The post that was quoted here has been removedYears back, when I had strawberry beds, I disbudded the plants and nipped off the runners
the first year (to allow strength to go to the roots) and harvested fruit the second and third
years. I planted a new bed during that third year to be ready for fruit the following year, when
the old bed, now depleted, would be ripped out to make room for future beds. Other than that,
strawberries seem to thrive on benign neglect.
The post that was quoted here has been removedHave you tried growing tomatoes and chillies? Cherry tomatoes are delicious. You can make all kinds of interesting salsas with them, or relish. Once one has tasted a homegrown tomato a supermarket one is like a rubber bouncy ball. I have a greenhouse but it need not be expensive i have seen people grow them in the little plastic lean-to ones with great success. The trick with growing tomatoes is to have a single vine by cutting off all the little side shoots that try to grow and to feed them regularly.
The post that was quoted here has been removedIf you go on holiday you can get a two litre bottle of Pepsi (empty) and pierce a small hole in the cap and let the water drip into the base of your tomatoes keeping them moist enough for you when you get home. I seen a dude do it in his allotment in the North of England. I don't know if its too late to get little plants from your garden center, probably not and it would be well worth it.