Strawberry trials

Last year, my attempts at strawberry growing were a washout. Lots of leaves, but no fruit. So, inspired by a visit to this productive kitchen garden at the National Trust’s Polesden Lacey, near Dorking in Surrey (left),  I’m now trying two different methods of growing strawberries.

One involves an old fashioned strawberry planter with a secret weapon – a plastic drink bottle, with the base sliced off and side holes cut into it, pushed upside down into the middle to facilitate watering. I’m hoping this will get round the problem of water washing out the compost through the planting openings – a major bugbear in the past.

The second is a home-made version of the Polesden Lacey method, using a garden centre growing bag resting on two planks, which in turn are supported by bricks. It fits just 10 plants but unlike the Trust's, isn’t connected to a watering system.

So far all the plants are flourishing. But which method will produce the most strawberries?

See the results at http://greenjottings.blogspot.co.uk/2013_07_01_archive.html
More on the Polesden Lacey gardens at http://greenjottings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/a-better-way-to-grow-strawberries.html

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/polesden-lacey/