Yeuchy strawberries

[newbieveggie]

I have just nipped to my local garden centre for a rather tasty cappuccino/pannini combo and of course a look around for some different strawb varieties. I had a taste of the much acclaimed 'Albion' and 'Cambridge Favourite' both lovely and ripe looking fruit.

OMG bleurgh,icky,nasty bitter tasting strawberries. Would it be the time of the year ? They were in hanging baskets and the normal carry home plant thingamys. The reviews on both of them say they are fab. Anyone else found this to be the case ??

[SarzWix]

It could be something to do with watering? I've had Cambridge Favourite before and they were okay, certainly not bitter.

[realfood]

I planted Albion this year and the fruit tastes very good.

[bendipa]

Cambridge Favourite are very ordinary flavoured strawberries, rather bland in taste, but is heavy cropping The supermarkets used to sell them en masse years ago, but now better varieties have replaced them.

Growing strawberries in hanging baskets is not a good idea. The soil dries out very quickly, and once plants bearing a crop wilt, the fruit tends to be small and bitter. If you can, always grow strawberries in the ground for the best results.

[21again]

I have 11 Cambridge favourites and the fruit is lovely and sweet, far nicer than anything I have had from the supermaket.

[Gwyndy]

Cambridge Favourite was, I believe, the commercial favourite but was superseded by Elsanta. I have grown both for some 5 years - very heavy cropping and beautiful, sweet fruit. So far this year I have harvested about 22 kg of strawberries, all of them magnificent. Everyone who has tasted them has commented on how sweet they are and how much better they are than commercially produced fruit.

I cannot begin to imagine what you have tasted but your comments would certainly not apply to the Cambridge Favourite that I grow!!