3 Fun Edibles To Grow For Kids - Part 2

Yum, yum, yum! Strawberries. Who doesn't love strawberries, whether fresh, in jams, pies or jellies, they are just delicious! When most people think of these amazing fruits though, the tart, dry, unripe store-bought ones spring to mind. Thats not what a strawberry should taste like though. Yes, there are some out there that are supposed to be more tart, but your everyday fresh, straight off the bush, nomming ones, should be juicy, sweet and just darn right delicious!

Strawberries can be quite easy to grow too, and a great reward for kids. They can be grown in towers, pots, in the ground or veggie beds, hanging baskets or hydroponically. There is a way to grow them to suit everyone and every garden. They even make specific strawberry pots!

Let's talk soil, strawberries do appreciate a rich space to grow, with a pH of 5.5 to 7.5 and packed full of aged compost and manures, this doesn't mean you have to run out and buy these things, most nurseries will sell bags of very good quality potting mixes, complete with wetting agents, fertilizers and composts, a one stop shop if you will. You can also create your own space, I prefer to, as, at least that way I know what's in my food. I will generally get some mushroom compost, plain compost, sheep and cow manure, and then sprinkle some seamungus amongst it all. I know you're thinking that sounds expensive but not really.
Richgro Mushroom Compost - $5.45
Garden Basics Compost $5.33
Green Grub Cow Manure $ 4.95
Richgro Sheep Manure $6.95
So, I have 100L of ingredients for $22.68. Whereas your decent quality potting mixes can range between about $8.50 - $18 per bag for 25L.

DID YOU KNOW: Strawberries have their seeds on the outside, there are no seeds inside the fruit!

There are several ways you can get strawberries:
. Seeds
. Seedling in punnets
. Plants in pots
. Bare rooted
. Runners
However you choose, you need to leave at least 30cm between your plants, as they will spread roughly 30-35cm and reach 10-20cm tall.

A good dose of potassium to as your strawberries start to flower will help both your yield and your fruit in general.

Give your plants a dose of seaweed every few weeks in the main growing season to keep their health up, and some fertiliser every couple of months in the warmer periods.

To help stop your fruit from rotting before you get to it, use some straw or hay around your plants as mulch. This will keep fruits off the moist group, and help with underground buggos too.

DID YOU KNOW: you can grow white strawberries?! One variety is the alpine strawberries, they produce small, sweet fruit, but prefer a shady spot. Plants don't tend to make runners, but you can separate plants to increase your yield.
Another variety is White Soul, this is said to have a hint of pineapple, great for eating fresh as you potter around the yard.

With around 600 varieties, it can be a bit overwhelming to decide on just a couple, or even just one!
Some great varieties I've found though are:
. Adina
-Produces large, juicy fruit with sweet fruits, sweet fragrance and low acid.

. Temptation
- High yielding with medium sized, sweet fruits.

. Tioga
- Produces large, sweet fruit late spring through to summer.


. Redlands Joy
- This one produce oodles of, what is said to be, one of the sweetest strawberries.


. Rubygem
- High yielding, it produces firm, juicy and delicious fruits.

And this year I will be trying to grow Melba and see how that performs, this strawberry plant is said to have large, sweet and juicy fruits, great for eating fresh!

Now we mentioned early there are lots of ways to grow strawberries, here's a few images to spark your imagination.

Happy planting!