If you want fast fruit then look no further than strawberries...
If you want fast fruit then look no further than strawberries. From rather unpromising cold-stored runners, foliage will develop in days, flowers in weeks, with ripe fruit ready for picking in about two months.
Commercially available strawberry runners are stored in cold conditions, which encourages flower buds to form in their crowns — just as winter stimulates bud formation in strawberries grown outdoors. Once planted in warmer conditions, the plants undergo a surge of rapid growth.
I prefer growing strawberries in pots. If I had more space outside, I'd build a 'berry bed' with a proper net-clad frame over it to keep birds away from ripening fruits. Blackbirds in particular have a nose for strawberries. They're not very good at sharing, so if you are hoping for at least a few peck-free fruits then netting is essential. I'm not convinced that other supposed deterrents, such as cats or compact discs, are very effective.
No, it's strawberries in pots for me; large pots filled with a loam-based John Innes compost. Strawberries are perennials, so can continue yielding fruit for many years. They also produce extra runners, which can be pegged down into fresh pots of compost, fruiting the following year.
Cold-stored strawberry runners are available from mail order fruit suppliers for immediate potting. Kept on greenhouse staging, they quickly grow during spring. It’s important to be vigilant for signs of greenfly or red spider mite, and to treat affected plants immediately. Warm greenhouse conditions encourage early fruiting, and if planted in hanging baskets, strawberry plants are less likely to be attacked by slugs and snails.
Don't forget that cunning blackbirds, with their keen sense of smell, can find their way into greenhouses through open vents or doors left ajar. Peg a piece of netting over these to restrict their antics.
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