strawberries in a cold frame?

hello everyone, ive been given half a dozen strawberry plants and was woundering if theyd be alright in a cold frame.permantly, i mean.the cold frames a fair size being about 12ft long by about 2ft.ive shovelled in some manure and soil on top but dont know much about strawberries.thanks.

 

Dont see why not, although for much of the year I think the lights should be left off, perhaps only covering them up in late winter up to and through croping time.
I'm not sure but I think strawberries need some frost on them through the winter to give good results

 

thanks.

 

sorry pete meant to say last night(but was distracted hence the quick "thanks") my friends had them in pots since last year and said he had a fair crop.theyve been outside all the time so theyve had frost(and the rest).not sure what you mean by lights left off.

 

As Pete said, they do like a bit of frost and good soil. If it is a late spring cloching will speed things up. Mine are out in the open and crop well. I renew my growing stock every 3 years or so. Once you have a strawberry plant it will give you lots of new plants for the following year but they take a couple of years to size up. Blackbirds love them.

 

Hi Elaine,Lights are the glass tops of the frame. in summer you could use net rather than glass to keep birds out.
I haven't planted any strawberry beds yet but I used to have a large bed with the plants in orderly straight lines doing a 3yr rotation with the runners. When the cropping plants were 3 years old they were composted and the oldest runners took over, etc.
I didn't buy new plants for years as the plants [Cambridge Favourite] were healthy and fruited well. I do miss them!
My brother-in -law has promised me his aluminium coldframe which I intend to put on a waist high stand and fill with soil so I don't have to bend, and get some more plants to do the same thing with.
I now have a variety of Alpine strawberry with delicious fruits about 3/4" long but narrow. I am allowing these to spread, and will transplant some round the garden when there are enough.


[ 05. February 2006, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: Liz ]

 

I'm not sure they need to stay in a cold frame at all to be honest...I grown strawberry plants and have never had them covered and always seem to get a good crop. However they are only useful for about three or four years after which they need replacing (have just replaced mine this year), of course new plants come from the runners of the old plant as well...

 

thanks for all your advice everyone.the reason for the coldframe is just that i thought to keep them from spreading(i dont know how fast or how much)

 

Roots are shallow, so spreading is not a great problem. Cold frame sounds good to me for keeping birds off, also easier to control slug attacks.

[ 05. February 2006, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: Liz ]

 

One thing I dont think has been mentioned and that is pollenation. You will need to uncover the plants when in flower to allow insects to pollenate them.

 

Pollination is needed to as stated by Pete2255, so you need to leave them open until the flowers have started to fade, that's when you cover them with a net...I have my strawberries uncovered all the time and only cover with a net when they have flowered.

 

Hello all, I'm a new girl and this is my first post!
I've been given 120 strawberry runners by my mother's lovely neighbour for my newly created potager so I've dedicated a whole bed of 4' x 10' to them! I thought I'd cloche half with poly to bring them on a bit earlier and so spread the crop. Will I get much fruit from first year runners? Have never grown strawbs b4!

 

If they like their conditions they will flower and fruit. Don't know what your climate is like but don't let them dry out, they need moist fertile soil to grow well.

 

I live in sw France and it can be dry and hot in summer, but the soil is well prepared, double dug with rotted manure and I'll put seep hose in to deal with the water. I planted them all yesterday and it's rained continuously since so they're getting a good watering in!

 

I take it you're actually in France, k3n? How much nicer than in the not very sunny UK! It's an area where there's a lot agriculture and vines, isn't it, if my memory is correct? I don't remember strawberries being a main fruit in France - but maybe I was too much influenced by the thought of grapes and their end-product!