Strawberries are the epitome of the British summer. Served either by themselves, topped with cream or chopped up into an Eton mess, strawberries are delicious. For your supply of summer strawberries, gardeners could try growing their own. They’re relatively easy to care for as they are perennial plants that don’t need to be replanted every year. However, with summer just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to plant alpine strawberries. Also known as wild strawberries, alpine strawberries are smaller but much more flavourful and will produce fruit throughout the growing season.
Larger fruited varieties are best planted earlier in the year and usually produce fruit during specific periods. Gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh has shared how to plant alpine strawberries in June in a video for Waitrose & Partners.
Mr Titchmarsh said alpine strawberries can be planted straight into the ground, around a foot apart. The plant will start producing strawberries as soon as the flower petals start to drop.
He added: “You’ll see them start to form in what was at the centre of the flower. But if you haven’t got a garden or an allotment at all, it doesn’t mean to say you can’t have strawberries, you can grow them in pots.”
Containers for alpine strawberries need to have good drainage, and they should be planted with a rich, well-draining potting mix.
Once planted, the plants will start to mature, and the berries will start to grow.
However, to get the most out of your alpine strawberries, Mr Titchmarsh recommends doing one task three to four weeks after planting them.
He said, “In about three or four weeks, liquid feed it with dilute liquid tomato food or strawberry food, and that will make sure they keep dropping right through until autumn.”
Alpine strawberries can produce fruit from spring until autumn, or until the first frost.
Feeding your alpine strawberries tomato food, which is high in potassium, can help the plant flower and produce fruit.
Gardeners need to follow the instructions on the back of the tomato food packet when applying it to their plants.
Too much fertiliser can weaken plants and cause berries to turn soft.