Strawberries are the perfect fruit for the home gardener. They don’t take up much room, happily grow alongside flowers, herbs, and fruit, and, best of all, harvesting the berries is like a treasure hunt for kids and adults alike.
Traditionally, strawberries are grown from rooted cuttings and not seed, but that’s changed with the introduction of strawberry ‘Fresca’ that produces full sized, sweet, and juicy berries from seed.
‘Fresca’ was bred in the United States and is an ever-bearing variety that flowers repeatedly from summer through to autumn if the fruit is harvested regularly. It is also day length neutral which means that it doesn’t wait for the long summer days to flower and set fruit.
‘Fresca’ is a vigorous yet compact strawberry that grows 10cm high and 30cm wide, making it suitable for garden beds as well as for containers and hanging baskets.
Sowing tips
- To ensure good germination cold treat the seeds by putting them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a few days. When you are ready to sow, take them out of the refrigerator and leave them for an hour of so to reach room temperature.
- Strawberry seeds are very fine and Kirchhoffs suggests sowing them in a pot rather than in seed trays or directly into the soil. Use a 15cm pot filled with germination mix and sow four or five seeds. This makes caring for them during germination just little bit better, as seeds take 7- 30 days to germinate.
- To create a moist and warm micro-climate cover the pot with plastic or put it in a plastic bag to create a mini greenhouse effect. Remove once the seedlings emerge.
- Once the seedlings have developed 3 true leaves they can be transplanted into individual pots, hanging basket or into the garden in a position that receives full sun.
Planting out
In garden beds, work in compost, well-rotted manure and a potassium-rich organic fertiliser. For containers use good quality potting soil mixed with compost and a controlled-release fertiliser.
Set the roots straight down in the soil or potting mix with the crown at surface level. It must not be covered with soil because the new growth sprouts from the crown. Space garden plants 36cm apart. Up to three plants can be used in a large container or hanging basket, which must have drainage holes.
Growing tips
- Strawberries need soil that is well watered but not water-logged. Good drainage is essential, and the soil should not dry out completely. This results in small, hard fruit. Hanging baskets dry out quickly and should be monitored daily.
- Feed soil grown strawberries with potassium-rich organic fertiliser once a month and then, every 10 days when flowering starts. Feed container grown strawberries with a liquid fertiliser (for flowers and fruit) once a week.
- Protect fruit from slugs and snails and use an organic insecticide like Ludwig’s Insect Spray for aphids, ants and other small insects.
- A light straw mulch under soil grown strawberries will reduce weeds and keep the fruit off the soil, reducing rotting.
- Make sure plants receive at least 6 – 8 hours of morning sun. Rotate hanging baskets regularly for even exposure to the sun.
- During the first year of growth, do not cut off all the runners so that the plant can establish itself. From the second year the runners can be cut to keep plants more compact.
Harvesting
Pick when the berry is bright red. Use scissors to cut off the fruit so that the remaining fruit in the cluster is not damaged. It is best to harvest when the plant is dry. Like most strawberries, they produce their sweetest fruit in the second year and should be replaced after that.
Good companions for strawberries are bush or runner beans, lettuce, onions, peas, Swiss chard and herbs like thyme, borage, and garlic. For more information visit www.kirchhoffs.co.za
TEXT & IMAGES: Alice Coetzee.
