Grow Your Own Magazine

Had my first strawberries today.From garden to plate in 2 mins and they wre B***** LOVELY,sweet and juicy.
Can't wait for the next batch!!!!!!

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You'll Never Walk Alone.

Doing Nothing is Hard Work Because you Never Know When You've Finished!!!!!

Right beside you there Cloud!
BUT.... my very bestest, gorgeous client (who I have finally convinced to Grow Their Own Food, now that they've got a little 13 week old baby girl) told me a few weeks ago that she "isn't that fussed about Strawberries".

With that being tantamount to red rag to a bull with Wellie, I have my very first ripening Strawberry that I am nurturing until this coming Friday morning. It is just GORGEOUSLY RIPE, and I'm having trouble keeping my mitts off of it.

I am going to pick it, wrap it in cotton wool, drive it a whole 5 miles to her gorgeous house, slice it in half..... One half goes straight into her mouth as soon as she opens the door. The other half is mine. If she agrees that it tastes like Complete Heaven, and that she's tasted nothing as gorgeous as that in her entire life, then I shall happily donate to her all the plantlets that I can muster for her own Potager from my own before I move to France.

Now I can't say fairer than that, can I?!

Pigletwillie gave me these Marshmallows, what have you got ripening at the moment?
Mmmm.... See Wellie dribble.....X

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With Love,
Wellie

Give it some....

http://hollycottagegarden.blogspot.com
I Lied.... (updated 26th August, 1810hrs)

I too had my first strawberry last week. I have strawbs in hanging baskets in my tunnel this year - I planted up 60 runners about 9 weeks ago (20 each of Elsanta, Honeoye and Symphony and so far have picked 4kg from them, with more to be picked on Friday for the Farmers Market on Saturday. The intention was basically to use what fruit was produced at home and to use the plants to produce runners (which they are doing - averaging about 4 or 5 per plant) to multiply my stock for next year, but if finance permits, I hope to have another 24' x 60' tunnel dedicated to strawberry growing a la tabletop.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

[size="1"]Journal updated Tuesday 5th August

Sewer Rat - excellent news!
'Runners' was the word I was looking for this late at night and couldn't find within my brain (senior moment...) and I'm hoping that this year is even more productive for you than last.

I think the very first ripe strawberry of the season HAS to be cherished, no?!

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With Love,
Wellie

Give it some....

http://hollycottagegarden.blogspot.com
I Lied.... (updated 26th August, 1810hrs)

Wellie
Dunno about cherished - more like scoffed
Another thing - strawberries don't taste nice when they are freshly picked but hot !
On the productive front - check my journal for what is planted so far !

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

[size="1"]Journal updated Tuesday 5th August

Picked a few strawberries this week and I agree they are gorgeous.

Haveeaten shop bought fruits for years and taste of nowt.The variety I have is Irrestible and my God they are!!!!

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You'll Never Walk Alone.

Doing Nothing is Hard Work Because you Never Know When You've Finished!!!!!

Are you growing in, or out?

All mine are in beds, and nowhere near ripe

My lovely boys enjoyed the first of our strawbs a few weeks ago. I bought them really cheaply from our local Lidl when they were shutting for a refit. 6 plants for a quid fifty (so I bought four trays). As they were in flower and it was early and cold here, I kept them in the greenhouse. Don't know what type they are as it doesn't say but they are developing loads of lovely large fruit now that they are planted up in growbags. I actually ate one last weekend - first strawb I have eaten since the early '80s - t'was indeed yummy!! I will deffo be keeping runners from these for future years as they are totally gorgeous and sweet even when a little under ripe.

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

They are grown out.

__________________
You'll Never Walk Alone.

Doing Nothing is Hard Work Because you Never Know When You've Finished!!!!!

Mine are grown outside in a bed at the Lottie, most of them were given to me by another plot holder who said ' help yourself ' so I did to about 15 plants and I already had about six, will take runners and increase the size of bed next year.

have planted up 2 raised beds with strawberries as the kids love them and i buy a lot (and they are expensive £1.99 inTesco ) visited the allotment yesterday and the 1st ripe two were just there....so i ate them and the kids can have the next ones growers perogative i think

At the beginning of last year, I only had two hanging baskets of alpine strawberries that the kids had grown from seeds bought from West Stow Saxon Village some years before. In January, I sowed mignonette alpine strawberries which have grown very successfully and been planted in a large square container and Sarian which have been very disappointing. I only managed to bring 4 plants to maturity and they didn't fruit at all last year and this year only one plant has so far produced small fruits this year. I also have ten Alice plants, which I got as young plants, in another container which have done very well but ten plants can only produce so much fruit which with a family with a passion for strawberries both fresh and preserved. can never produce enough. I don't have enough space to to grow strawberries in the ground so any advice on maximising the crop from the minimum of space would be appreciated.

I planted my runners later but they are full of fruit, still green as yet but full. i keep going up to the allotment to see if they have ripened yet!

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We plant the seed, nature grows the seed, we eat the seed - Neil, The Young Ones

http://countersthorpeallotment.blogspot.com/
Updated 8 June 2008

My strawbs are only flowering at the mo, mind you i am a northerner :-) but in about 4 weeks i should be running around with the plate as well ;-)

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I feel like a tiny bird with a big song!

Mine are marshmallo and they are delish, they are in a raised bed with netting over the lot as my blackbirds love any fruit. I also grew some alpine strawberries from seed in Jan and the plants are looking brill and just starting to flower which I didn't really expect this year. I only sowed half the packet and I have about 40 plants.

Ian

I also grew some from seed Sarian F1 plenty of fruit this year but not ripe yet waiting to see if they taste as good as Irresistable!

__________________
You'll Never Walk Alone.

Doing Nothing is Hard Work Because you Never Know When You've Finished!!!!!

Couldn't resist a chance to show off - well, I don't get that many
All we need now is a bit of sun to ripen it off.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

Sorry scarey55 but didn't want to p*** on your bonfire.Mine are larger than that

__________________
You'll Never Walk Alone.

Doing Nothing is Hard Work Because you Never Know When You've Finished!!!!!

Bummer

Well I hope you enjoy yours. Are you just planning to eat them or will you make some jam or wine or something.

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A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

I would like to make some jam but only got 15 plants.
Hope to take some runners and increase this,but at the moment I just wanna eat em!

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You'll Never Walk Alone.

Doing Nothing is Hard Work Because you Never Know When You've Finished!!!!!

I had my first 3 last night - sweet as anything. Next 2 are ripening as we speak.

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Andrea :wavehello

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...logs/zazen999/

moon trial underway with onions, lettuce, tomatoes and calabrese.

Hope you're like me next year, I had so many runners I couldn't give them away quickly enough this year.
but then, if you give them away there's not so many for you to eat

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A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

Ate 5 mignonette today. Money can't buy such things... Look forward to comparing notes on Sarian. Mine still very small.