Grow Your Own Magazine

Where's the best bargains at the moment on strawberry plants? Trying to get the kids into some gardening and I think strawbs would be the answer. I saw that Lidl were advertising a pack of 6 for £2.99 from the 17th in their leaflet. Anywhere got on a good deal at the moment?

Also looking to buy a rhubarb crown.

ive just order 60 strawberry runners from Blackmoor Nurseries, Suppliers Of Top Quality Fruit Trees and Soft Fruit Bushes Mail Order, The UKs Leading Speacialist Fruit Nursery. they have lots of varieties to choose from all at 10 runners for £5 delivery prices cheap too they also do rhubarb.
For strawberries i would recommend you get 3 different varieties earlys mids and lates so you get a longer fruiting period. blackmoor do a strawberry collection of 10 earlys 10 mids and 10 lates for £13
cambridge favourites which are one of the more expensive varieties but one of the nicist and often over £1.65 per plant in garden centres are also 10 runners for £5.
i think they have 3 varieties of rhubarb.
also dont let all your plants do runners let some grow on some plants and cut runners off as they form on others or you wont get a big fruit crop.
always keep some runners each year as plants are only good for 3-4 years then fruit production begins to drop and they become worthless to grow but by saving runners you wont have to buy anymore.
i currently have 40 plants without the 60 i ordered but wanted some different varieties.
hope this helps.

I've just ordered the pack of 30 strawberry plants and a rhubarb crown, excellent. Thanks Percy Charlie.

hi amandaandherveg,
my strawberries from blackmoor have come, some of the runners were really big and the roots were very well established, the japanese wine berry plant i ordered from them looks really pretty hope the fruit is nice, rhubarb does really well in manured soil my rhubarb growing so fast il be pulling sticks early and no forcing has been done i also give my strawberries and rhubarb sulphate of potash, bonemeal and top rose granules as feed, glad i could help percy charlie

My strawberries arrived in the post this morning, got a bit of a surprise as they are like crispy bits of sticks with some roots dangling at the bottom (used to seeing the ones in pots in the B&Q etc) .

How do I go about planting them out and preparing the soil. Will be using an old wheelbarrow and pop up garden tidies with holes cut in the sides.