please i need help i am new to allotment game i would like to try strawberries on the allotment just about to order from marshalls but don't deliver untill october do i not need to plant before any info would be much appriciated
no,you dont need to plant any earlier ,as any you plant wont bear fruit till next year,and some say you shouldnt crop in the 1st year
Hello,
Strawberries tend to set runners; you let these get baby offspring get established, then dig 'em up once the plants have gone into hibernation mode for the autumn/winter... that way they can be safely transplanted, and usually romp away come the warmth of spring.
A friend got some strawberry plants (bare-rooted) from a newspaper offer this year, they arrived sometime in late spring, got popped straight into the ground, and she got a couple of bowlfuls of fruit in time for the Wimbledon finals... nice surprise from 1st year plants.
If you'd like some strawberry runners, I'd be happy to post you some, but it wouldn't be until later in the year - when I sort out the (little) strawberry patch. Just PM (personal message) me, if you'd be interested.
Also (unless you are after a specific variety of strawberry) most allotment holders near you - possibly your neighbours - will be doing exactly the same come the autumn... turfing out loads and loads of unwanted strawberry runners... most are only TOO HAPPY to put some your way. A gentle enquiry could see you swamped in runners...