Strawberry

In the "good old days" during July you could buy new strawberry plants to put in a new bed in late summer - or you could take cuttings and make your own plants. This is almost no longer the case where it is quite out of date to plant quite a lot in the garden in the autumn - everything takes place (and is sold) in the spring. So also with strawberries, where the fewest nurseries have something in August - whereas both they and supermarkets abound with new strawberry plants (with berries on!) In late April. Then there will be heat and drought in May, many of the small plants with the small roots die of heatstroke - and customers come back for new plants in June. For NOK 15-18 each. From a sales point of view, a pretty smart strategy, but a bit semi-expensive for the individual if you run a crop rotation where strawberries only stand in the same soil for a maximum of 3 years.

Therefore, new plants are now being made for next year's new strawberry beds, even though it's a bit of a pill work. You ideally select shoots from the 1st year plants that have given the most berries - not those that have put the most shoots, as these just often prefer to make shoots than low berries. Pots are filled with a good compost (not with nematode-infected soil from the strawberry bed!) And dug a little into the soil. The shoot is fixed in the pot with a piece of bent steel wire and the pots are kept evenly watered. After a few months, a proper root ball has formed, and the new little ones can have the umbilical cord cut for the mother plant. In September, they can be planted in the new place without disturbing the roots too much. Alternatively, you can leave the pots in the bed and only plant them out in early spring. In any case, it is an advantage to make a few extra plants in case some should go to during the winter.