Alpine strawberries are ever-bearing, meaning that they produce fruit over a long period. A few berries ripen at a time usually and off three plants I can get a handful a week. A little sugar and heat can work wonders. How do the Mignonette compare to Mara Des Bois in size and sweetness? I live in the US and was only able to get my hands on the Mignonette. Your email address will not be published. I agree. Share Pin Previous Previous. Next Continue. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.
Books Expand child menu Expand. Gardening Expand child menu Expand. Soapmaking Expand child menu Expand. More Ideas Expand child menu Expand. Browse by Season Expand child menu Expand. For something a little different, Pineapple Crush has a distinct pineapple flavor. Like Yellow Wonder it is a reliable yellow fruiting variety. Smaller than other varieties, alpine strawberries produce small, aromatic fruit. Garden stores and plant nurseries sell not only bare root plants and young transplants but also seeds.
If you decide to buy online make sure that you use a reputable supplier. While seeds can be dispatched at any time of year, plants and bare root transplants are usually only dispatched in the spring when they are ready for planting out. Despite preferring sunny positions these plants can also tolerate shade, they are naturally forest plants afterall.
Alpine strawberries can bear fruit, with as little as 4 hours of sun a day. Their shade and semi-shade tolerance makes them ideal ground cover plants. Alpine strawberries produce their best fruit in rich soil that is also well draining. The plants also do well in pots and planters. You can also use runnerless varieties for edging garden paths and beds. Runnerless varieties are often easier to tend and maintain than other types of strawberry plant. The soil should be rich in humus.
A slightly acidic soil helps to encourage larger fruit. Basically, the richer the soil the better. Alpine strawberries use more nutrients than other varieties. Make sure you enrich the soil before planting.
Use a soil test kit to measure the nutrient content of your soil and make any necessary amendments. A soil pH level of 5. Planting in fresh soil, or employing a simple form of crop rotation , can help to keep your garden healthy. You can purchase alpine strawberry seeds from garden stores and plant nurseries.
You can also harvest ripe seeds from fresh fruit. Avoid seeds from hybrid cultivars, these rarely grow true to type. Start the seeds undercover in a greenhouse or on a light windowsill in late winter or early spring. Sow as thinly as possible in trays or pots filled with a fresh, well-draining compost or peat free multi purpose potting soil.
If you are concerned about drowning the seeds, work a handful of perlite or grit into the soil to lighten the mix. Moisten the soil before sowing. The seeds can be small and difficult to handle. They can be thinned out following germination. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of compost or soil and place in a warm light position.
The first shoots and leaves to emerge are often small, and can be difficult to notice. Following germination, allow the seedlings to grow on in the tray or pot until they develop at least two true sets of leaves. The true leaves will have distinctive vessels and veins on them.
You can begin hardening off the seedlings, for transplanting outside, once the outside temperatures have warmed sufficiently and they have reached at least 2 inches in height.
Once they have been hardened off, and the outdoor temperature and soil has warmed sufficiently you can begin transplanting your alpine strawberries. You can either buy young alpine strawberry plants or bare root transplants. Whether you grow from seed or purchase plants or transplants, the planting process is largely the same.
Prepare the soil by enriching with compost or well rotted manure. Make sure you work the organic matter in well. This should be done a few weeks before planting to give the soil time to settle. You can also add some wood ash from a bonfire to increase the soils potash content.
Preparing the soil before planting helps your transplant to thrive. This results in healthier plants and larger harvest. When you are ready to plant, dig a hole in the soil large enough to hold the plant.
Position the plant in the hole so that the crown sits just above soil level. The crown is the point from which new growth will emerge. Lifting the crown above soil level is particularly useful in wet climates and damp soils because it helps to prevent rotting and disease.
If you are planting bare root plants, trim the roots back a little with a sharp scissors before placing in the hole. If you really feel like a challenge, you can remove all but one or two flowers on each truss, to ensure that the strawberries that form are larger. By Helen Gazeley. How to Eat Alpine Strawberries Well, I was of the "useless-but-pretty" opinion of alpine strawberries until I came across instructions on how to eat them.
Alpine strawberry Getting a Bigger Harvest There are ways to encourage larger berries. Try them as a dressing on vanilla ice-cream! We have a South African version of our website. Stay on this site Go to South African site.
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