I'VE seen all sorts in my back garden. Grown adults doing cartwheels. A cat fighting a dog and winning. But this was something new.
-Unless I'd unwittingly ingested something hallucinogenic on my latest fungal foray, there appeared to be a bright red parrot sitting in the strawberry patch. How magical, I hear you say. Alas no. I had a neighbour who kept parrots and I'd been liste
ning to them squawk for five long years. Not one of them could say "pieces of eight". Where this particular parrot came from, I have no idea, but he was thoroughly enjoying my sun-ripened strawberries.
Grow your own, but do remember that fruit gardening is not a leisure pursuit, it is warfare. Without strong lines of defence, the bullfinches will devour your plum blossom, the starlings will have your cherries and neighbouring children will scrump the apples. This means there are occasions when strawberries must be purchased in punnets rather than plucked from a nice terracotta pot by the back door. And with Wimbledon on the horizon, strawberry cravings will soon reach their height.
Let's start with seasonality issues. If you want to eat strawberries in winter, it means you feel no guilt about the fact they'll have been air-freighted from overseas with the carbon footprint this entails. Congratulations on that thick skin (yours and, quite possibly, the strawberries' too).
Moving on to British-grown. Issue number one is pesticide use. As you might expect, Pesticide Action UK (www.pan-uk.org) warns of the dangers. Summarising the government pesticide residue testing results on strawberries from 2000 to 2005, PAN UK says: "69 per cent of all samples contained measurable residues." But let's look directly at the government results for 2005 (www.pesticides.gov.uk). The conclusion was that "none of the samples contained any residues that exceeded maximum residue limits". If you are confident that the government's acceptable residue levels are, well, acceptable then you can relax, but if not you'd best find a container and get planting.
Next on the agenda: polytunnels. Regarded by some as a blot on the landscape, they have pros and cons when it comes to strawberry growing in the UK. Strawberries are susceptible to mould and other diseases, meaning those grown outdoors tend to be treated with fungicides and pesticides. Growing under cover helps reduce the risks of disease by keeping the crop dry, meaning fewer pesticides are needed. Organic strawberries tend to be grown under cover, but organic makes up a very small percentage of the market. Those who really don't like polytunnels will point out that the materials used to make them are derived from fossil fuels, and crops planted this way usually require artificial irrigation.
Then there's taste. Around 80 per cent of commercial strawberries are the Elsanta variety, chosen for the fruit's long-lasting properties rather than its exquisite flavour. But testers in a recent Which? report couldn't find any overall difference in taste between organic, standard and premium strawberries. The Soil Association promptly responded, saying: "Non-organic strawberries can have other attributes which are less immediately noticeable. For example, a survey carried out by PAN Europe last year found that the non-organic strawberries contained a staggering 14 different pesticides, of which five are known carcinogens."
With these volleys back and forth it's all getting a touch Wimbledon-esque. So have we reached a conclusion? Best case scenario: grow your own organic strawberries and put up netting to keep the parrots off. Next best alternative: buy British in season and keep your fingers crossed. Open cream and pour.
5 Minutes to save the worldBINOCULARS, notebooks and pens at the ready. The RSPB's Make Your Nature Count survey runs from 8-14 June and our role is to spend just one hour each day monitoring our garden wildlife. The data is used to analyse wildlife levels, providing a picture of which species are thriving and which need help. Find out more at www.rspb.org.uk/naturecount
Healthy planetAIR travel can take its toll on your skin so make sure you stay refreshed and hydrated before, during and after your trip with the new Flight Essentials Kit from Liz Earle. Includes four of her most popular beauty must-haves in cabin-friendly sizes. £14.50, from www.lizearle.com
