[Bobbie]

Advice please
I have planted up two seperate stawberry tubs with different types. Planted 12 stawberries all the same in one tub, they took off well, and had afew large stawberries (golf ball size) have trimmed off runners.  Now they are growing enourmous leaves, with no more flowers or  fruit. Leaves are not diseased, is it because it is their first year?
Thankyou
Bobbie

[mumofstig]

Someone will correct me if i am wrong but i think most strawberries have 1 flush of flowers, and therefore fruit, and then that's it for the year!
Does sound as if maybe your plants are a bit overcrowded, 12 plants in 1 tub? Strawberries do make quite sizeable plants How big is the tub Bobbie?

[SG6]

Yep, they usually flower once, fruit and that is it for the year.
Believe there are a couple of varieties that should give a small crop later in the year. However these tend to produce small strawberries and they are only viable for a year or two.

Would help if the posting had said the varieties that you planted since the best anyone can do is guess.

[Bobbie]

Hi,
The strawberries are in a large purpose made strawerry pot about 3ft high, should have kept the label but think they were Cambridge. Second stawberry pot is full of different kinds, thought it would prolong the strawberry and cream teas. They have started to bare fruit and others are still flowering, with pink or cerise colour flowers. Have these standing on a stack of bricks, covered with netting.
Have not been veg and fruit growing for long,  but do enjoy my flowers and hanging baskets.
Have just moved my rhubarb earlier in the year because we bought chickens, so now have allocated myself a space and in the process of making some raised beds, from old scafolding boards to loose the excess soil from the foundations of the chicken pen.
Bought  4 blackcurant bushes, 1 red currant and 2 gooseberry bushes. Also a bush which is a cross between a gooseberry and blackcurrant, so far no flowers or fruit on this, and 2 different types of blue berry, and 4 rasberry canes, which are drooping quite well, hope to get them in this weekend as they are pot bound.
Went mad and planted some runnerbeans up the fence and have growen some sweet peas in with them.
Have 2 tomato plants in the greenhouse and 4 in a couple of grow bags, which I slit the bottoms to, so roots could carry on growing into soil, all are doing well, including two hanging baskets of yellow tomatoes, will be looking up how to make tomatoes chutney no doubt!
Planted some sprouts, which are about 18" tall, but they seem to be all leaves, nothing coming up in the middle yet, might have to be veg for the chickens
Nearly forgot, have planted some potatoes, in old muck buckets, which are going like mad.
Bobbie

[AnnieB]

Cambridge is probably Cambridge Favourite, it is a mid season strawberry that crops fairly good, but just the once as is normal. Seems it can be a little lacking in flavour compared to others. That is I suspect subjective.

The pink flowered ones may be ornimental strawberries, Pink Panda or Serenate. They are not intended to bear a crop of strawberries, although the occasional fruit may appear. I have seen alpine strawberries with pink flowers and these produce small strawberries. Someone else may have a better idea about these.

The goosberry/blackcurrant cross is a Worcesterberry. Produces small deep red berries that seem to resemble a small gooseberry but is actually a currant. They are vigorous and thorney. They do however appear to be immune to mildew.

[Bobbie]

Hi again,
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question about stawberries, just been out to give them a water, and the pinkish ones have almost clumps of strawberries, still green but the size of a fat gooseberry.
Grovelled in among the  gooseberries and my other  plant is called according to label is a  Jostberry: (decription blackberry gooseberry cross. Vigourous upright bush, producing heavy crop pf large shiny black berries - double the size of normal blackcurrant, flavour is good).
The plant is thornless, which has to be a bonus! but something got at it because the top  3/4 leaves are curled up, does seem to be a lot of green flies around.
Bobbie