Organic strawberries.

Having sat for twenty minutes trying to figure out a strawberry fayre/fair, organic-fruit/folk-song pun, I'm fairly sure it doesn't work! Organic strawberries, however, do. I don't grow everything organically, I have to confess - one day, I hope I can but at the moment I only have a limited supply of worm-tea and manure. I've only ever bought one box of Miracle-Grow (great for leaves and flowers) and one bottle of Tomorite (to switch to when the fruit comes), however, and they're still lasting me. It's no worse to use them on the flowers than throw the box away, I suppose. My vegetables, however, are now all organic as are my strawberries.


Strawberries are really easy to grow because they're native. This means the soil tends to agree with them and that they survive even the harshest of winters. Apart from the seeds on their fruit, strawberries can be propagated by runners. These are the mini plants that they shoot off, like spider-plants do. If you can find a friend or relative who grows strawberries, I'm sure they'd be willing to give you some of these in April. There are plenty of varieties available in garden centres, though. Out-doors, they should be planted around the start of april so next weekend should be fine if they are going to be in a sheltered area. 


Two of the best things about strawberries are that they can be grown in containers and can be brought on by a good few weeks if grown indoors. They look fabulous in hanging baskets (nice and safe away from slugs) or a vintage planter. If you bring your planter indoors around September, you can help the strawberries flower (and thus fruit) early. Ours have put on flowers this week, while the outdoor patch are looking very sorry for themselves! (Photos to follow) As always, if you want to use a container to designed for growing in, knock a hole in the bottom of it first or your strawbs will get waterlogged.

When I started gardening, I didn't launch straight into organics for a number of reasons;

• I lived in a flat with very little space and so needed the best yields possible.
• Homegrown produce is still less chemically treated than industrially farmed non-organic produce even if you use soluble, ground applied artificial fertiliser.
• Living in a densely populated area of Leicester, manure was fairly hard to come by (except from garden centres that charge outrageous prices).

I've since found a local riding school that sells pre-sacked manure for 50p and invested in a wormery. The wormery I have is from wiggly wiggler's and was subsidised by Essex County Council in the same way that compost bins sometimes are. The beauty of a wormery as opposed to a compost heap is that you need less space, it takes less time and as well as solid compost you get was is called 'worm-tea'. Worm-tea is essentially worm wee but is an unbelievably concentrated liquid fertiliser. You water it down to about 1 part in 10 and can use it on anything. I also mulch heavily with organic matter - this means chucking things like manure, garden shreddings and leafmould on the surface and letting all the insects and worms work it into the soil. Mulching's great because it stops water loss from the soil and adds nutrients and can help in a no-dig garden.


Indoor Flowering Strawberry plants really cheer you up before you get into the swing of food production over the next few months. It may be too late for indoor strawbs this year, but certainly isn't for a hanging basket or patch. Give it a go and let me hear about your successes!