Any berry growers got tips for me?

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

Hi, I'm just wondering whether any of you are growing berries and can advise me?

We have a new garden which has a corner with strawberry plants and raspberry and blackberry bushes. I had lots of visions of being able to serve up bowls of fruit or make nice puddings etc, but the reality so far hasn't quite matched up so I could do with some pointers.

The main thing is that although they are producing lots of fruit, there is just a little each day, and a lot of it already seems to have bad spots (mouldy or munched); and also, it doesn't seem to keep at all! The first lot I picked got ruined as it had some sort of creatures in it which promptly pooed all over the whole bowl... so I have learnt to dunk the lot in water straight after picking it. But even if I do that, anything that we don't eat straight away seems to go mouldy or spoil really fast, before I can do anything interesting with it.

I have wondered about freezing a little bit each day until there is enough to use, would that work? Or any other tips to make the most of it and stop it going to waste? Thank you!

You can freeze - lay berries out on trays if raspberries/blackberries so they stay whole.

Strawberries aren't supposed to freeze well (though I think my mother used t).

Strawberries keep their flavour when fozen but tend to disintegrate. However they are still good for anything such as eton mess. I have just turned my last picks into strawberry wine!

However on a more gloomy note strawberry plants need to be replaced and moved every 3 years or so to keep the plants free of disease. I'm afraid that it is tempting fate to keep the strawberries in the same patch for years on end.

On the positive side this gives you the perfect opportunity to replace your plants with varieties which fruit together or separately depending on what suits you best.

Oh I will try freezing them on a tray then, thanks! And good tip about replacing the plants. They still seem to be doing well at the moment (not sure how old they are) but will get new ones if/when they start to fail.

Are you meant to put straw or something under them too? Sure I've read something about that, I didn't do it this year though as never got round to it (new baby plus toddler so not much time to spend on the garden!).

Yep - putting straw under strawberries helps prevent them going mouldy from contact with wet ground.

Also by washing it, it may go off quicker but if the alternative is poo all over it, then wash!

straw I think depends on how dry it is. I didnt bother this year because it was so dry and lost off 80 plants only 20 fruit!

Net them to keep the birds off. They have snaffled all my blackcurrants, the evil things.