Winter Gardening in the Strawberry Patch
This is the time to finish off the last of the clearing out of beds. For me, that includes topping up with all the needed extras - compost and horse manure.
But also, I like to cover all the beds with a layer of newspaper, which I use as a weed suppressor. This is placed onto the beds before I add anything else.
Some people use cardboard, which works well, but I use that for when I want to really kill back things like grass or hardy weeds to start a new garden bed.
When I use newspaper, it’s more just to get rid of the last of those pesky weeds that I’ve missed clearing out of the beds.
Final step is topping off each bed with a layer of mulch. This could be fallen leaves, grass clippings that you may have piled up, or pea straw. This protects the soil from the extreme temperatures over winter, keeping all those microbes happy.
Then when it comes to spring planting, all you need to do is scrape back your mulch to plant your seedlings, then pull it back around, and you’ve got a happy protected seedling.
This is the time of year to give the asparagus and strawberries some attention, feeding, dividing, and mulching.
At the end of each season, I will have left 1/4 of my asparagus to go to seed, creating what we call ferns. I leave this to dry off because then as it dries, all those sugars from the ferns will flow back into the roots, feeding them at a time of year when they're not getting anything.
So once they've browned off, they are done. I'll prune them back and add that to the compost. I'll add compost from last spring (don't use fresh compost, as it could be too rich and burn your plants) and top off with mulch.
Then sit back and wait for those beautiful spears to arrive at the end of November.
And this is the perfect time of year to give tender loving care to your strawberry patch.
If you’ve sorted your runners from the previous season, you’ve got free plants. But if not, no worry, you’ll find a great selection at your local garden centre.
You will need to keep in mind that strawberries have a life cycle.
First year - small fruit, fairly small production.
Second/Third year - best years.
Fourth year - small production, susceptible to disease.
So if you need to pull any of your fourth-year plants, those are the ones you’ll be replacing.
Firstly, I like to go through the patch and clear all the old leaves and dead bits. Then, if any of my plants are a bit too big, I’ll divide these - any bigger than a dinner plate divide into 4, any smaller than that into 2.
Then plant out your runners - dig a hole just deeper than the plant's base, add some strawberry mix and a sprinkle of strawberry food, plant the strawberry top with extra soil, and water in gently. Mulch around the plant; this keeps the fruit from the soil and helps with water retention come summer.
Next month, I will be planning my seed stores and clearing the glasshouse.
“The colour of springtime is in the flowers, the colour of winter is in the imagination.”
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