Why go to all the hard work of keeping an allotment or kitchen garden? For many people the answer is the taste of homegrown strawberries, that is more intense than shop bought varieties, and even compared to pick your own strawberries on farms.

The hard work in growing strawberries is front loaded. It is worth the effort of preparing a really good strawberry bed, with lots of muck dug in. A few strawberry plants (or even better strawberry runners off a neighbour) should deliver good harvests for several years with a minimal amount of care and watering.