Strawberries
If growing in a patch in the garden prepare your soil well. Remove any weeds trying to get the roots too. Also adding some manure to help add nutrients to the soil. Dig through the soil mixing the manure well so that the soil is light and free from large stones. Place the strawberry plants a rulers width apart And plant so that the crown of the plant is level with the rest of the soil . Water well.
You can now place slug pellets, Eggs shells or grit around each plant to prevent the slugs from an easy meal. Also cover with netting to prevent the birds getting them too. Pick ripe strawberries as soon as possible to prevent them from rotting.
Planting strawberries in a hanging basket is a good way to prevent slugs getting the strawberries and prevents the fruit rotting as its been sitting on moist soil And good for saving space.. Doing this you will still need to protect from the birds.
Strawberries such as Hapil and Elvira are ideal for the beginner as they are easy to grow and are heavy cropping. Alpine strawberries are also ideal They are smaller fruits but very intense in taste.
Tomatoes
There are many ways of growing tomatoes. You can use grow bags, Pots or hanging baskets.
The easiest I believe is in pots.
Fill some 3 inch plastic pots with a basic multipurpose compost. Scatter a pinch of tomato seeds thinly across the top of the compost And cover with a thin layer of vermiculite. Label with ice lolly sticks and place on a warm window still. Water lightly when compost dries out. After 8 weeks separate the seedling and repot into separate 3 inch pots. After a further 8 weeks roots will appear out of the drainage wholes. Now repot into 5 inch pots. When the first flowers appear on the tomato plant plant out into a weed free patch of soil. Digging in some multipurpose compost in the selected area will the tomatoes. When the tomatoes are planted secure to cans using garden twine this will prevent them from flopping over and snapping. As the plant grows taller re-tie the plant to the cane. Unless you are aiming to grow a bush remove the side shoot so that the plant will grow single stemmed. When the plants have produced four sets of flowers pinch out the growing tip of the plant to slow the plant growth and encourage it to produce fruit. Make sure you feed on weekly basis for the best fruit. And water weekly.
There are hundreds of different tomatoes but favourite are Gardeners delight and Sun gold. These are cherry tomatoes and great in salads.
