 STRAWBERRIES
Strawberries taste great and are easy to grow. Over the years growers have bred strawberries
to produce a good range of plants that yield larger crops. Victoria produces the bulk of
Australia's strawberry crops, with the main growing areas being Silvan and the surrounding
Dandenong Ranges. Chris and Maries Plant Farms have four main varieties to sell in our
nurseries this season. |
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RED GAUNTLET
This is the most popular commercial variety, which originated from Scotland and is known
for its high yield.
The crop is usually heavy and picking extends for a long period of time. The fruit is
pink and tart and the size of the berry becomes gradually smaller throughout the season. |
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TIOGA
This plant has good coloured fruit and flavour. It grows in a large clump and it's aspring
crop lasting a couple of months and producing a good second season. High PH soil should be
avoided for this variety. |
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TRISTAR
These are a sweet tasting vigourous growing plant. The berries should be left on the plant as
long as possible for better flavour and colour. You can expect one punnet of berries per plant
per season. Berries are produced from spring to summer with the berries becoming smaller
throughout the season |
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TORREY
This plant produces berries that are light in colour. It is an upright growing plant with good
crop poten-tial in early spring and summer, usually produc-ing a high percentage of large and
medium sized fruit. |
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PLANTING AND POSITIONING
The plants should be planted from May to July, in raised beds approx. 35cm's apart.
Strawberries need to have quite good drainage to ensure against root damage. |
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| The plants should be watered regularly in warm
weather to stop the fruit "cooking", under watering will produce cracked berries. |
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| They also need protection from frost and hotwinds
in the summer. This can easily be done with plastic or hessian, which also helps to pro-tect
against birds. |
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Make sure the soil in which the strawberries are
planted has not previously been used for
tomatoes or potatoes as sometimes they leave a disease in the ground called Verticillum Wilt. |
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 When planting consider the position as this can
effect the timing of your fruit.
For example northeasterly positions are good for early ripening whereas a southerly
position encourages late seasoned fruit. |
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