any runners off your plants in the first year. This way the plant doesn’t waste any energy in growing the, In later years you can allow a few runners per plant.

As your strawberries start to produce fruit it’s a good idea to put some sort of mulch on the surface. This keeps the fruits clean. Straw is good. Perhaps grass cuttings. Doing this will also suppress any weeds.

It’s crucial to keep your plants well-watered. That’s because the fruit has high water content.

Consider netting your strawberries. This will protect your valuable crop from being eaten by birds. There’s nothing worse seeing a large fruit starting to ripen… leaving it another day…. Only to see it’s been devoured overnight.

Two common problems you should look out for are firstly grey mould. Simply cut away the infected parts of the plant. And two, powdery mildew. Look for a safe product you can treat your plants.

Slugs can also be a problem. So you may need to look out for slug damage.

Trim your plants back at the end of the season. Cut off any dead leaves.

Another thing you should be aware of is this; your plants will need replacing every four years.

One final important tip. And this is critical.

Eat your home-grown strawberries as soon as possible…before somebody else does!