The strawberry is often referred to as the 'Queen of soft fruits' due to its bright red skin and fruits bursting with flavour and sweetness, at their very best when left to ripen on the plant - that is of course, if you can resist the temptation to pick them earlier.
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For the home garden about 20 plants should maintain a good supply of delicious berries which are sold in small pots or as bare-rooted runners in nurseries.
Plant a selection of early-, mid- and late-bearing varieties of virus-free certified mother stocks and make sure the crowns are plump, not too pointed and have plenty of healthy roots.
To keep the roots from drying out before you have a chance to plant you can pack them in damp coir peat, paper towel or sawdust.
Strawberry plants are seldom worth keeping after three years and where weeds pose strong competition, two years would be the limit.
Success of this first season crop depends largely on the time of planting with April and May the ideal months.
Some of these plants will produce fruit in the following spring and later varieties in the following summer and autumn.
Planting can be undertaken through winter, but the later you leave it the greater the risk of a poor yield in the first season.
For a bountiful crop success relies on the soil having a high humus content, being free-draining, fertilised before and after planting and kept weed-free.
With a good start and regular watering during dry spells you can have productive, healthy plants that will crop well.
The planting spaces should be no closer than 40cms apart with a minimum of 75cms between rows.
Trim the roots back then position the crown of the plant with the soil just under it. Don't bury or plant too deep.
A mulch of straw or pine needles will help to keep the fruit clean.
To improve fruit production pinch off the early runners and when the berries begin to form, feed with a complete fertiliser at the rate of about 50gms per square metre of bed.
Although strawberries can last well through a dry spell, failure to supply water can check the plants at any time, impacting not only on the current season's crop but also the yield of subsequent years.
Existing strawberry beds can be cleaned up and old leaves trimmed off, taking care not to damage the crown of the plant.
A good dressing of blood and bone meal at the rate of about 100gms a square metre of bed can be lightly forked in.
Runners should be removed as they appear rather than leaving them till winter unless they are needed as replacements.
To reduce the risk of viral diseases it is advisable not to plant strawberries in a bed that has previously grown tomatoes, potatoes or eggplants.
There are many varieties to choose from, even white and yellow fruiting ones, but the old favourite Red Gauntlet with large, juicy fruits still rates as garden-worthy.
Of the many new varieties the disease-resistant, Australian-bred Alinta is among the best with small but very tasty fruits over a long period.
DIARY
April 6: North West Lilium Society Annual General Meeting, Penguin Baptist Centre, 130 Ironcliffe Road at 1pm followed by monthly general meeting.
April 17: The Australian Plants Society Tasmania Autumn Native Plant Sale, Max Fry Hall, Gorge Road, Trevallyn 10am.
April 20: Australian Plants Society Tasmania meeting, Max Fry Hall, 7.30pm. Keith and Sib Corbett to speak on 'The Establishment of the Tasmanian Bushland Garden'.
Daily: Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden, Burnie, 9am-4pm. Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday. World-acclaimed 11ha woodland garden features 24,000 rhododendrons and companion plants. Tea room 9.30am to 4pm.