Strawberry Love and My City Garden

Strawberries are absolutely sensational at the moment. They are so sweet and juicy with that pungent sugary aroma that makes you think of jam and pink milkshakes. Being seasonal, they are also of great value in the supermarket too. I have to admit that I am buying at least one punnet a day right now. They are definitely nature's way of adding a bit of sunshine to a grey winter's day.

When it comes to strawberries, organic is always going to be the best option. However, strawberries are one of those simple pleasures that I can't help but make an exception for. One day, I hope that my little city patch of garden will provide me with a bounty of organic strawberries. However, this is perhaps a long way off yet.

Over the past year, I have experimented with growing different veges in my little six square meter patch. Some things have done well, but others haven't. I have discovered that spinach, lettuce, and carrots are loved by snails and slugs. And we have particularly crafty ones around here that have managed to evade every one of my organic pest control strategies.

However, much to my delight, there were also some plants that flourished. Cabbage, peas, and tomatoes grew well in my garden. We all enjoyed the Chinese cabage, and Coco ate every single one of the sugar snap peas off the vine. Unfortunately though, despite the abundance of tomatoes that grew, very few made it to the dinner table. This was courtesy of one very small 'nano' picker. I never quite managed to convince Coco to wait for the green tomatoes to turn red. Inevitably, they would all appear in one of her secret green tomato stashes; beneath the seat of her push car, down the drain, in my shoes, or else hidden somewhere in her toybox. All were green, some with bite marks, and my tomato plants remained steadfastly naked.

I also have a small strawberry plant in the corner of my garden that I grew from a seed. It is a heritage variety that produces small sweet berries and is currently the only plant remaining in my garden bed over winter. I assume the strawberries it produces have been delicious, although I haven't as yet had the pleasure. Not that there have been many to eat so far. Nevertheless, I can certainly attest to the delight displayed by one little girl when she spots a new red berry in the garden. She checks the patch daily now, and I have even seen her whispering quietly to the plant, bossily demanding that it grow.

I wish I could make my strawberries grow faster for Coco. However, until they do, I have been contenting her with the supermarket variety. We love strawberries on their own, blended in smoothies, sliced in ice cream, or dipped in organic Greek yoghurt.