Strawberries In 600mm x 600mm Bed

 

Kelly came with me after lunch to the allotment, and whilst she was strimming from the main path to my plot entrance and along the front of the boundary beds along the main path I was filling what was a Rhubarb bed with compost to bring it to the top of the bed and in the process found that something (fox or Squirrel) had buried an egg in it!.

The head of the Kent & Stowe long handled fork is under the egg and that's what I was using to dig the compost that was in the bed before filling it with another sack of compost. I have found these tools very useful as at the moment I can't get down on my knees to work on the beds. 

The bed is 600 x 600mm square and I have placed 6 strawberries in it. The white hoops are to put off the foxes from digging in the beds and next visit I will cut some chicken wire to go over the keep the squirrels out has they have eaten my strawberry plants in the past. 

Obviously Idverde didn't strim when they cut the grass in early March, but Kelly made a good job of clearing a narrow path along the boundary beds for me, and the grass from the main path to my plots entrance. Adi my plot neighbour at plot 2 has cut all the grass down on his plot and the path between mine and his plot bless him.  

Kelly also got in touch with her paramaniac tendencies and played with the weed burner attacking the weeds that were growing between the slabs that form the patio area in front of the plot 1 shed. 

I managed to tie back all the Spring Raspberries that were hanging over the Asparagus bed 

I need to build some timber framing around the four red Raspberry beds to hold in the canes as they grow, for the moment it appears the All Gold along the boundary beds are spreading nicely and I should hopefully have a nice supply of All Gold Raspberries this year 

The four strawberry plants that looked half dead and were over once I had filled the 600mm x 600mm bed with 6 plants, were planted by Kelly in the back of boundary bed to the left of the pebble pool. I have also planted a 9cm pot Rubus `Hararasp' (Raspberry tree) from Thompson & Morgan in the back of the bed in line with the pebble pool. Hopefully it will grow like the photo below, and will bear fruit next year. I may have to relocate the bird feeding station.

The Rubus `Hararasp' Flowers in April - May and the Fruits are harvested in May - June, so this little fellow is not likely to bear fruit this year.